Thread by @AngryTeachr

My opinion about the #SHSAT changed when I became a teacher. So many things affect education of a student, from stable home life, employment for families, resources, violence, expectations of ppl in communities, the turnover in neighborhood schools. Education reflects all that.

Then I saw maps showing the vast segregation of NYC. @nytimes race map is from 2015. @businessinsider income nap from 2014. This is the real reason why our education system in NYC- the legacy of racism, segregation and resulting denial of resources to neighborhoods. It's stark.

My Asian American people will ask, why, as low-income people, do we succeed & black & Latinx people don't? Many of us whom are EAST Asian (lighter skin and who are benefactors of colorism) did NOT inherit the legacy of racist segregation policies in the way Black folk did. #SHSAT

YES, we deserve a chance to rise up as Asian American people and show our smarts and get out of poverty. The history of America has made it so we're able to succeed and in large numbers. Ex. We're the poorest in NYC but among the richest income earners in all the US. #SHSAT

So yes, for people who took the #SHSAT and got into a SHS we have a stake it in- we can claim that we rose up from our bootstraps, took the test, succeeded. I'm one who benefits from that narrative. That's an incomplete story though that doesn't take in life circumstances.

And that doesn't take into account all the time I spent studying for the #shsat. How Chinatown kids were basically EXPECTED to take that test. The expectations were high to pass that test. Test prep was a thing. People are talking proportions- about 30% of test takers were Asian.

I think stat was that slightly <20% of #shsat test takers were black, yet <4% of 2019 admitted students are black. So to those arguing "oh maybe there were less black test takers"- yes, that's true, but compare to Asians, we made up ~30% of test takers & >50% admissions are ours.

(please correct me if I'm wrong, it's been a long week teaching 😂)

I spent last few weeks giving test after test to my 9-11yo students cuz state ELA test is in a week & a half & state math test in about a mth. It's high stakes for a school. Our students take so many tests now, and test prep is life in schools. Ask any student. I hate it. #SHSAT

Don't get me started on the NY State tests. Less than half our kids fail it or don't get on grade level. Many of those students are special needs kids, language Learners, kids of color. When a kid sees they're failing all the time, whose issue is it? The kid, teachers, parents?

It's the fault of a system that told us tests were important, that they would decide your future. I've forgotten practically everything from the SAT, much less the #SHSAT as an adult, but I remember studying for em like they were LIFE. Our youth are being tested all the time now.

My students care about the world, light up when reading chapter books, current news, learn to write about things they care about. We're now teaching kids to perform on a test, go back to the text for evidence, HATE reading. That's what schooling has become cuz of testing. #SHSAT

You know why schools aren't getting their kids to grade level? Because there's renewal schools where the principals and teachers are constantly in fear of their school closing down because of test scores so they TEACH TO THE TEST. #SHSAT That's our education system now. #SHSAT

Where are the renewal schools in NYC? You guessed it- mostly in the South Bronx, Harlem, Brownsville, East New York, etc. Those students are worthy of learning but inherited segregation of their neighborhoods and thus schools- and those students are left behind right now. #SHSAT

So, no, absolutely not, our black and Latinx students are not dumb, are not lazy. Also in no way am I saying anyone should be a "savior" & go save them. This requires us who get to succeed in this system to acknowledge this and to work on a community solution with others. #SHSAT

We as Asian Americans do not get to claim that we are smarter or our culture is better or we deserve this more than any other human being. We're all losing when we pit ourselves against one another. This HAS to be community solutions, not just to give more test prep. #SHSAT

Phew. NYC and education and US history are so complicated. I'm getting off Twitter for the rest of the weekend, I think. This week of #shsat pushback has been rough. Y'all who know me know where to reach me.