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``There
is so much discussion about the achievement gap, and
we talk about teachers and curriculum and testing and
money,'' said Jean Johnson, Public Agenda's executive
vice president and an author of the report.
``We
need to add something to that list _ school climate.
For these kids, it has become such a distracting atmosphere,''
Johnson said.
Thirty
percent of black students _ three in every 10 _ said
teachers spend more time trying to keep order in class
than teaching; 14 percent of white students said the
same.
More
than half of black students said kids who lack respect
for teachers and use bad language is a very serious
problem, compared to less than one-third of white students.
Hispanic
students also reported worse social and academic conditions
in school than white children, although the gaps were
not as large as they were between blacks and whites.
On
the plus side, the poll found positive results that
cut across race and ethnicity.
Majorities
of children said they are learning a lot in reading,
writing and math classes. Most students said at least
one teacher who has gotten them interested in a subject
they usually hate.
The
students agreed on matters of work ethic, too.
About
eight in 10 said it is good for school districts to
require higher standards, even if that means kids must
go to summer school. Almost 60 percent of black students
acknowledged they could try a little harder, compared
to 53 percent of Hispanics and 46 percent of whites.
In
perspective, most students said schools were meeting
expectations on most measures.
Yet
the minority children were more likely to see students
struggling to get by in class, to see unfair enforcement
of discipline rules, to say schools aren't getting enough
money.
``Students
of color are correct in their understanding that their
schools get less in the way of resources, and offer
less in the way of high standards,'' said Ross Wiener,
policy director of The Education Trust, an advocacy
group for poor and minority children. ``It is a shame
that a country dedicated to equal opportunity tolerates
these inequities.''
Among
students in public schools, 59 percent are white, 19
percent are Hispanic and 17 percent are black, according
to Education Department numbers from the 2003-04 school
year.
In
the poll, students in wealthier schools reported fewer
serious problems than students in poor schools, but
results were not available for racial groups of different
income levels.
Minority
parents were more likely to see problems in schools,
just as their kids did.
Black
and Hispanic parents were more than twice as likely
as white parents to call weapons and fighting a very
serious problem.
They reported bigger concerns about crowded classes
and low standards.
Most
teachers, meanwhile, said academic expectations for
students were high regardless of the racial makeup of
the school.
Teachers in mostly minority schools reported less parental
involvement, lower support from their superintendent
and poorer grammar among their students.
The
findings are based on phone interviews with a random
sample of 1,379 parents of children now in public school,
1,342 public school students in grades six through 12,
and 721 public school teachers. The interviews were
conducted between Oct. 30, 2005 and March 7.
The
margin of error for the sample was plus or minus 4 percentage
points for the parents and teachers and 3 percentage
points for the students. The poll was paid for by the
GE Foundation, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and
the Wallace Foundation.
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Public
Agenda: http://www.publicagenda.org
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