More than one-third of Fairfax County's black and Hispanichigh school students had a grade-point average lower than C lastyear, according to figures compiled by the district at the requestof a School Board member.
The report showed that 38 percent of African Americans and 37of Hispanics at the county's 23 high schools averaged less than a C,compared with 15 percent of white students and 17 percent of Asianstudents. The figures were for the first three quarters of the1997-98 school year.
School Board Vice Chairman Robert E. Frye Sr. (At Large), whorequested the data, called the statistics for black and Hispanicstudents 'appalling.' He said he was particularly surprised that thetwo high schools with the worst performance by minority students --South Lakes High in Reston and Madison High in Vienna -- are inrelatively affluent areas of the county. At each of those schools,half of black and Latino students had an average lower than C.
Frye, who is African American, said he believes the weakgrades stem from low expectations on the part of the minoritystudents and their parents. 'I want to make sure that the boardprovides the resources to help schools focus on this issue,' hesaid. 'What I'm really afraid of is that this sort of acceptance ofperforming at a marginal level will become the standard at certainschools.'
Both Frye and School Board Chairman Mark H. Emery (At Large)also said that the overall percentage of Fairfax high schoolstudents with a below-C average -- 20.6 percent -- is too high for adistrict with Fairfax's academic expectations.
Officials in several other Washington area districts saidyesterday they had not done a comparable study of their students'grades.
Gerald W. Bracey, an Alexandria educational researcher, saidit is difficult to know what the Fairfax numbers mean in relation toother school systems because grading is subjective and policies varywidely among districts and individual schools. Lower grade-pointaverages at a particular school could mean that its students areperforming poorly, or it could mean that its teachers are toughergraders, Bracey said.
Among Fairfax middle school students, 25 percent of blacks, 20percent of Hispanics, 6 percent of whites and 5 percent of Asianshad an average lower than C, according to the report. The findingsmirror other reports that show lower achievement by black andHispanic students.
Frye asked for the study last year to gauge the potentialimpact of a proposal that would require Fairfax middle and highschool students to carry a C average to participate inextracurricular activities.
The proposal followed recommendations by the Virginia ParentTeacher Association and the Virginia School Boards Association toraise the minimum state requirements, which allow a student to playsports with five D's and two F's -- a 0.7 average.
Fairfax Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech said there is nosimple explanation for the gaps between racial groups. A student'sperformance is influenced by factors such as family income and theamount of support the student receives at home, Domenech said.
'Early identification {of academic problems} is key, becauseby the time they're in high school, it's almost too late,' he said.
Rick Nelson, president of the Fairfax County Federation ofTeachers, said he believes the gap in grade-point averages has moreto do with family income than with race. He also cited decisions bysome principals to promote students despite teachers'recommendations not to.
'The path of least resistance and headaches is to just passthe kid along,' Nelson said. 'Unfortunately it catches up with kidsin high school, and that's what you're seeing in these numbers.'
The School Board has ordered a study on social promotion andasked staff members to develop more remedial programs for studentsat risk of repeating a grade.
Emery said that at this point, the board is not inclined toraise requirements for participation in extracurricular activities.'I think there are a number of students who may be strugglingacademically but may be continuing to come to school because ofextracurricular activities,' he said. 'If they are not allowed thatoutlet, we might lose them altogether.'
