Despite wide support for the use of testing to determine admission to gifted programs, critics want to shut them down (“The Left’s War on Gifted Kids,” The Atlantic, June 29). The reason: too few Black and Hispanic students are enrolled.
In an ideal world, there would be a nice racial balance of students. But the reality is that gifted programs are not for everyone, any more than the Navy SEALS is. Yes, providing equal access to test prep may help, but I maintain that not everyone has the aptitude to succeed.
But let’s say for a moment that we arbitrarily admitted more Black and Hispanic students. What would likely happen? When they realized they were over their heads, they would either drop out or more likely standards would be lowered to avoid that. In either case, their self-esteem would severely suffer.
(To post a comment, click on the title of this blog.)
theedhed.com 