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What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 3:19:36 PM   
Kirata


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First, the situation:

Donald Garrett Jr., Robert Green and Vivionell Brown Jr. lost their jobs because of the Chicago Board of Education’s turnaround program, which replaces most of the administrative and teaching staff at low-performing schools. These turnarounds tend to hit schools with above-average numbers of black faculty members, and they have contributed to a 10-percent reduction in black teachers in the past decade.

Now, lawyers for the above-named three are seeking class-action status for a racial discrimination suit on the basis that...

Even facially non-discriminatory employment policies can violate civil rights laws if they disproportionately affect specific races in practice.

In what rabbit hole? I suppose we opened this can of worms ourselves when we allowed our racial sensitivities to trample underfoot the eminently sensible policy of filling positions with the most qualified applicants. But where does it stop? Our laws against murder also "disproportionately affect a specific race in practice."

In what way is that a litmus test for racial discrimination?

Source

K.



< Message edited by Kirata -- 12/28/2012 3:20:39 PM >
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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 3:29:18 PM   
mnottertail


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I believe that is the litmus test defined in one of the supreme court rulings.

Violation of equal protections.   Now, they have said at the same time that differences in male and female humans make some equal protections undoable by their very nature.

But lets say that we made some law, and that law was able to be directly attributable to women ages 25-35 having a much higher incidence of rape or suicide.

Is it discriminatory?   

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 3:38:55 PM   
Aylee


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Can someone PLEASE explain to these people that there is a difference between "equality of opportunity" and "equality of outcome"? 

http://definitions.uslegal.com/r/racial-discrimination/

Racial discrimination is the practice of letting a person's race or skin color unfairly become a factor when deciding who receives a job, promotion, or other employment benefit.
 




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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 3:40:51 PM   
JeffBC


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My thoughts about the situation:

As I understand it pretty much everyone agrees that poor performance across a sample the size of a school district is unlikely to be the result of the children themselves. So that pretty much leaves some combination of the school system and the home life. I'd thought we all agreed upon that with varying percentages of each. What that means to me is that to whatever degree the poor performance is affected by home life this program is targeting the wrong thing. Had I written the law I would've used the low performance as a flag but the actual firings would've been done via outside review of individual performance -- in context.

My thoughts about the lawsuit:
I infer from your post that you have a strongly negative reaction to "affirmative action". I don't. In my mind I understand that if there are long-term social forces in play then there's going to have to be some active push against them to re-level the playing field. I also acknowledge the law of unintended consequences so I agree with the proposition that a law with benign intentions could have undesirable side effects -- racial discrimination in this case. But I'm unclear whether any of that thinking applies in this case.

Overall I think the law is more stupid than discriminatory. If a large part of the problem is home life then all that will happen is we will go into an endless employee replacement cycle causing untold trauma to families for no real purpose. I'd certainly want to review/rewrite it. I do, however, think there's enough possibility of discrimination that I'm not against asking the question in a court. So far, at least, were I on the jury the answer would be "No".

< Message edited by JeffBC -- 12/28/2012 3:41:22 PM >


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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 3:49:24 PM   
Yachtie


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Kirata
In what rabbit hole? I suppose we opened this can of worms ourselves when we allowed our racial sensitivities to trample underfoot the eminently sensible policy of filling positions with the most qualified applicants. But where does it stop?


Yup. It'll stop when the racial sensitivities hunger has been satiated. Just don't be around for the belch.

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 3:56:59 PM   
DomKen


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Fr

Not sure if it can be proven but the way the school reorganization program has been done stinks of cronyism and city hall favoritism. If the Board wants to reorganize a school it is pretty simple to make the school a target of recruitment by magnet and charter schools which draws off many of the students with involved parents. This drags down the average test scores and voila a "failing" school. Which "reorganizes" by dumping the tenured teachers and bringing in young teachers who quickly leave the profession or worse yet the school building is given to yet another for profit charter school that will actually have worst test scores but is excluded from the performance rules.

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 4:02:59 PM   
mnottertail


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Aylee

Can someone PLEASE explain to these people that there is a difference between "equality of opportunity" and "equality of outcome"? 

http://definitions.uslegal.com/r/racial-discrimination/

Racial discrimination is the practice of letting a person's race or skin color unfairly become a factor when deciding who receives a job, promotion, or other employment benefit.
 





Not sure there is a difference because there were changes to testing for SATs or whatever some of those tests are that are taken in all schools, to accomodate black people, and there were spanish and other languages added to certain documents.

Outcome and opportunity, respectively. 

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 4:32:16 PM   
DesideriScuri


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quote:

ORIGINAL: mnottertail
quote:

ORIGINAL: Aylee
Can someone PLEASE explain to these people that there is a difference between "equality of opportunity" and "equality of outcome"? 
http://definitions.uslegal.com/r/racial-discrimination/
Racial discrimination is the practice of letting a person's race or skin color unfairly become a factor when deciding who receives a job, promotion, or other employment benefit.
 

Not sure there is a difference because there were changes to testing for SATs or whatever some of those tests are that are taken in all schools, to accomodate black people, and there were spanish and other languages added to certain documents.
Outcome and opportunity, respectively. 


I vaguely recall the SAT's being found to be discriminatory against blacks, though I don't think I read into the "why" of it. IF that were true, then changes "to accommodate black people" wouldn't be discriminatory, if the questions found to be in violation were changed.

There certainly is a difference, though. If you give equal opportunity, outcomes will depend more on the person and the person's support team. If you give equal outcomes, you'll have to dicker with the opportunities to do so.

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 4:52:32 PM   
tazzygirl


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http://www.laprogressive.com/sat-racially-biased/

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 5:29:13 PM   
Aylee


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quote:

ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

http://www.laprogressive.com/sat-racially-biased/


Then do you favor changing it to disadvantage Asian test-takers as well?

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 6:02:24 PM   
Kirata


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quote:

ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

http://www.laprogressive.com/sat-racially-biased/

I view the author's attempt to associate the SAT with the "racial eugenics movement" as about as frank a confession as you'll find anywhere that someone has nothing useful to say. The SAT is "skewed toward white students," we are assured, "because many questions reflect cultural expressions that are prevalent in white society."

What the fuck does that mean? I've been white my whole life, as far as I can recall anyway, and I never learned any kind of secret cultural stuff that black people weren't supposed to know so we could beat them on tests. So what are these "cultural expressions" that blacks don't know about or understand? He doesn't say.

No cigar.

K.



< Message edited by Kirata -- 12/28/2012 6:18:08 PM >

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 6:18:58 PM   
jlf1961


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Kirata


quote:

ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

http://www.laprogressive.com/sat-racially-biased/

I view the author's attempt to associate the SAT and standardized testing in general with the "racial eugenics movement" as about as frank a confession as you'll find anywhere that he has nothing useful to say. The SAT is "skewed toward white students," we are assured, "because many questions reflect cultural expressions that are prevalent in white society."

What the fuck does that mean? I've been white my whole life, as far as I can recall anyway, and I never learned any kind of secret cultural stuff that black people weren't supposed to know so we could beat them on tests. What are these "cultural expressions" that blacks don't know about or understand?

He doesn't say. No cigar.

K.



That statement is ambiguous at best, what "cultural expressions" are they talking about?

quote:

The SAT is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service[1] which still administers the exam. The test is intended to assess a student's readiness for college. It was first introduced in 1926, and its name and scoring have changed several times. It was first called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, then the Scholastic Assessment Test, but now SAT does not stand for anything, hence it is an empty acronym.

The current SAT Reasoning Test, introduced in 2005, takes three hours and forty-five minutes to finish, and costs $50 ($81 International), excluding late fees.[2] Possible scores range from 600 to 2400, combining test results from three 800-point sections (Mathematics, Critical Reading, and Writing).

Taking the SAT or its competitor, the ACT, is required for freshman entry to many, but not all, universities in the United States.


When I took the test in High School, I do not remember anything that was "culturally" directed.

Granted, in my opinion, critical reading and writing will be influenced by a person's experiences, environment and culture, but that is what it is all about.

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 6:39:25 PM   
Aylee


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quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

When I took the test in High School, I do not remember anything that was "culturally" directed.

Granted, in my opinion, critical reading and writing will be influenced by a person's experiences, environment and culture, but that is what it is all about.


I do.  It was an analogy.  I do not remember the first part but you will get the idea.

This is to that as ___________ is to gridiron. 

Yeah.  One of the "easy" questions. 

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 6:40:20 PM   
TheHeretic


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That disproportionate effect thing isn't just for employment. It was also used to stop enforcement of Section 8 housing rules in my part of the world. Because the majority of Section 8 recipients were black (apparently it ISN'T discrimination when benefits are being passed out disproportionately), the majority of the people getting kicked off the program for unauthorized tenants, drug dealing from the home, depriving the neighbors of the peaceful enjoyment of their own homes, and so on, the very act of enforcing the rules was claimed to be racist.

Something else that is happening with the new standards on schools is interesting, too. Since money gets doled out based on improvement in test scores, already good schools are being penalized, because they didn't have much room to improve to begin with. After all, it's always easier to get to equality by chopping down the top, than by elevating the bottom.

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 6:48:46 PM   
tazzygirl


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quote:

What the fuck does that mean? I've been white my whole life, as far as I can recall anyway, and I never learned any kind of secret cultural stuff that black people weren't supposed to know so we could beat them on tests. So what are these "cultural expressions" that blacks don't know about or understand? He doesn't say.


This was in reference to the 2002-2003 revamp.

Despite their insistence that the new SAT will better predict student ability while reducing unfairness by eliminating culture-bound items like analogies, the announced changes actually overlook the largest problems with standardized tests.

Although eliminating analogies is an admirable first step since studies have found these to be biased against those from non-white, non-middle-class backgrounds, (what with questions involving words like "regatta") the problems with the SAT were always deeper than that. In fact, whatever cultural bias the ETS has eliminated with the ban on analogies will likely be re-triggered with the addition of a "writing" section, whose graders no doubt will emphasize stylistically and grammatically Standard English, marking students down whose writing style employs idioms, phrases, or merely word patterns more common to communities of color. Poetic license will have no place, one suspects, on the SAT writing test.


http://www.alternet.org/story/13826/failing_the_test_of_fairness%3A_institutional_racism_and_the_sat

I cannot get into the actual Harvard study... I refuse to pay that... I do recall complaints about these analogies such as ....

"cup is to saucer as coaster is to mug"

Or...

For decades many critics have accused designers of the verbal SAT of cultural bias toward the white and wealthy. A famous example of this bias in the SAT I was the oarsman–regatta analogy question.[43] The object of the question was to find the pair of terms that have the relationship most similar to the relationship between "runner" and "marathon". The correct answer was "oarsman" and "regatta". The choice of the correct answer presupposed students' familiarity with crew, a sport popular with the wealthy, and so upon their knowledge of its structure and terminology. Fifty-three percent (53%) of white students correctly answered the question, while only 22% of black students also scored correctly.[44] However, according to Murray and Herrnstein, the black-white gap is smaller in culture-loaded questions like this one than in questions that appear to be culturally neutral.[45] Analogy questions have since been replaced by short reading passages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT#Cultural_bias



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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 6:57:49 PM   
searching4mysir


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quote:

For decades many critics have accused designers of the verbal SAT of cultural bias toward the white and wealthy. A famous example of this bias in the SAT I was the oarsman–regatta analogy question.[43] The object of the question was to find the pair of terms that have the relationship most similar to the relationship between "runner" and "marathon". The correct answer was "oarsman" and "regatta". The choice of the correct answer presupposed students' familiarity with crew, a sport popular with the wealthy, and so upon their knowledge of its structure and terminology. Fifty-three percent (53%) of white students correctly answered the question, while only 22% of black students also scored correctly.



I might be white, but I'm hardly wealthy. We didn't have a crew team in my high school. Depending on the other available answers, it could just presuppose that the students read a variety of materials that would expand their horizons beyond their own neighborhood/city/state.


If one is searching for racial bias, they can usually find something that approximates it by twisting what the intent is.

< Message edited by searching4mysir -- 12/28/2012 6:58:50 PM >


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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 7:01:59 PM   
jlf1961


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quote:

ORIGINAL: searching4mysir

quote:

For decades many critics have accused designers of the verbal SAT of cultural bias toward the white and wealthy. A famous example of this bias in the SAT I was the oarsman–regatta analogy question.[43] The object of the question was to find the pair of terms that have the relationship most similar to the relationship between "runner" and "marathon". The correct answer was "oarsman" and "regatta". The choice of the correct answer presupposed students' familiarity with crew, a sport popular with the wealthy, and so upon their knowledge of its structure and terminology. Fifty-three percent (53%) of white students correctly answered the question, while only 22% of black students also scored correctly.



I might be white, but I'm hardly wealthy. We didn't have a crew team in my high school. Depending on the other available answers, it could just presuppose that the students read a variety of materials that would expand their horizons beyond their own neighborhood/city/state.


If one is searching for racial bias, they can usually find something that approximates it by twisting what the intent is.



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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 7:14:33 PM   
tazzygirl


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quote:

If one is searching for racial bias, they can usually find something that approximates it by twisting what the intent is.


And if one is never exposed to such things, they may never have read about them. How many books did you read about regattas and oarsmen? I never did.

The choice of the correct answer presupposed students' familiarity with crew, a sport popular with the wealthy, and so upon their knowledge of its structure and terminology. Fifty-three percent (53%) of white students correctly answered the question, while only 22% of black students also scored correctly.

This is hardly an "interpretation" of someone trying hard to find bias.

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 7:25:02 PM   
dcnovice


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quote:

I suppose we opened this can of worms ourselves when we allowed our racial sensitivities to trample underfoot the eminently sensible policy of filling positions with the most qualified applicants.

When was this golden age in which jobs always went to the most qualified applicant, regardless of race, sex, class, sexual orientation, or personal connections?

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RE: What constitutes racial discrimination? - 12/28/2012 7:49:26 PM   
Kirata


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quote:

ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

according to Murray and Herrnstein, the black-white gap is smaller in culture-loaded questions like this one than in questions that appear to be culturally neutral.[45] Analogy questions have since been replaced by short reading passages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT#Cultural_bias

If Murray and Herrnstein are correct, then it is likely we are seeing an actual difference in aptitude for analogical thinking. But so what? Why is that so unacceptable?

This year, the combined test scores for Asians at 1636 is 56 points ahead of whites... [and] Asian females at 577 scored higher than white men at 555 ~AsianWeek 2010

There were large test score gaps among ethnic groups on the 2011 SAT test. For example, on the 2011 math SAT there was a 60-point gap in favor of Asian students compared to whites ~DailyMarkets 2011

Are these scoring differences unacceptable? Do they prove a claim of bias? Should the math section of the SAT be replaced with some short arithmetic problems?

I realize you were only providing information. Just sayin.

K.



< Message edited by Kirata -- 12/28/2012 7:56:36 PM >

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