Written by Vincent Cain
Researchers Jay Greene and James Paul have released three new studies on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) which point out the harmful aspects of the new project. The studies essentially found that DEI is “counterproductive and politically radical.”
One part of the study that focuses on elementary schools shows plenty of evidence. It looks at 554 school districts with a minimum of 15,000 students and found that schools with Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs) “actually have larger gaps in achievement between black and white students, Hispanic and white students, and non-poor and poor students than districts without CDOs. And those gaps are growing wider over time. This pattern holds true even after controlling for a host of other observable characteristics of those districts.”
The authors explain that the achievement gaps widen because CDOs “are more focused on promoting a political agenda than they are on finding effective educational interventions.” That political agenda often advocates for policies which worsen the gaps, such as eliminating gifted programs and advanced math classes “while selecting English and Social Studies content for its political orthodoxy rather than educational quality.”
Additionally, the study finds that there is a link between DEI and anti-semitism. Greene and Paul collected Twitter feeds of 741 DEI officials at 65 universities and found that “605 tweets that bash Israel and just 28 that praise the Jewish state.” The authors add that 62% of the tweets that involve China were favorable.
California, as always, is the leader in educational malfeasance. A letter was signed by 1500 mathematicians and scientists who have expressed great concern over the “equitable” California Mathematics Framework (CMF), which will come sometime this year. According to the scholars, the framework of CMF, in addition to other things, aims to “reduce achievement gaps by limiting the availability of advanced mathematical courses to middle schoolers and beginning high schoolers.” The idea, you see, is to dumb down curricula so it becomes more equitable. Excellence, and striving for it, have become so very passé. The academics add, “…initiatives like the CMF propose drastic changes based on scant and inconclusive evidence. Subjecting the children of our largest state to such an experiment is the height of irresponsibility.”
Photo Cred: Associated Press
