4-THE CAROLINA
TURC. ^.
Study: tuucaiioiiai Institutions
Failing Black Students
WASHINGTON (AP) - Most ot
the state’s predominantly white
colleges and universities are doing
an inadequate job of enrolling and
graduating black students, a study
says.
Gov. Bill Clinton he was
disturbed with findings in the study
by the National Center for
Postsecondary Governance and i
Finance for the Education
Commission of the States. But
Clinton said the results "may give
us the basis for some action."
Among the state’s leading four-
year colleges and univosities, only
at University of Arkansas campus
in Fayetteville do black students
graduate at a rate as high as 70
percent of the graduation rate for
white students, according to the
study.
UA-Fayetteville is a research
institution where blacks make up
about 5 percent of the total
eiHoUmenL
The proportion of black students
entering predominantly white four-
year schools in Arkansas dropped
between 1980 and 1988, as did the
equity score for almost all of the
Arkansas schools, said DeWayne
Matthews, one of the study
researchers.
"The reason we did the study and
the equity indexes was to get rid of
some of the comers different
Students, Teachers and
Technology
(NU) - We’ve heard a lot of talk
about the benefits computers offer
io education — benefits that con
tinue to elude most of our nation’s
nearly 85,000 public schools. But
exactly what are some of these ben
efits, and how can personal com
puters improve education for our
nation’s students?
For starters, computers would go
a long way in helping teachers to
provide students with more individ
ual attention while freeing teachers
from many non-instructional tasks.
Computers would also h 'lp many
teachers to better structure :teir les
son plans and class activities. With
computers, teachers could access
and create databases for students,
better guiding them through com
plex curricular material.
By Keith Geiger
And if a student was absent for
whatever reason, he wouldn’t nec
essarily fall behind in his classwork
or homework. A computer at his
home, perhaps loaned to him by
school, would make it possible for
him to keep up-to-date and partici
pate in practically all classroom ac
tivities through electronic mail.
Library IJata Eases
Thiwugh computer technology,
; teachers could take their classes on
visits to virtually any library in the
. count]^, locate a particular book,
and study a given passage or sec
tion of that book without anyone
leaving the classroom.
On assignments requiring indi
vidual student research, computers
would allow students to spend less
•ime looking for research material
and more time examining the mate
rial than they are able to do now.
Teacher Training Needed
These are just some of the bene
fits computers offer to our nation’s
schools. And within the next few
vef's. proh-ably discover many
newer applications for computer
technology In education — appli
cations that we cannot even imag
ine now.
Although many of the nation’s
more affluent school districts have
moved into the computer age, not
enough of our schools are able to
acquire a sufficient quantity of
hardware and software, let alone
train teachers in computer instruc
tional applications.
It’s time to ensure that both new
teachers and those already in the
profession are fully trained in the
educational uses of computers.
That way, they can help America’s
students make the most effective
use of this increasingly powerful
technology.
(Keith Geiger is president of the
National Education Association.)
universities can hid in," Matthews
said.
Arkansas mirrors the nauonal
trend, according to the study, which
said that eight of every 10 students
in higher education were white in
1988. The college-going rate for
blacks was higher a decade earlier,
the study said.
"The nation is going backwards,
not forwards" as far as black
students arc concerned, Matthews
said.
The study focused on Arkansas,
California, Florida, Texas and six
other states. It found that
institutions with high minority
enrollment and graduation rates had
provided academic advising,
tutoring and instruction in basic
skills: employed less restrictive
admissions standards and required
all students to complete a least one
course on minority cultures.
State-mandated diagnostic tests
for entering college students and
minimum basic-skills proficiency
for junior status adversely affected
black graduation rates, the study
said.
The study cited the University of
California at Berkeley, UCLA, the
University of South Carolina and
Clemson as "having gains in
diversity during the past decade
without discernible losses in
quality." Clinton noted that
Arkansas had a 28 percent increase
in the number of minority students
taking the college entrance exam in
the last four years.
But he said he had not seen the
ECS figures and did not dispute
them.
"I tell you what I think is
happening. One big reason is
economics," Clinton said last week
while attending meetings in
Washington. "It’s harder for poor
people to get in and stay in college.
It’s one reason we need a lot more
financial incentives." Also, the
governor said, some black students
are not prepared, which may
require more remediation.
Chnton said a special intensive
summer school for juniors could
belter prepare them for college.
The governor said he did not
take the study’s findings as a
personal slap on his education
refonn efforts. He said he would
study the figures and pledged to
"see if we can’t concentrate
(resources) in the area where the
dropout rate is highest in uic suuc.
The ECS urged public colleges and
universities to ensure not only
mincrity enrollment but graduation
in numbers proportionate to tlieir
population in each state.
Steps the task force report
outlined for policymakers to take
include:
-Making state funding dependent
on progress toward statewide goals
for minority participation and
achievement
-Considering progress in meeting
minority goals when hiring and
evaluating college presidents.
-Emphasizing grants, not loans, to
minority students.
The report said institutions
should: -Establish links with iunitv
and seniw high schools to make
sure students take college
prqjaratory courses.
-Use different admissions critajj
in addition to test scores to assess
potential for success in college.
-Provide extra help to struggling
students. °
-Stand firmly against
discriminatory behavior on campus
-Integrate multicultural
perspectives into general education
courses taken by all students.
CITY OF DURHAM
NOTICE OF PUBLIO HEARING
CONCERNING THOROUGHFARE IMPROVEMENTS
for
Martin Luthor Kino. Jr. Pirkwoy
Tho City of Durham has scheduled a Public Hearing for Monday December 17,1990 at
7:30 PM In the Council Chambers on the first floor of City Hall. The purpose of the
meeting Is to provide for public comment concerning ^he location, design, and construction
of the proposed Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. The section to be discussed Is:
Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway from Cook Road to NC 65.
Plans for public Inspection are available for review In the City of Durham Engineering
Department, third floor, City Hall between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM Monday through Friday.
For further Information, contact the City of Durham Engineering Department at 560-4326.
vicinity Map
II'
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