GATE is an acronym for the "gifted and talented education" that has become very widespread and popular in many American public schools. The idea is that some students are more "gifted" and would more appropriately be served by separate classrooms. Another similar program are the AP (advanced placement) classes in the high schools. Depending on which track a high school student has been placed into, the "gifted" ones might never see the "normal" students in most of most of their classes- math, english, science, and history. Black made up 17.2% of the total student population, but only 8.4% of those in GATE classes or programs are Black. Hispanic students comprised 15.6% of the student population, but 8.6% of the students designated for gifted and talented classes or programs. In California 7% of the students are Black, but only 4% of those enrolled in gifted and talented educational program were Black. Many white and asian parents have complained about their schools "dumbing down" the classroom content in an attempt to improve the educational performance of the black and hispanic students. This is one of the reasons that white and asian parents are so ardent about living in a "good" school district. Further reading: http://www.farai.com/gifted-and-talented-programs-segregated-in-their-own-way/ http://news.change.org/stories/stil...ual-the-case-of-gifted-and-talented-education http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/RhapsodyInBlack/Education_&_Welfare.html/ http://latinalista.com/2010/01/nothing_innovative_about_dumbing_down_cu
I don't really have a problem with this (in a sense). There is no reason to hold back kids who are smart. There is also no reason to push kids farther then they can. It is judged on how smart the kid is not race/ethnicity.
I was in both the GATE and AP programs. In my high school, which was, at the time, about 45% Hispanic, 35% white, 8% Asian, 8% black, and 4% other, the overwhelming majority of the kids in the class were white and Asian. Very few Hispanics. I don't remember a single black kid. It makes sense to me.
Also, most of the jews are in the GATE and AP classes. It is more of a racial segregation for asians and jews, than whites.
Most high schools offer AP classes that give college credit. Thus, most who enter college already have about 6 hours. My son's college chemistry text (freshman--Univ of Dayton) was the same one used in high school. There were minorities in his AP classes. Some kids both black & white drop out after a week and opt for a easier class. Has nothing to do with race. Why are people always looking under the bed for some racial complaint??
