By Milt Harris ——Bio and Archives--July 20, 2023
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Remember when people would strive to live the American Dream? Now, “woke folk” “strive to connive” the leftist dream.
Here’s a question. How can a teaching exam be racist? For that matter, how can any exam be racist? Well, if you’re black or Hispanic and you failed the New York State teacher licensing test, all you have to do is claim that it is, have some patience and watch the liberal left pay off like a slot machine.
The original lawsuit on this matter was filed back in 1996 by four teachers that claimed the test was “culturally biased” and favored white applicants. The applicants used the results of the test as their argument, claiming that 90 percent of whites passed the exam, while only 53 percent of blacks and 50 percent of Hispanics received passing results. The test consisted of 80 multiple choice and essay questions on Liberal Arts and Science. An example of one of the questions asked the applicants to explain the meaning of an Andy Warhol painting.
If that’s the example of “cultural bias,” I totally disagree. First of all, there are a lot of people of every race that probably aren’t that familiar with Andy Warhol’s paintings. Second, the interpretation of art is so subjective, that any reasonably thoughtful answer would be considered correct. Keep in mind, this is a teacher’s exam, so asking for some expanded thought on any subject, even one you may not be familiar with isn’t racist.
The 1996 lawsuit was filed against the Board of Education, which at the time was in charge of the city’s public schools. Eventually, the board was replaced by the Department of Education which fell under the control of the mayor.
The court system being what it is, allowed the case to drag on until 2003. When at that time the ruling came down in favor of the city. However, as we all know, the end is never the end when there are appeals. So in 2012, Judge Kimba Wood decided that requiring teachers to pass a Liberal Arts and Science exam was not a true indicator of better teaching performance. In siding with the plaintiffs, she stated that the test had a “disparate impact” (more on this later) on blacks and Latinos and that the school system was liable for making hiring decisions based on its results.
In its defense, the city argued that it had no input or authority over the tests and that it was simply following the teaching licensing requirements mandated by the state.
Before we move on, in her ruling the judge stated that the city was liable because they used the test results when making hiring decisions. Well, if not the test results, what were they supposed to use? The test was mandated by the state in order to show teaching competence. Was the city required to hire those that failed in direct contradiction of state requirement?
Since then settlements have been being negotiated. Then in November of 2021, within weeks of his mayoral term ending, woke radical Bill de Blasio agreed to a mind boggling and ridiculous $1.8 billion dollar settlement to be paid through 2028.
Thanks New York for highlighting how failure can be ultra lucrative. Thanks also for most assuredly lowering the standards for the hiring of teachers in your state going forward. Lastly, thanks for giving woke leftists an undeserved victory, that will most assuredly inspire more of this kowtowing nonsense.
Did it ever occur to those rendering this decision and settlement, that by buying into this train of thought it was actually an insult to blacks and Latinos? This decision is clearly stating that for blacks and Hispanics to pass this test, standards need to be lowered. How does that conclusion help anyone outside of those that will receive this windfall payoff
Speaking of that, here is a list of the top ten highest payouts to date:
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As of last week, there are an additional 225 applicants that failed the exam between 1994 – 2014 that have been promised settlements of at least $1 million.
All told approximately 5,200 blacks and Hispanic will collect more than $1.8 billion as a result of these judgements, which represents the largest legal payout in the city’s history.
As shocking as all of this is, it gets even worse for taxpayers of the state. When many of the plaintiffs reach retirement age they will also be on the hook for their pension payments and health insurance. Also, let’s not forget the lawyer fees. Those totaled $43 million dollars last year. With leadership decisions like this, it’s no wonder so many people are fleeing the state.
A quick word on “disparate impact.” This term is often confused with “disparate treatment” but they are not the same thing. Disparate treatment, constitutes deliberate and intentional discrimination. Disparate impact is when something that is considered neutral to all bias, results in markedly different results in certain groups. In this case the judge ruled that the test had a “disparate impact” on blacks and Hispanics. However, was it really the test or did the test simply expose vulnerability in those cultures in subjects that are vital to the teaching profession? I suspect it is the latter, which means the test wasn’t the villain, it was just the messenger.
There are a multitude of educational ways to correct this. For instance, why not offer preparatory classes for the exam, to give all applicants an idea of what to prepare for.
Throwing money at any problem is always a poor solution. This settlement will solve nothing and will reverberate through the school system for the foreseeable future.
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Milt spent thirty years as a sales and operations manager for an international manufacturing company. He is also a four-time published author on a variety of subjects. Now, he spends most of his time researching and writing about conservative politics and liberal folly.