Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-09-29
Learning Gap
In Junior Highs
in Probe
Test Scores Show
Colored Schools
On Lower Level

A. -
A wide achievement gap be-
tween white and Negro students
in Washington junior high
schools has been disclosed by
Congressional investigators Of
the city's schools.
Eighth-graders in four nearly
lall-white junior highs averaged
in the top 10 per cent nationally
on tests given a year ago..
BY contrast, eighth-grade stu
dents in the city's IL predomin-
antly Negro junior highs av-
eraged in the lowest 5 per cent,
the Investigators disclosed yes
lterday.
There was a gap of az years
to more than four years between
the averages Of the four white
schools and those of the II
mostly Negro schools on another
set Of eighth-grade tests.
Scores Put in Record
Counsel William Gerber placed
the various test scores in the
record yesterday during ques-
tioning Of Lawson j. Cantrell.
assistant superintendent of
schools. Mr.. Cantrell said the
! figures appeared to sbe accurate.
The school official said he has
made similar studies. The school
system has not made public its
recent test results on racial or
school-by-school basis.
Mr.. Gerber divided the city's
20 junior high schools-exclud-
ing Hart. which opened this
year-into three groups in the
test analysis. One, consisting Of
predominantly white schools, in
cluded Deal, Gordon, Kramer
and Paul. The four schools a
year ago had 4,762 white and
10 Negro students.
A second group, consisting of
seven substantially integrated
schools, included mcfarland,
Taft, Sousa, Stuart, Hine. East
ern (now closed) and jefferson.
A year ago they had 1929 white
and 1895 colored students.
Before integration, all were
white.
Third Group COlored
The third group, consisting of
schools almost entirely Negro,
included Shaw, Terrell, Browne,
Randall. Francis, Eliot, Langley,
Douglass, Banneker, Garnet
Patterson and Miller. They had
ll1.800 colored and EOS white
students.
Mr. Gerber noted these COM
parisons Of averages among the
three groups on tests standard
lied for the eighth grade, sec
ond month:
| Arithmetic computation. Az
erage for four white schools,
eighth grade, fourth month; in
tegrated group, sixth grade.
ninth month; Negro group, fifth
grade, ninth month.
Arithmetic reasoning. Four
white schools, eighth grade.
ninth month: integrated group,
sixth grade, ninth month: Negro
group, sixth grade, first month.
Reading, paragraph meaning.
-Four white schools. 10th grade:
integrated group, seventh grade.
first month: Negro group, fifth
lsfade, eighth month.
Reading, word meaning. Four
white schools. 10th grade, second
month; integrated group, seventh
grade, fifth month; Negro group,
sixth grade, one month.
Another comparison pointed
tout by Mr.. Gerber dealt with the
percentages of students achieving
on various grade levels. In words
meaning, for example, 54 per
cent of the students in the four
chiefly white schools achieved
from 10th to 18th grades. In the
Iintegrated group the proportion
was % per cent. In the mostly
Negro group it was slightly under
IL per cent.
/ BY contrast, on the same test,
less than IL per cent in the
white group scored below sew
enth grade. In the integrated
group. the proportion was almost
43 per cent. and in the mostly
Negro group nearly 66 per cent.
in Integrated Schools
Mr.. Gerber also noted that
the howing in the integrated
schools was better in three
Macfarland. Sousa and Taft
than in the others. These three
had relatively fewer Negro stu
dents.
A different set Of tests, the
Iowa tests covering general back
ground in the natural sciences,
English expression, and under
standing of basic social concepts.
was also noted by Mr.. Gerber.
1t was in this group Of tests that
the four mostly white schools
registered an average ranking
in the top 10 per cent with ref
erence to the national test
standard.
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