Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-07-08
Psychidtrist
Hits TESTING
OF Negroes
BY JOHN BARRON
Star stan Writer

Five Negro children, twice
denied admission to white
schools in Arlington because of
academic reasons, possess SUI
perior intelligence, a Howard
University psychiatrist testified
yesterday.
DR.. James A. Dayton told
Federal Court in Alexandria
that eight other colored pupils
similarly rejected by the county
school board have at least aver
age potential for learning.
He also criticized a State
psychologist who reported that
some Of the Negro applicants
have psychological problems
which might harm them if they
attended school with white chill
dren.
He said the psychologist had
never seen the children and i'm
piled that by evaluating them
without examining them he
violated ethical standards.
DR.. Bayton's testimony be-
fore Judge Albert v, Bryan
came as Negro attorneys vigor-
ously challenged procedures
used by the Arlington School
Board in twice refusing to ad-
NIT % colored students to white
schools.
augmentation Sought
In addition to asking Judge
Bryan to overrule the school
board, the attorneys also are
urging him to order Arlington
to prepare and promptly i'm
plement a comprehensive plan
to desegregate its entire school
system.
The hearing yesterday large
ly duplicated one last fall in
which Judge Bryan directed
that four of 80 applicants be
allowed to enter Stratford
Junior High School. They were
enrolled in February.
1t was disclosed at the hear
ing that the school board has
discarded the criterion of
"adaptability" which was one
of five it employed when it first
decided not to permit the Ne
groeS to transfer from colored
to white schools.
Judge Bryan did not ban this
criterion last fall but cast seri-
Gus doubt on its future accept
ability when he ordered admls-
sion Of four Negroes who had
been rebuffed on the basis of it.
The remaining four criteria.
used by the school board when
it again rejected the Negroes
last month after being told by
a Federal appeals court to re-
consider their applications,
were: Overcrowding of schools,
academic achievement, prox-
unity of residence to school and
psychological problems.
Sharply questioning whether
these criteria have been APP
piled fairly, Attorney Frank D.
Reeves yesterday Intercepted
L. Lee Bean. newly elected
chairman of the school board,
for more than two hours.
Mr.. Bean said that in con-
sidering the scholastic quail
f1cations of the pupil for trans
fer, the school board relied
primarily on achievement test
scores and only incidentally on
tests showing 10.
He testified that if achieve
ment tests indicated an appli-
cant was 5 or more of a grade
behind the class he sought to
enter, transfer was denied.
Data introduced into the
hearing revealed that most of
the Negroes rejected for aca-
demic reasons were in this
category.
Potential Emphasized
However, it also disclosed
that the board had no test
scores to consider when it ruled
that one of the applicants was
accidentally unqualified.
Mr.. Bean also said that I'M
less transfer was requested, a
Negro graduate of junior high
school automatically would be
assigned to a Negro high school
on the assumption that he
would prefer to attend such a
school.
DR.. Dayton contended that
basic intelligence rather than
past scholastic achievement US
lallv is the hest p1lide as To