Black-White Test Score Differences

From the Brookings Insitute:

The gap appears before children enter kindergarten and it persists into adulthood. It has narrowed since 1970, but the typical American black still scores below 75 percent of American whites on almost every standardized test.

...when black or mixed-race children are raised in white rather than black homes, their pre-adolescent test scores rise dramatically. These adoptees’ scores seem to fall in adolescence, but this could easily be because their social and cultural environment comes to resemble that of other black teenagers.

Studies of mixed-race children and black children adopted by white parents suggest, however, that racial differences in test performance are largely if not entirely environmental in origin.

Collecting accurate data on black and white parents’ habits, values, behavior, and ideas is not easy, and it would take time.

The timing of the gap (occurring before formal education) suggests that the culture of African-American child-raising, whatever the differences might be, are key players in the differences.

I suspect the typical African-American parent might spend less time with the child on their lap reading books to them. Kids learn about those black-squiggles being important while sitting on that lap. They learn about left-to-right, top-to-bottom hierarchies.

Interactive toys like this alphabet floor-mat or basic shapes floor-mat can be introduced at a very early age. 

Magnetic letters are an easy way to introduce the young child to the fact they can manipulate those squiggles and can order them in meaningful ways...like spell their name. Key points are to select BIG letters to avoid choking hazard and to work around the limitations of fine-motor skills a young kid might have. Another point is to keep it simple. All you need are the upper-case letters for the little nippers. 

Letter-sound connections can be painlessly imparted with songs.

Finally, once your little bundle-of-joy starts trudging off to school, sets of "pattern books" will make them feel successful and start the reading habit.

Age appropriate cook-books are a great way to connect "Reading" with "Empowerment". Those black squiggles can show you how to turn flour, eggs, sugar...into cookies.

Do any of you readers have any suggestions you would like to share with new parents (or grandparents) to help their kids be academically successful? Please feel free to share them in comments.