Hello VRS,
I would love to have help on this, if only for a little while. I looked at ACT data first because it's taken by more children. I had to start somewhere. I still maintain SAT scoring, because it measures from 0-800 in a subject would give a more finite read than a 1-36 score from an ACT. The problem, however, occurs when SAT scoring results for Black/Hispanic students in some states is almost non-existent (too small to accurately sample). Take a look at this to get started.
http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2012/pdf/profile/Mississippi.pdf This is MS profile but each state can be substituted at will. It just takes time to accumulate info, which in this case, we know, was gathered using the same methods across states. You can use quickfacts census data on race per state from government. Try this and then plug in each state which interests you.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28000.html
1. You made a VERY good point noting that some states have low participation in the ACT while some states mandate all juniors take this standardized test. While we could assume (and I really hate to assume when analyzing data) a child in Maine takes an ACT test because he/she has access to funds and a goal to attend college, it would be easy for us to surmise these students would be expected to perform better. They do not perform better by any significant measure. Still, merely having access to a test or motivation does not change students reported race. In other words, if only 9% of Maine students took the test, while it is NOT a complete sample, it is a statistically large enough sample to take into consideration. What we are really looking for is the results for students by race. I just could not believe the results were so similar from state to state. The US census data is complete across all states and is probably the best measure we have of who we are as Americans. When the two sets of data are analyzed separately and then laid on top of each other, it is clear large percentages of populations within each state skew results and thus, perpetuate stereotypes... leading to bad public policy.
It speaks to the widely held stereotype that southern states are "stupid", which, as you can see in the thread above, our children are still arguing about. In fact, that is not true, it's merely a fact that southern states have a larger percentage of under performing population by "totals" per state. What our Dept's of Education and our politicians NEED to address are the needs of these under performing populations without the fear of being tagged as a "racist".
2. I personally agree with you in stating access to education is the best social leveler and provides the "opportunity to succeed". Ensuring that opportunity is a concept almost anyone could/should support. What I am very interested in is allowing Governors to target funds to specific communities where the greatest percentage of impact can be made. It makes sense. It would save taxpayer dollars and spread untold amount of opportunity. The white demographic of our country is very large. It may take 50 trillion dollars (totally fictitious big number) to raise white students ACT test scores by 5 points. The lowest performing group, however, only represents 13% of the population is is often concentrated in urban communities in "northern states". The black population in southern states tends to be evenly distributed among all counties as a percentage of population (except for urban Atlanta).
3. Naturally, research like this begets the societal/cultural questions as to WHY some races consistently score better, across states and even zip codes. These are outside of my expertise and I am no politician. I need help. Additional research annihilates the myth that suburban schools are "better", at least on ACT tests (yes, I was surprised too). It is TRUE that white inner city students perform equally to that of suburban whites, blacks to blacks, Asians to Asians and so on. Again, the numbers are amazingly consistent.
You and I could think of 10 reasons from the tops of our heads for under performance or over performance of some races but it would be extraordinarily difficult to measure and prove any solution set. We are also guessing and may have bias. We need hard data and sound solutions.
What would be very interesting and fairly inexpensive, is, to target 10 counties in Mississippi (chosen because Mississippi has the larges percentage of black population of any state and the black population is spread evenly across each county, not concentrated in urban centers) with the aforementioned 10 ideas we can think of for under performance. Test each idea and record results. I submit, in relatively small numbers but a controlled sample, we may be able to provide hard data for real solutions. It may be the first time anyone directly addresses the real problems of under performance. After 37 years of the Dept of Education, increasing frustration of our teachers, alienation in the black community and untold billions spent, it's about time we address our problems. At least, it's an idea.
Please feel free to PM me.