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ISU Speaker: Education System Perpetuates Racism

Illinois State University

A high school history teacher in Seattle who led a successful revolt against standardized testing under Common Core initiatives says the education system perpetuates racism.

Jesse Hagopian speaks at ISU Friday night, September 30. He says studies show standardized tests themselves fail miserably.

"The impact of attaching graduation requirements to exit exams in high school has been an increase in incarceration rates. We see high stakes testing is actually an integral part of the school-to-prison pipeline," Hagopian said during Sound Ideas.

Hagopian said the average student takes about 112 standardized tests between pre-K and high school.

"When you inundate the classroom with that many high stakes standardized tests, you reduce the intellectual and emotional process of teaching and learning to a single score," he added.

Hagopian said the public education system in the U. S. perpetuates racism, in part by starting with a curriculum that perpetuates myths regarding slavery.

Hagopian's talk titled "Black Education Matters" includes a Q&A on Saturday October 1 and is part of the ISU Fall Speaker Series.

Willis is a Bloomington, IL, native. During his senior year at Bloomington High School, he finished third in the "Radio Speaking" division of the state speech contest, the only year he competed.