Kati Haycock

Low-income and minority students typically receive the poorest education, argues Kati Haycock in the following viewpoint. Schools attended by minorities and the poor often have unchallenging curricula, underqualified faculty, few instructional resources, and insufficient funding, she reports. Haycock grants that public schools should make high academic standards a priority. However, she contends, poor and minority youth must also receive their fair share of educational resources if public schools intend to benefit all students. Haycock is the director of the Education Trust, a research organization. She is also vice- chair of the Poverty and Race Research Action Council in Washington, D.C.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Haycock, what percentage of science teachers in predominantly minority schools are certified in their field"

2. What percentage of African-American fourth-graders are proficient in...