I am posting this on the 4th of July because it is about one of the most offensive state policies I have seen in many years.

According to the Tuscaloosa News, Alabama has created “Plan 2020,” which sets different goals and academic accountability standards based on race, disability, and economic status. This is in contrast to the unrealistic goals of No Child Left Behind, which demanded that all children reach “proficient” on state tests.

These are the percentages of third-graders expected to pass math in their subgroups for 2013 are:

– 93.6 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander students.

– 91.5 percent of white students.

– 90.3 percent of American Indian students.

– 89.4 percent of multiracial students.

– 85.5 percent of Hispanic students.

– 82.6 percent of students in poverty.

– 79.6 percent of English language-learner students.

– 79 percent of black students.

– 61.7 percent of special needs students.

The response of parents who were quoted in the article was eloquent and pointed:

“Some parents and community activists say Plan 2020’s “race-based” standards unfairly set low expectations for black, Hispanic, English language-learner, impoverished and special needs students.

“I think having a low bar means they can just pass them on,” said Tim Robinson, the father of two black children who attend Alberta Elementary and Englewood Elementary. “I think it’s dumbing our race down and preparing our boys for prison.

“The teachers aren’t even going to teach all of them anymore. Not the black boys and girls. And if we sit by and let this happen, it’s on us.”

Andrea Alston, the mother of a black student with special needs who’s transferring from Central High School to Pleasant Grove High School, said she knew about Plan 2020 but had heard nothing about the plan’s accountability standards by subgroup. She said school systems should have notified parents of the change.

“If this was of value and interest to the parents, why didn’t local school boards tell this to the parents?” she said. “Plan 2020 says it’s going to close the achievement gap and every student is going to graduate, but how is this going to benefit that?”

Nirmala Erevelles, the mother of a Woodland Forrest Elementary student who is of mixed race, said she doesn’t think the new accountability system is fair.

“I’m not sure what’s the science behind this,” she said. “The science of knowing that only a certain percentage of black kids or other kids are going to pass this. Evaluation measures should be individualized to kids’ needs, strengths and weaknesses. Standardized tests don’t do that, and using another type of standardized test won’t necessarily take care of kids’ needs.”

The last parent is exactly right. “What’s the science behind this?” Why are standardized tests being used this way? There is no science behind it. Every child is a unique individual. Every child deserves equality of educational opportunity.

Plan 2020 is accountability run amok. Tests should be used diagnostically, to provide the support that children and teachers need.

The state of Alabama should ditch the race-based, economic-based, disability-based goals and focus instead on one central American idea: Equality of educational opportunity for every child.