This article presents a testimony to the late Dr. Thomas P. Carter. Well known for his classic (1970) book, Mexican Americans in School: A History of Educational Neglect, Carter was an activist scholar and pioneer in Mexican American education. His considerable interactions with South Americans, Mexicans, and Mexican Americans served as a…

Reviews investigations of McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities as applicable to Puerto Rican and Mexican American children. Information too limited to draw conclusions regarding Puerto Rican applicability. Scales show promise as intelligence test for Mexican Americans. Recommends further research, especially among special education students.…

Examines the myth that Mexican American children have poor academic achievement because their parents don't value education. Focuses on the myth's origins in "deficit thinking" and concepts of "cultural deprivation" and "at-risk." Examines evidence to the contrary: Mexican Americans' long struggle for equal…

Contests the State of Texas argument in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case that historical discrimination against African Americans and Mexican Americans is unrelated to their TAAS outcomes. Examines contemporary de facto school segregation, distribution of substandard teachers, and the relationship of these factors to student…

Conversations with 19 predominantly Chicano middle-school students labeled "at risk" revealed that students viewed their at-risk status as a source of both shame and unity, thereby reproducing the category on one hand and producing a counterculture to adult world views on the other. A communication perspective on student success offers…

A study investigated 261 Mexican American mothers' estimations of their preschool children's cognitive performance. Existing literature on parental estimations was reviewed. The McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) were administered to 107 boys and 154 girls, ranging from 32 to 75 months of age. The children's mothers were then asked how…

This chapter addresses the Chicano schooling experience by presenting an overview of the conditions and outcomes of Chicano schooling problems. School failure among Chicano students refers to their persistently, pervasively, and disproportionately low academic achievement. For example, in 1979 the average number of years Chicanos remained in…

A persistent problem in U.S. educational research has been how to explain the continuing low performance on standardized tests by certain racial and ethnic minority-group students, such as Chicanos. This chapter identifies abusive practices stemming from standardized testing that help to shape school failure among Chicano students, and discusses…