A recent U.S. Department of Education study found that African-American preschoolers are suspended or expelled at triple the rate of their white counterparts. From this finding, The Sun concluded that "African-American and minority students as young as 3 or 4 years old are punished more harshly than their white counterparts for similar offenses" ("Kicked out of preschool?" June 8).
Maybe if you read it quickly enough, the tacked-on "for similar offenses" comes across as a simple clarification rather than a grievous error of statistical inference.
What are the individual rates at which blacks and whites commit offenses that require disciplinary action? Without them, there is no way to validate the assertion that such actions are discriminatory in their application.
We must work to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged students in Baltimore and throughout the country. The Sun has helped to arm opponents of the liberal urban agenda, many of whom delight in pointing out instances of facile reasoning in an effort to impugn all initiatives aimed at reform.
John Rigilano