A documentary
exploring the fairness of educational opportunities for students with racially
and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds will be shown at the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point Tuesday, Feb. 23.
“Tested” will be
shown at 6:30 p.m. in the Dreyfus University Center Theater. It is free and
open to the public. Dr. Curtis Chin, the movie's creator and producer, will
lead a discussion after the screening.
The movie will
help educators and parents better understand the challenges some students and
their families face, said Kym Buchanan, associate dean of the School of
Education at UW-Stevens Point, which is sponsoring the screening along with
student organizations and the UW-Stevens Point Diversity Council. Applying this
lens to area schools and paths to higher education will benefit parents,
students and community members, he said.
“Tested” follows 12
racially and socioeconomically diverse eighth graders as they fight for a seat
at one of New York City’s most elite public high schools. Their only way in is
to ace a single standardized test. African-Americans and Hispanics make up 70
percent of New York City’s school-aged population, but represent less than 5
percent at the city’s most elite public high schools. Meanwhile, Asian
Americans make up as much as 73 percent. The documentary explores access to
high quality public education, affirmative action and the model-minority myth.
Nearly half of
students at UW-Stevens Point are the first generation in their family to attend
college. These issues are relevant to campus and community members who value
first-generation students and want to help them prepare for success, Buchanan
said.
“Education can
transform lives, families and communities,” he said. “Does our system truly
reflect our values? Is our system fair? Are we doing all we can to open opportunity
to all students?”
“Tested”
premiered in November in New York, and was screened at the White House. Chin
has written for shows on ABC, the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon and done projects
for NBC and Fox. His first documentary, “Vincent Who?,” has screened at nearly
400 colleges in four countries and won awards from the National Association for
Multicultural Education and the Asian American Justice Center.
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