Want more black doctors? Improve K-12 education first

So you want diversity in California’s top med schools?

Then start by teaching black and brown children — and indeed, all children — to read, write and think.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently accused the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine of race-based discrimination after a four-month investigation.

The DOJ claims that UCSD favors black and Latino students over white and Asian applicants, using a loophole the school created by asking “hardship questions” that reveal racial identity.

The stakes are high. Last year, the National Institutes of Health awarded UCSD over $400 million for research, which could now be at stake, since federal funding requires compliance with federal regulations.  

Here’s a thought: How about helping all students reach high standards, rather than skirting the law to favor some who don’t quite meet the mark?

The DOJ alleges UCSD’s admissions rate for black applicants (6.18%) was almost three times the rate of whites (2.45%), despite lower median grades and Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) scores. While administrators defend what they call “merit-based admissions,” critics have said for years that UC schools have been trying to reinsert race into the process, despite the race-neutral requirements of Proposition 209, passed by California voters in 1996.

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Medical schools in particular should prioritize merit, given the potential impact of less capable doctors on public health.

The problem is larger than UCSD. We as a society are starting too late by focusing on post-secondary education. The core issue is black and brown student achievement in K-12 schools.

American students are reeling from a public-school education system that places the wants of unionized teachers and administrators above the needs of students.

On Monday, the Annie E. Casey Foundation published its childhood wellness report, “The Kids Count Data Book,” spanning 2019-2024. The results are, frankly, shocking. For example, 70% of America’s fourth-graders are not proficient in reading.

The results are even worse in black and Latino communities.

By eighth grade, 90% of black children are not proficient in math at grade level. The national average is 73%.

How can anyone hope to score well on the MCAT when he or she never learned to read at grade level?

The report blames the coronavirus pandemic for the deficits in performance, but left-wing ideology and parental apathy are squarely to blame for the lack of attainment.

It is good to see the DOJ and the Trump administration cracking down on discriminatory practices in higher education.

But without major intervention in K-12 schools, there will continue to be fewer American children prepared to score well on the MCAT, LSAT and other professional entrance exams.

There are many good ideas for reform.

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We should consider shifting away from electronic devices and moving back toward old-fashioned, pencil-and-paper instruction, for instance. We should boost efforts to repair the reading and mathematical deficits stemming from the COVID lockdowns. And we should launch informational campaigns to convince parents to spend more time reading to their children instead of sitting them in front of screens.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see the so-called rock stars of the Democratic Party push these changes?

Presidential hopefuls Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and, ahem, Kamala Harris, could push for reforms and a return to the high educational standards of the past. They already talk about race incessantly. Maybe they could do so in a way that would benefit black and brown children?

Barack and Michelle Obama also could platform this idea on their podcasts and at their newly opened presidential library. 

Hillary “it takes a village” Clinton could call for educational excellence, as well.

If Democrats and others really want to see improvement in the numbers of black and brown doctors, they will start with the youngest children.

Medical school is too late.

Stacy Washington is a decorated Air Force veteran, an Emmy-nominated TV personality and the host of “Stacy on the Right,” which airs nightly 9 p.m. to midnight ET on SiriusXM Patriot Channel 125.