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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Stereotypes could harm black kids’ chances of success

Teresa Mask Knight Ridder

DETROIT –A young lady named LaQuenya was valedictorian at Detroit’s Central High School this year. Nakeisha was ranked No. 2. And Thornisha, Qualisha and Demario also received top honors at their schools.

But recently released research suggests these students weren’t likely to be so successful academically.

While previous studies have indicated that names play a role in whether some black people get a job interview or are promoted, this new one argues that names –particularly those given to black children –are one reason for the minority achievement gap.

The work by University of Florida economist David Figlio reveals that a child’s name could, in some cases, be linked to poor performance in reading and math.

“My initial reaction was that’s probably a little bit of nonsense,” said Percy Bates, a professor of education at the University of Michigan. “The thing with research is, if you do it long enough, everything relates to something.”

Figlio’s work is extensive and involves siblings –one with a European-sounding name and the other with a more creative name. The one with a traditional name nearly always fared better academically, he said. His research was based on 24,298 families with two or more children in one Florida school district.

The study, done from 1994-95 to 2000-01, was published in March in the National Bureau of Economic Research.

It’s not the name itself that causes poor grades, Figlio said. It’s the impression it gives educators who –biased by the names’ uniqueness and their own stereotypes about parents who would bestow such names on a child –don’t set high goals for the children.

Figlio said some teachers internalize black-sounding names to mean the parents aren’t educated and as a result are poor. He used a complex formula measuring names, poverty level and academic achievement, and his research attributes at least 15 percent of the black-white student achievement gap to low expectations from teachers based on names. Figlio wouldn’t provide names as part of an agreement with the district whose students he sampled. But he said names in question often begin with prefixes such “lo-” “ta-” and “qua-” or end with suffixes like “-isha” and “-ious.” He said the names often have an apostrophe or are unusually long with several consonants.

But he said: “I view this creative naming tradition as a really interesting and beautiful outgrowth of a longstanding African American tradition of improvisation –the same traditions that spawned R&B and jazz .”

But not everyone embraces the creative effort, he said.

“I’ve talked to teacher friends and small focus groups and to teachers. Every one of them either immediately or later on said, ‘I’ve had a student in my class, and I was thinking to myself, ‘What was the parent thinking?’ or `I felt sorry for them because of their name.’ And `What do you expect with a name like that?’ And these are among the most talented people I know,” Figlio said.

Teachers are exposed to students with some very nontraditional names on a regular basis. “I had a student last year whose name was Courvoisier,” said William Gardner, a teacher at Malcolm X Academy in Detroit, referring to a brand name of a cognac. “But academically he did well.”

Detroit resident Valerie Sherald, named so because she was born on Valentine’s Day, applauds anyone who takes a stab at a creative name for his or her children but said not everything is totally acceptable.

She took time to make sure her daughters’ names sounded nice and looked good in print. Her daughters: 12-year-old honor student Shalice Joi’ Nell and 2-year-old Samia Lelar-Monique have names that will allow them to stand out.

“I think your name reflects you. These had deep meaning for me, and I like the way they looked,” she said.

Jermia Jardin, a 16-year-old B-student at Detroit’s Cass Tech said she’s never felt discriminated against because of her name. “I think it all has to do with your personality,” she said, adding that her name was derived from her mother’s desire to stick with “J” names. Her older brothers are Jermaine and Jeremy.

The desire to be creative is what drives most people to give their child a nontraditional name, said names expert Cleveland Kent Evans, who teaches psychology at Nebraska’s Bellevue University.

He said for black people, the movement was most recognized in the 1960s, though it had started earlier.

“They started to search out real African-language names instead of just created names,” he said.

Michigan State University professor Patricia Edwards said even if there is no academic link, a person’s name definitely triggers a first impression. Why not make it a positive one? she asks.

“To be honest, I sometimes myself think, `What were they thinking?”’ she said. “And teachers think it’s ridiculous. Sometimes children are not taken seriously.”

Chensia Jackson, 17, who has been queried about her name for as long as she can remember, said academic success is usually tied to the student’s desire to succeed.

The 2005 valedictorian from Mumford High School in Detroit said, “From my experience, it’s how you present yourself and your attitude. If you’re not putting in the effort, they’re not going to put in the effort.”