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Letters, June 21 By Mail Tribune readers Updated: Jun 21, 2021 04:43 PM A A Woke education: the new norm Oregonian reporter Betsy Hammond’s “State’s math, writing proficiency rules changing” outlines the goal of education policy by quoting directly from new legislation: “Ensuring that the processes and outcomes related to the requirements for high school diplomas are equitable, accessible, and inclusive.” The key word is “equity,” which Oregon Senate Bill 582 defines as “the redistribution of resources, power, and opportunity to communities most impacted by systemic oppression.” Equal outcome, not equal opportunity is the goal — using legislative force, presumably. Here is the underlying problem: Students of African and Latin American ancestry (“the oppressed”) disproportionately underperform on such proficiency tests as compared to those of Asian and European ancestry (“the oppressors”). The same is true of raw intelligence tests (IQ or “g”), which also show significant gaps: With the average being 100, the median score for Asians is 108, Europeans 103, Latin Americans 94, and Africans 91. These gaps have persisted for decades despite massive efforts to reduce them through government intervention and trillions of dollars invested. Pro-equity legislators Pam Marsh and Jeff Golden need to tell us what new strategy they have devised to improve cognitive skills. Robby Zuwadza Ashland