Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Island Heritage Month is over. But we must not forget to celebrate the emergence of some important history makers in May.
If you did any reading about AANHPIHM, you know that Filipino American labor hero Larry Itliong came from Stockton.
He’s the symbol for the fighting spirit of some teenagers from South Stockton. He’s an inspiration for high school student Rain Romeo, who is one of the students who helped bring down the SAT at the largest public university in the land.
We all know the problem with standardized testing. Tests like the SAT/ACT are discriminatory in nature, failing to reflect a student’s real ability, and advantaging wealthier students who can afford extra-tutoring to game the exam. But until a few weeks ago, the system forced Romeo to live with that discrimination.
“I’m not just a score,” Romeo, a 17- year-old Filipino American student told me recently. She was one of the students who had been asked to testify to the UC regents about the fairness and efficacy of standardized tests.
Recently, the major barrier to Romeo’s hopes and dreams was removed.
In an historic settlement, the UC Regents agreed they would eliminate the SAT and the ACT from admissions and scholarship decisions through 2025.
