Education school professors and others argue against testing teachers. One argument is that minority teachers tend to fail such tests at a higher rate than white teachers. In 1996, a federal judge upheld the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) after a group of minority educators claimed the test was a "discriminatory selection device" that prevented qualified minorities from obtaining a teaching credential. As a result of the suit, state officials removed difficult geometry and algebra questions from the test. In Massachusetts, only 31 percent of African American prospective teachers passed the literacy portion of the test, compared to a 51 percent passing rate for all racial and ethnic groups.
