SAT Bronx: Do You Know What Bronx Kids Know?

Get out your Number 2 pencils! What do inner-city teenagers know that the rest of us may not? What can they do that others might find daunting? What can we all learn, from thinking through the issues that confront urban youth at school and in their neighborhoods? SAT Bronx aims to find out, by framing the words and experiences of fourteen Bronx high school students in the form of standardized test passages. To answer its multiple-choice questions (co-constructed with two of the students teachers and with Kathleen Cushman of What Kids Can Do), one must analyze complex matters of culture, language, behavior, even governmental policy. On this test, the only way to get the right answers is to pay close attention to the words, experiences, and perspectives of its young co-authors. Taking SAT Bronx opens important conversations about multiculturalism and equity, knowledge and skills, and the assumptions that underlie our thinking about urban youth. Discussion questions for both youth and adults follow each section. SAT Bronx developed as a collaborative project of What Kids Can Do, Inc. with generous support from Adobe Youth Voices, a global network of educators and youth who share their ideas, concerns, and aspirations using Adobe's media tools.