Last week, the state Board of Education passed an academic plan that will set education-performance goals based on race. The strategy, which will be recognized from 2012 to 2018, has sparked controversy by establishing math and reading goals by racial groups, and setting different expectations among them.

According to the Florida Department of Education, as part of the board’s Strategic Plan outline, expectations for proficiency levels in math are listed as 81 percent for Native Americans, 92 percent for Asian students, 80 percent for Hispanics, 86 percent for whites, and 74 percent for African-Americans. The goals for the percentage of students that should be reading at or above grade level is 82 percent for Native Americans, 90 percent for Asian students, 74 percent for African-Americans, 81 percent for Hispanics, and 88 percent for white students.