After California implemented the California Basic Education Skills Test, or CBEST, to make sure that new teachers have attained at least a 10th-grade level in reading, writing, and math skills, the Oakland Alliance of Educators, the Association of Mexican-American Educators, and the California Association for Asian-Pacific Bilingual Education filed a class-action suit against the test, alleging racism. As proof, plaintiffs pointed to statistical disparities of pass rates by ethnic group: only 35 percent of African Americans, 51 percent of Latin Americans, and 59 percent of Asians passed the test the first time, compared with 80 percent of white test-takers. (For testers who take the test two or more times, the numbers are higher: 63 percent of blacks, 86 percent of Latinos, 84 percent of Asians, and 96 percent of whites.)

One of the suit's star plaintiffs was Sara Boyd, an African-American former teacher and guidance counselor retired from her job as vice principal of Menlo-Atherton High School. The suit cited Boyd's many awards and accolades as proof that she was a solid educator as well as "an extra-sensitive conduit and role model for the school's large minority student population," even though she flunked the test four times.

In a videotaped deposition with Lawrence Ashe, who defended the test, Boyd mentioned that 6 out of 80 teachers at her school were black—1 or 2 percent by her estimation. Then she realized that, in fact, 8 teachers were black.

"So, in fact, 10 percent of the faculty is African American?" Ashe responded.
"No," Boyd countered.
"What percent of 80 is 8?" Ashe asked Boyd.
For some time Boyd was silent, then: "Can you rephrase that? I'm drawing a blank here."

The question was rephrased and Boyd answered "That's about 1 percent."

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