Washington State’s reforms copied Kentucky, a lower ranking state …??
April 17, 2010
Interesting background information about Kentucky’s involvement with Washington State education “reform”. From commentary in the 2001-2002 session of the Washington State Legislature regarding the A+ commission from the 2001-2002 legislative session. This bill was not passed.
By Cris Shardelman
Feb. 4, 1993, the Seattle PI had an article which stated Washington State was patterning education reform after Kentucky. It further revealed Kentucky ranked 39th on national tests, whereas Washington ranked 25th, and that Kentucky might not know any results either way for decades. We met the goal of ed reform. Washington now ranks 39th (Kentucky ranks 38th now) and it has only cost us $ 1 billion to meet this goal. Who should be held responsible for making OBE mandatory for all school districts in Washington? The parents didn’t ask for it, neither did the students or teachers. We must hold the legislators accountable before Washington waits decades for results. Students who leave public schools for private or homeschooling generally improve academically in a few months. OBE, under many names, has caused educational failure for decades. It has never improved education anywhere.
Both versions still include the A+ Commission in the line of governance of education along with elected officials, even though they aren´t elected, and can´t be recalled. To whom are the A+ Commission members accountable? If the the A+ Commission and the SPI determine the state shall takeover a district, and replace all the educators, has anyone considered who will staff the schools? We are told there is a teacher shortage now. Paul Allen is quite anxious for his Edison Project to run the schools, even as Edison is being thrown out of many districts nationwide. If Edison is selected, think of the possibilities. Edison has invested in Allen’s on-line courses and assessments. Parents will really be left in the dark, with no textbooks to look at. Obviously on–line courses don’t require as many teachers, only facilitators. Perhaps this is the reason the bills redefine common schools.
The language that allows SB5625´s provisions to supersede any existing statutes that are contrary to the Act still exist. What a clever way to get rid of parents rights or remove the authority of the elected school board. According to the bill, even existing goals of HB 1209 can be revised, new goals added, and additional penalties beyond the punitative ones written in the legislation may be added.
The system of rewards and penalties is still based on the subjective WASL which can never be fair or provide equal opportunity for students. The WASL, unlike a test which has right and wrong answers, relies heavily on essays. The essays are subject to the bias of the grader. Nor is the evidence restored to the educators as required by HB 1209. Students may fail to receive the Certificate of Mastery; educators may lose their jobs and pensions; taxpayers may lose the local schools they have purchased to the state, all based on the WASL. Citizens should be outraged enough to contact their Senators and Representatives, or better yet, show up Tuesday morning. Patterning after a state that ranked lower than Washington looked like planned failure. How much lower must our scores go before legislators recognize this OBE education reform was a mistake that needs to be corrected?
Tags: Kentucky, WASL, accountable, certificate of mastery, reform
Interesting background information about Kentucky’s involvement with Washington State education “reform”. From commentary in the 2001-2002 session of the Washington State Legislature regarding the A+ commission from the 2001-2002 legislative session. This bill was not passed.
By Cris Shardelman
Feb. 4, 1993, the Seattle PI had an article which stated Washington State was patterning education reform after Kentucky. It further revealed Kentucky ranked 39th on national tests, whereas Washington ranked 25th, and that Kentucky might not know any results either way for decades. We met the goal of ed reform. Washington now ranks 39th (Kentucky ranks 38th now) and it has only cost us $ 1 billion to meet this goal. Who should be held responsible for making OBE mandatory for all school districts in Washington? The parents didn’t ask for it, neither did the students or teachers. We must hold the legislators accountable before Washington waits decades for results. Students who leave public schools for private or homeschooling generally improve academically in a few months. OBE, under many names, has caused educational failure for decades. It has never improved education anywhere.
Both versions still include the A+ Commission in the line of governance of education along with elected officials, even though they aren´t elected, and can´t be recalled. To whom are the A+ Commission members accountable? If the the A+ Commission and the SPI determine the state shall takeover a district, and replace all the educators, has anyone considered who will staff the schools? We are told there is a teacher shortage now. Paul Allen is quite anxious for his Edison Project to run the schools, even as Edison is being thrown out of many districts nationwide. If Edison is selected, think of the possibilities. Edison has invested in Allen’s on-line courses and assessments. Parents will really be left in the dark, with no textbooks to look at. Obviously on–line courses don’t require as many teachers, only facilitators. Perhaps this is the reason the bills redefine common schools.
The language that allows SB5625´s provisions to supersede any existing statutes that are contrary to the Act still exist. What a clever way to get rid of parents rights or remove the authority of the elected school board. According to the bill, even existing goals of HB 1209 can be revised, new goals added, and additional penalties beyond the punitative ones written in the legislation may be added.
The system of rewards and penalties is still based on the subjective WASL which can never be fair or provide equal opportunity for students. The WASL, unlike a test which has right and wrong answers, relies heavily on essays. The essays are subject to the bias of the grader. Nor is the evidence restored to the educators as required by HB 1209. Students may fail to receive the Certificate of Mastery; educators may lose their jobs and pensions; taxpayers may lose the local schools they have purchased to the state, all based on the WASL. Citizens should be outraged enough to contact their Senators and Representatives, or better yet, show up Tuesday morning. Patterning after a state that ranked lower than Washington looked like planned failure. How much lower must our scores go before legislators recognize this OBE education reform was a mistake that needs to be corrected?
Tags: Kentucky, WASL, accountable, certificate of mastery, reform