EDDEFORM 7/6 S**T HITS THE FAN IN ALASKA BERGESON '92 Arthur Hu's Education Deform / Diversity Update Posted 7/6/2000 http://www.leconsulting.com/arthurhu/2000/07/eddef05.txt to view archives and mailing list: To subscribe, send a message to wa-ed-deform-subscribe@egroups.com or go to http://www.egroups.com/list/wa-ed-deform Unsubscribe message to: wa-ed-deform-unsubscribe@eGroups.com email arthurhu@halcyon.com index www.leconsulting.com/arthurhu/edreform.htm email if you need and I have complete text of these articles z43\clipim\2000\07\03\alaska\alaska.htm PARENTS: EXIT EXAM UNFAIR SOME SAY DISABLED STUDENTS DON'T HAVE CHANCE AT DIPLOMA By Rosemary Shinohara Achorage Daily News (Published July 3, 2000) Neal Lefler reached Page 10 in the reading section of the Alaska high school exit exam before frustration overcame him. A 3-year-old state law requires that all students pass tests in reading, writing and math to graduate, beginning with the Class of 2002. The tests measure whether students have mastered material required by the Alaska Board of Education. If students fail the tests, they'll leave school with certificates of attendance rather than diplomas. SAN FRANCISCO, LOS ANGELES TEACHERS UNIONS CONDEMN HIGH STAKES TESTS Sent: Sunday, July 02, 2000 8:58 PM This resolution was written by UESF President Kent Mitchell and passed by the United Educators of San Francisco: Whereas California has adopted the Stanford 9 as the essential component of the STAR testing program, and Whereas the STAR testing program is being used for school ranking and grade level promotions, and Whereas serious questions exist regarding the reliability of said tests, and Whereas serious questions exist regarding the test's freedom from bias, especially as it relates to English Language learners and children of poverty, and Whereas serious questions exist regarding the validity of such high-stakes exams as a measure of accountability for an entire educational program, and Whereas the Stanford 9 and other similar standardized tests are not aligned with the California State Standards nor with curriculum and Therefore be it resolved that UESF work with school communities, parents, labor, and other educator locals to build a state-wide coalition to oppose the use of standardized tests such as the Stanford 9 high-stakes exam. and MOTION INTRODUCED BY COALITION FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE THAT OVERWHELMINGLY PASSED UNITED TEACHERS-LA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON FEBRUARY 9, 2000 >> Whereas the UTLA House of Representatives has already taken a stand against norm-referenced standardized tests in general, and the Stanford 9 test in particular, Whereas norm-referenced tests such as the Stanford 9 are culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically biased, Whereas test and drill preparation for the Stanford 9 takes valuable time away from more academically enriching educational activities, Whereas the Stanford 9 test is not aligned with the California curriculum And whereas the California state legislature is developing an Academic Performance Index using the Stanford 9 test as an academic measure to rank schools against each other and to determine various rewards and sanctions, including reconstitution, And whereas LAUSD is proposing to use the Stanford 9 in the future as one criterion for student retention, leading to race and class biased retention and higher student drop-out rates, Be it resolved that UTLA opposes the continued use of the Stanford 9 test as a measure of student achievement in California and in LAUSD, Be it further resolved that UTLA work with our state affiliates, parent groups and community organizations to demand a District-wide waiver from the Stanford 9 and lobby for replacing it with authentic, performance based instruments that more accurately assess student learning, Be it further resolved that UTLA work with teachers, parent groups, and community organizations to disseminate information about individual student waivers from the Stanford 9, and facilitate collecting those waivers from interested parties, Be it further resolved that UTLA ensure that students and schools not be penalized in any way for submitting waivers from the Stanford 9,and that intervention programs such as tutoring be open to all, not dependent on whether or not a student takes the Stanford 9 test, Be it further resolved that UTLA and its allies lobby to rechannel the funding for merit scholarships based on Stanford 9 scores to tutoring and other intervention programs for students in need. LAKE WASHINGTON TECH STUDENTS HELP SEQUENCE HUMAN GENOME(???) z43\clipim\2000\07\03\biotech.efx Biotechnology class first to map specific DNA sequence. Juanita High School's _vocational_ biotechnology class recently completed its contributio to the U Washington's Human Genome Project by sequencing a human genome that had never been mapped before... Everything we do fits into the essentials of learning by integrating the questions relating to science literacy, ethical issues, genetics and leadership into the classroom setting (I don't like the sound of this...) ARIZONA TO SCRAP FALL AIMS TO GET RID OF HIGHER ORDER MATH Jul 1st, 2000 edition of The Arizona Republic online, http://www.arizonarepublic.com Curiouser and curiouser State may cancel fall AIMS test The controversial AIMS graduation test needs so many changes that this fall's exam may be scrapped. http://www.arizonarepublic.com/cgi-bin/gp.php3?f=/news/articles/0701aims01.html FLA TEST IS F(*&)(*&ED UP State inquiry will examine reading scores By TONI MARSHALL Web-posted: 1:03 a.m. July 1, 2000 The state inspector general is investigating the results of a national assessment test in which Florida's ninth- and 10th-grade reading scores were so abnormal that Education Commissioner Tom Gallagher deemed them unusable. State education officials refused to release the results of the Stanford Achievement Test, also called the Florida Norm Reference Test. They would not explain the problem with the results. 80% FAILURE RATE - CHICAGO CHARTER REQUIRES PORTFOLIOS TO GRADUATE z43\priv\2000\07\defend.txt http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/nation-world/html98/deff30_20000630.html June 30, 2000 Seattle Times At Chicago school, students must defend their work -- or risk failure Lekeisha will graduate today along with just six of her classmates. The 25 other eighth-graders at the school will be held back, mainly because they failed to keep detailed portfolios of their work since sixth grade. FOUND THE 1992 VOTERS GUIDE BERGESON VS. JUDITH BILLINGS Judith Billings Nonpartisan Campaign Address: Friends of Education for Judith Billings P.O. Box 2937 Olympia, WA 98507 Telephone: (206) 754-3559 Judith Billings is our state's most effective advocate for all children. As Superintendent of Public lnstruction, Judith is leading the movement to reform education and adequately fund schools. Judith's leadership has resulted in: reduced class size for elementary schools, early intervention services for kindergarten through grade six, more dropout prevention and drug abuse education, and the largest increases in funding for education programs in twelve years. Judith has also pushed hard to move decision making from the state to local districts. Perhaps Judith's most valuable accomplishment has been in convincing educators and politicians that together we must deal with the whole child. To earn well, children must be healthy, loved and free from violence. Each child's individual intellectual, social and physical needs must be met so that child to learn and prepare for a productive life. Judith has spent thirty years in education at the local, state and federal levels, including thirteen as a classroom teacher with at risk children. She is also an attorney. She is endorsed by the State Labor Council, the Washington Education Association and leading business people and educators Judith and her husband, Don, live in Pierce County. They have four children and seven grandchildren. Teresa "Terry" BERGESON Nonpartisan Campaign Address: The Terry Bergeson Campaign P.0. Box 19577 Seattle, WA 98109 Telephone: (206) 728-9713 The quality of education will. determine the quality of our State's future. I have a vision of what schools can and must be and the experience to lead education into the 21 stCentury. As SPI, I will build consensus on education reform [boy you can say that again] and unify parents, educators, students [against me by 2000], business and community leaders [brainwash them] around the plan we build to achieve it. The goal is clear. We must prepare our children to live, learn, and work successfully in our changing world. They must learn the traditional basics of reading, writing and mathematics and the new basics of thinking, relating and planning. [that's now 3 Rs = representing, relating and reasoning] Education must change to meet this goal. I am running to lead the change, to cut SPI bureaucracy [haha], to help [coerce] local districts, and to free educators [imprison them with wasl] to teach. During my 28 years as a teacher, guidance counselor, organizational leader, and administrator, I have seen the power of public schools to change children's lives [yeah, the WASL will sure do that]. Despite the challenges, we will work together creatively, we can motivate [with sticks instead of carrots] and equip all children to [struggle] succeed. In its endorsement, the Seattle Times stated, "Bergeson has the dynamic personality of both a leader and consensus builder. Terry Bergeson offers the best hope of making statewide school reform possible." Does anybody know why Bergeson would have bothered to challenge such a nearly identically pro-reform established position? Is it pure ambition? Sharon Santos says she thought Billings had some ethics issues (I guess like The Desk) Bergeson '92 sounds almost exactly like Bergeson today, pure OBE new think. GETTYSBURGH SPACE NEEDLE BLOWN UP BY EMINENT DOMAIN Monday July 3 7:56 PM ET Gettysburg Tower Demolished on 137th Battle Anniversary Reuters Photo (real nice photo on yahoo) GETTYSBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - A modern battle of Gettysburg ended with the blast of demolition charges on Monday, as the U.S. government leveled a 330-foot steel observation tower long criticized as an eyesore on the landscape of the Civil War battlefield. On the 137th anniversary of the battle's final day, U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt ordered artillery units dressed in Confederate and Union uniforms to fire blank rounds just before rapid-fire explosions toppled the 26-year-old National Gettysburg Battlefield Tower in front of a crowd of hooting preservationists. The National Park Service, which acquired the site last month through eminent domain, said the demolition would help return the park to what it looked like on July 3, 1863 Former owner Thomas Ottenstein of Washington, DC, who had overcome several attempts to close his business, was not on hand to witness its destruction. HERE! HERE! But his attorney, Irwin Aronson, termed the demolition an abuse of government authority. ``So what if they get their kicks out of destroying people's jobs, crushing a local tax base, cheating school children of an educational experience and ... arrogantly exploding a man's life work,'' the attorney said, ``they won.'' The government has offered to pay $3 million in compensation for the tower TERRY BERGESON'S ISLAND Arthur Hu for SPI 2000 with apologies to whoever owns the rights to G.I. Imagine an episode of Gilligan's Island where Terry Bergeson washes ashore. She determines that the reason they can't get off the island is that the castaways, especially Gilligan haven't learned world class skills for the 21st Century. So she organizes the Gilligan's Island Assessment of Skills, and puts together a committee to create a test of what "every castaway must know and be able to do". Every member must pass a test set to the highest island standards. The science and math test must be as good as the Professor, while seamanship must be as good as the captain, to pass you must be as polite and bake pies as well as Mary Ann, as proficient in economics and finance as Mr Howell, and as politically correct and cultured as Mrs Howell, and as talented in the arts as Ginger. As you can imagine, poor Gilligan starts boning up on calculus, physics, singing, acting, navigation, and stock markets, but for some reason, he still can't figure out the test that Bergeson has concocted. The professor comes up short in singing, the Captain can't figure out stocks, Ginger isn't any good at history, etc. When the big test day comes, Gilligan predictably gets the worst score. But then he asks what the right answers are, and Bergeson admits she doesn't know either. Everybody realizes that instead of saving them, they've turned the island into an academic sweatshop with Terry as the unofficial dictator of what everyone must do, and they drive her off the island on the same raft she floated in on. Inside the AFT Convention--July 3, 2000 REFINE, REINVIGORATE STANDARDS-BASED REFORM, SAYS RILEY z43\clip\2000\07\aft.txt Simply staying the course on standards-based reform isn't enough, U.S. education secretary Richard Riley told an AFT convention audience on July 3. The time has come to refine and reinvigorate the entire movement, he said. Speaking at the K-12 teachers divisional meeting, Riley reiterated his call for states to review their reform efforts in five key areas. First, states must guarantee that their efforts to raise standards include a dialogue with educators and parents. Second, they must adopt standards that are both challenging and realistic. Third, states must insist that assessments are linked to high standards and a curriculum actually used in the classroom. SEATTLE SEA BASHES OLCHEFSKE'S STANDARDS Unity (Seattle NEA) November 24, 1999 Administration and staff scrutinize Standards implementation 86 people attended the “Listening Session” on November 8 about the Standards implementation. Many participants admitted they feel monumental stress and also feel unsupported in the Standards process. The pace and depth of the changes overwhelms them. http://www.wa.nea.org/INFO/ORGNZTN/SEAHomepage/Unity/Unity10_10.htm Seattle Rethinking Schools Group Teachers in the Seattle area have recently started a Rethinking Schools group. The discussions have included education's connections to globalization (WTO) and the impact of state-wide testing. We meet the first Monday of the month from 6 - 8 p.m. for a potluck and discussion. Members are interested in discussing curriculum development, taking an active role in our union, and sponsoring workshops. We often use current or past issues of Rethinking Schools as a springboard for discussion. For more information contact: Sarah Heller McFarland shmcfar@cmc.net or Wayne Au shimau@earthlink.net. IMMIGRANTS DO NOT DISPLACE BLACKS FROM COLLEGE It is commonly warned that the waves of immigrants, especially Asians are taking college spots away from African Americans, however the truth is that even though Hispanics have increased by 3 times, and Asians by 4 times since 1976, African Americans have increased by half from a population that has stayed virtually the same. By contrast, whites have only increased by 12%. From Digest of education statistics 1999 http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2000/digest99/d99t209.html \doc\web\2000\07\racecoll.wk1 Table 209.--Total fall enrollment in institutions of higher education and degree-granting institutions, by type and control of institution and race/ethnicity of student: 1976 to 1997 Blacks in college up by 50% Blacks Hispanics up 3X and Asians 4x | | Institutions of higher education, in thousands Increase _ Type and control of institution | g and race/ethnicity of student | 76-97 \ |___________________________________________________________ _ | 1976 | 1980 | 1990 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 ___________________________________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________ _ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 ___________________________________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________ _ All students | | | | | | Total ............................|10,985.6 |12,086.8 |13,818.6 |14,261.8 |14,300.3 |14,345.4 131% White, non-Hispanic ...............| 9,076.1 | 9,833.0 |10,722.5 |10,311.2 |10,226.0 |10,160.9 112% Total minority ....................| 1,690.8 | 1,948.8 | 2,704.7 | 3,496.2 | 3,609.3 | 3,723.2 220% Black, non-Hispanic .............| 1,033.0 | 1,106.8 | 1,247.0 | 1,473.7 | 1,499.4 | 1,532.8 148% Hispanic ........................| 383.8 | 471.7 | 782.4 | 1,093.8 | 1,152.2 | 1,200.1 313% Asian or Pacific Islander .......| 197.9 | 286.4 | 572.4 | 797.4 | 823.6 | 851.5 430% American Indian/Alaskan Native ..| 76.1 | 83.9 | 102.8 | 131.3 | 134.0 | 138.8 182% Nonresident alien .................| 218.7 | 305.0 | 391.5 | 454.4 | 464.9 | 461.3 211%