Re: Figures Don't Lie - Iowa Rules! & Warren Buffet

[Monty Neill <monty@FAIRTEST.ORG>]

Don't know about Buffet, but many states do not have high-stakes tests:

18-20 have now a graduatation test; another 4-6 have one on the books
but not actually implemented (e.g., CA, MA). I think 3 now have grade
promo test requirements, couple more on the books to come in later (TX,
OH which is likely to drop it).

About half the states have some kinds of rewards or sanctions for
schools or teachers based all or most all on test scores.

Monty Neill

Mike Kluznik wrote:
>
> Excellent points, Monty.
> Isn't there one state out of the 50 that doesn't use high-stakes testing?
> And isn't that state Nebraska?
> For sake of argument, let's say it is Nebraska.  The latter state is where
> Warren Buffet lives.  He is considered the most succesful investor in
> history.  I recently finished a book about him.  There are many simplistic
> ways of evaluating a company and its stock.  However, Buffet eschews such
> simplistic methods.  He would never judge a company by using only one
> factor.  He looks at a wide variety of factors, including simply whether he
> feels comfortable in evaluating a particular company.  For example, he has
> stayed away from high-tech stocks such as Microsoft, partly because he says
> he simply doesn't understand them.  On the other hand, he understands what
> Dairy Queen is all about, so he bought it.
> When he evaluates a company, he expends a lot of time and energy doing a
> comprehensive and thoughtful analysis.
> I doubt that Warren Buffet would ever evaluate a school based on one set of
> test scores.  In any case, we would do well to incorporate his philosophy
> into evaluating schools.  We should look at many factors.
> When the Why-Aren't-Schools-Run-More-Like-Businesses crowd whines about
> public schools, they conveniently forget about business people like Buffet.
> Good luck on the Today show.
> Mike
> P.S. For those of you who don't know anything about investing, Warrn Buffet
> didn't sing "Margaritaville" and he doesn't wear jeans & loud Hawaain (sp?)
> shirts.  That's his brother Jimmy Buffet.
>
> >From: Monty Neill <monty@FAIRTEST.ORG>
> >Reply-To: Assessment Reform Network Mailing List <ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU>
> >To: ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU
> >Subject: Re: Figures Don't Lie - Iowa Rules!
> >Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 11:46:55 -0500
> >
> >I would not argue causation. Most lower-scoring states with more tests
> >and higher stakes are southern states with historically weaker education
> >systems. They moved to testing to "improve" schools on the cheap (and
> >had state-centralized systems, making it easier to implement), and in
> >some cases leveraged the tests for more money for schools. Improvements
> >have been marginal however, so the point is not that testing causes
> >lower scores in these states but that 1) it does not induce improvement,
> >and 2) why adopt an improvement strategy from states that have the worst
> >systems and can't show improvement on independent measures and have the
> >worst dropout rates?
> >
> >Monty Neill
> >
> >Laura VaN wrote:
> > >
> > > >From: Monty Neill <monty@FAIRTEST.ORG>
> > > >FairTest has also shown that states with less testing and lower stakes
> > > >also tend to make better progress on NAEP than state with more testing
> > > >and higher stakes. Monty Neill
> > >
> > > I wonder whether this is because they don't test, or because their
> > > population is such that they haven't felt the "crises" (real or
> >imagined).
> > > Iowa (the example I know about) I believe still does test the students -
> >and
> > > the test scores come out fairly well so that I wonder if they just
> >haven't
> > > felt the need to attach high stakes to the tests.  MOre simply - is this
> > > causation or correlation?
> > >
> > > remember to speak out again the silencing of dissent
> > > goto http://angelfire.com/fl4/eca
> > >
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