Re: [arn-l Digest] Vol. 3 No. 440 Messages: 6

[monicalucido@comcast.net]

Art,
       First off, I give Bill Gates credit for his vision of business success. He has obviously been a major force in that arena. However, he and others from the corporate world are NOT teachers. They pretend to have the knowledge of how to reach students by using the business strategy of starting with a raw material, assembling it, and then testing it at the end for quality control before releasing it to the public.  Many of these new charter schools and special schools that are contracted with the private sector are experiments to create the best "products".  The message to us as a community of citizens by them is that students are the same way.  That schools are a business designed to output  a product. Thus, if the "product" comes out faulty, it must be the error of whomever is running that "business".  Children are often viewed by the corporate sector as items to be developed, such that then they can be used later to further the CEO's bottom line. The large corporations  are n
ot concerned about the weak, ignored, poor children out of the goodness of their hearts. They are concerned about  economic misfortune. They have a financial stake that they are protecting. Comparitively, teachers do not. They get no financial windfall from their profession. Let's be real about interests. Most teachers get into the profession because of the LOVE of seeing children grow and LOVE learning, and thus succeeding.  That is what drives them. At their core, they are not seeking to provide a product to the private sector.  Now, if a student  through their educational career has experienced many types of learning so that they have a created a vision for how they see THEMSELVES contributing to society,  teachers  would support that because it acknowledges a students FREE WILL and creativity.  
           I personally believe that it is that free choice to make one's career decisions which makes our country special, not to be cordoned off into one corner of the world market.  Look at the overwhelming desire lately to produce scientists and mathematicians.  The business world seeks to reap from schools what it perceives it currently lacks (and maybe if they didn't outsource everyone to save a profit, they would have some left). The motivation is out of FEAR, not  the students' personal well beings.  That fear is then translated to schools where then corporate supported programs (many NOT based on real research with real kids)  are forced to be used.  Many of these programs do not serve students effectively, are used in the poorest schools, and thus there IS unfairness in learning created because of the damage caused by them. The goal of equality amongst schools is a constant in most of your messages, yet you must acknowledge that human beings are at the center of the teach
ing-learning process. No one teacher with one class is perfectly equal another, although we all desire to be the best we can be. Using standardized tests as a form of "quality control" is foolish and does not address what professional lacking there may be. Currently these tests ARE a huge part of the problem because they constantly focus on output, while never addressing the input. They are a twisted, unproven research experiment that within themselves ask,"What can be done to get the kids to pass this test?", instead of,  "What can be done to have the kids show the mastery of what they've learned?" These questions do not ask the same thing, although I don't think you have the overall perspective to see it.
      I will not be ignorant enough to say that all teachers are created equal. However, it is in the process of growth during each year of teaching and experience with each different class that one develops those skills. In Japan, the use of Lesson Study has happened for over a hundred years. The symbiotic realtionship of teaching and learning between teacher and student has made theirs a very effective educational system. The teachers plan lessons months in advance and collaborate hours upon hours to anticipate student responses, and possible errors. The lesson is then taught, and it is the reaction of the STUDENTS that are observed to see if they "got" it. No lesson is perfect, but their focus is not on the perfection. It is on the reaction of the kids towards mastery. Then they go back, hone it down, and reteach it to a different class. After years and years of this, it is the TEACHERS' lessons, as a result of REAL learning, that are published as the text books for all in Japan
 to use.  There are no Harcourts or McGraw-Hills or Houghton Mifflins. The kids in Japan are tested twice in their career. TWICE. Once to get into high school, and once for college placement. It IS possible, and absolutely essential, to have the teaching professional at the center of the assessment and curriculum making process.  Those same professionals are very highly regarded in that country and respected for what they do in the classroom. Research Nebraska's STARS assessment program for even more evidence of teacher involvement in state assessment here in the U.S.

             While I agree that students need to be educated fairly, WHEN they are educated there needs to be multiple measures of the assessment of their experience. Teachers have to be a part of it, and it cannot be driven by those whose professional expertise lies elsewhere. NCLB, while its intent was for equality, has caused more inequality. Spellings comment that "improving the learning environment" is vague, shows her ignorance, when in fact the learning environment of the classroom is everything.  Setting "targets" and looking for "results" has to be anecdotal and not just numerical. This concept is HARD to accomplish. Not easy, and not easy for politicians who have no experience in the teaching field to grasp. And so they take the easy way. It is the corporate ideology of quality control by use of continual testing without looking at how the children learn best. This backwards thinking must be addressed to see real improvements in the balance of learning for children of var
ious backgrounds.

Joe
 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: arn-l-owner@interversity.org
> ARN-L Daily Digest 
> Volume 3 : Issue 440 : "text" Format
> 
> Messages in this Issue:
>   200706/51 : Re: [arn-l Digest] Vol. 3 No. 438 Messages: 6
>     aburke5054
>   200706/52 : Spelings Press Release on  FEA Recommendations
>     Tauna Rogers
>   200706/53 : Bunkum Awards #2 (was Education Research by Conservative Think
>  Tanks)
>     Richard Hake
>   200706/54 : Fwd: Article from CongressNow on NCLB - mentions FEA- see below
>     monty
>   200706/55 : Re: Fwd: Article from CongressNow on NCLB - mentions FEA- see 
> below
>     Tauna Rogers
>   200706/56 : Re: Fwd: Article from CongressNow on NCLB - mentions FEA- see 
> below
>     aburke5054
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:15:42 -0400
> From: aburke5054@aol.com
> To: arn-l@interversity.org
> Subject: Re: [arn-l Digest] Vol. 3 No. 438 Messages: 6
> Message-ID: <8C97CA5A03C93E4-18DC-BA1@mblk-d19.sysops.aol.com>
> 
> 
>  Gates also said that Americans should make changes in our school system because 
> our system serves some children much better than others and justice and fairness 
> demand that we do a better job for those under-served children.  I guess you 
> just missed that part.
> Â   
> Art
> 
> 
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: monicalucido@comcast.net
> To: arn-l@interversity.org; arn-l@interversity.org
> Cc: arn-l-owner@interversity.org
> Sent: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:50 pm
> Subject: Re: [arn-l] [arn-l Digest] Vol. 3 No. 438 Messages: 6
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hello everyone. I sent this in to many nationwide newspapers as an op-ed piece. 
> I don't know if it will be printed, but I hope it speaks the truth to you all.
> 
>                                                            A Call for the 
> Protection of the Innocents
> 
> 
> 
>          A war is coming. This battle is currently silent to the general public, 
> and yet it will rage with the intensity of a mass forest fire. Except this 
> inferno will be poised to consume public education, a cornerstone to our 
> democracy. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), with testing as its oppressive 
> tool, has left the door open to those that would abuse the school system: 
> corporate America. Privatizing education would mean billions in tax dollars for 
> them and a nonstop business training ground. The cost for U.S. citizens? Our 
> children.
>     The current fear based message by big business is that schools are not being 
> productive enough for their tastes. It is the frightening notice sent by CEOâ??s 
> such as Bill Gates and Eli Broad that as a nation we are competitively and 
> economically falling behind the rest of the world. Yet in an interview on 
> National Public Radio, Vivek Wadwha from Duke University, addresses a study that 
> was done there that refutes Gatesâ?? claims that there are not enough highly 
> skilled engineers to support the high-tech industry. He stated,â?? We researched 
> exactly what was going on in India and China and the USA. We looked at the 
> graduation rates of all three countries. What we found was that India and China 
> have no real advantage in the quantity or the quality of the graduates they 
> produce. In fact, the USA is far ahead by almost any milestone. We also asked 
> companies why theyâ??re going overseas and the number 1 reason was cost, cost, 
> cost. Itâ??s not about a deficiency in the U.S. worker or shortag
>  e over
>  here. Itâ??s about the economic benefit that they get in India and China.â??
>     The report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, 
> â??Tough Choices or Tough Timesâ??,  is supported by many CEOâ??s.  The report 
> suggests that public schools could be overseen by private companies and that 
> students, when reaching tenth grade, will be directionalized using a 
> standardized test to see if they can stay in school, or pushed to move to the 
> private sector to work.  If they pass, they can go to a university. There will 
> be very little choice in the matter. Researcher Dr. Gerald Bracey has stated, 
> â??There is a cottage industry in this country that generates reports devoted to 
> keeping Americans anxious about the future and laying the responsibility for 
> that future on the schools which are never working as they should be.â??
>     Public schools have been taken over in many parts of the country already,  
> such as in Oakland and New Orleans. An EdWeek report states that Cristal-Rey 
> schools in Chicago, another Gates supported operation, has already crossed a 
> dangerous line. A proposal to the labor department has 14 to 15 year old 
> students working up to eight hours a day week at banks or law firms contracted 
> with the schools, while still going to class. This scheme would currently 
> violate child labor laws. 
>      The focus of where education is heading is clear: Children are being setup 
> to be trained to enter the work force younger and younger--and at a dear price. 
> The pressures and nonsense thinking of standardized tests are preparing many for 
> thoughtless tasks that fit in perfectly with the corporate mold. If one isnâ??t 
> taught to think critically, one canâ??t challenge. If one canâ??t challenge 
> effectively, then one can be controlled easily. It is about power and the 
> silencing of the innocent. A report from the Alliance for Childhoodâ??s 300 
> physicians and educators out of Maryland, suggests that children have become 
> more and more violent at younger ages due to, among other things, the â??culture 
> of high-stakes testing, standardization, and scripted â??teachingâ?? that has 
> overtaken so many schools.â?? 
>      What is good for the health of our children? Is it acceptable for them to 
> be put in a high-stress exam environment  and â??measuredâ?? against others--a 
> mirror of the vicious, profiteering, dog-eat-dog corporate world? A childâ??s 
> heart and humanity cannot be measured, and their creativity should not be 
> ignored.  Think about who really has childrenâ??s interests at the center.  Many 
> citizens are asleep, but Paul Revere is riding and heâ??s screaming,â??The 
> corporates are coming! The corporates are coming!â??      
> 
> Joseph Lucido
> Educators and Parents Against Test Abuse
> Educator Roundtable
> Fresno, CA
>  -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: arn-l-owner@interversity.org
> > ARN-L Daily Digest 
> > Volume 3 : Issue 438 : "text" Format
> > 
> > Messages in this Issue:
> >   200706/43 : Re: Gates wants Child Labor Laws changed for pay-to-graduate 
> > schools
> >     QCao009
> >   200706/44 : Schwarzenegger seeks continued state testing of second graders
> >     George Sheridan
> >   200706/45 : Maggie
> >     GERALD BRACEY
> >   200706/46 : Re: [arn2-strategy] Sen. Clinton Questions NCLB Testing Emphasis
> >     Monty Neill
> >   200706/48 : Re: [arn2-strategy] Sen. Clinton Questions NCLB Testing Emphasis
> >     Susan Ohanian
> >   200706/47 : Re: [arn2-strategy] Sen. Clinton Questions NCLB Testing
> >  Emphasis
> >     Kenneth Bernstein
> > 
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > 
> > Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:21:52 EDT
> > From: QCao009@aol.com
> > To: arn-l@interversity.org
> > Subject: Re: Gates wants Child Labor Laws changed for pay-to-graduate schools
> > Message-ID: <c29.16e802ba.33a01410@aol.com>
> > 
> > Thks, Billee.
> >  
> > Quan
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
> > 
> > ------------------------------
> > 
> > Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 09:13:24 -0700 (GMT-07:00)
> > From: George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>
> > To: ca-resisters@interversity.org
> > Cc: arn-l@interversity.org
> > Subject: Schwarzenegger seeks continued state testing of second graders
> > Message-ID: 
> > <19947894.1181664804794.JavaMail.root@elwamui-royal.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
> > 
> > Editorial: A test worth keeping
> > Grade 2 exams help spot problems early
> > 
> > Published Tuesday, June 12, 2007
> > Story appeared in EDITORIALS section, Page B6
> > http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/217078.html
> > 
> > 
> > Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature are on a collision course over 
> > the state's second-grade testing program, which sunsets July 1 unless it is 
> > reauthorized. This is the only major education issue still outstanding.
> > 
> > It's natural to feel an aversion to testing 7-year-olds, but the second-grade 
> > test of reading and math is aimed at a real problem. Children who fall behind 
> in 
> > the early years can fall hopelessly behind if they don't get prompt attention 
> > and support. Parents, teachers and schools need to see how kids are doing at 
> the 
> > end of second grade as a baseline for future progress. California has tested 
> > second-graders since 1998 and the state has seen the greatest progress in the 
> > early years. This effort is working.
> > 
> > In 2004, then-Sen. Dede Alpert, supported legislation that would have 
> > reauthorized the second-grade testing program for five years, through 2011, 
> > along with the third grade through 11th-grade testing program. That was 
> watered 
> > down to an extension to July of this year. Since then, legislative opposition 
> > has grown.
> > 
> > Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger included $2.4 million for second-grade testing in 
> his 
> > budget. But both houses of the Legislature failed to include it in their 
> budget 
> > bills. They should act to do so now.
> > 
> > The early years of schooling are key to a child's later success. Most reading 
> > and math difficulties can be prevented if caught early, but if you wait until 
> > third grade to test students too many children already have fallen below grade 
> 
> > level and find it increasingly difficult to catch up. Second-grade reading 
> > ability is an important marker, one of the most important tests in 
> California's 
> > testing system.
> > 
> > Back in 2004, Alpert recounted the story of a father who received report cards 
> 
> > saying that his child was doing very well. Then second-grade test results 
> showed 
> > that the child was performing near the bottom in math and below average in 
> > reading. The father wanted to know why the school was sending out report cards 
> 
> > saying all was well when that clearly was not the case.
> > 
> > The anecdote illustrates the issues here. We cheat kids if we don't measure 
> what 
> > they are learning.
> > 
> > Testing in second grade is important for parents, and it is important for 
> > third-grade teachers. These tests not only show parents and teachers how well 
> an 
> > individual second-grader is doing, but also how well schools are doing overall 
> 
> > in reaching students early. They are supported by the superintendent of public 
> 
> > instruction and progressive education reform groups, such as EdTrust-West and 
> > EdVoice.
> > 
> > Look at it this way: The state tests students near the end of the school year, 
> 
> > and results come out in summer. If California stops the second-grade tests, 
> > parents, teachers and schools will not know how students are doing until the 
> > beginning of fourth grade. That's awfully late in the game to help struggling 
> > children catch up.
> > 
> > Schwarzenegger will have to fight for the second-grade test in Big 5 
> > negotiations (which include the governor, Assembly speaker, Senate president 
> > pro-tem and the minority party leaders of each house). Testing the ability of 
> > second-graders to read and do math is essential to help get early help for 
> kids 
> > who are beginning to fall behind.
> > 
> > ------------------------------
> > 
> > Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:07:00 -0400
> > From: "GERALD BRACEY" <gbracey1@verizon.net>
> > To: <LiteracyForAll@yahoogroups.com>, <arn-l@interversity.org>
> > Subject: Maggie
> > Message-ID: <033d01c7ad24$e0b78560$2f01a8c0@yourxhtr8hvc4p>
> > 
> > Here's a take on Spellings' Washington Post op-ed from Saturday.  Two teeny 
> > steps forward one large one backward.  A formatted version is at 
> > www.huffingtonpost.com/gerald-bracey.
> > 
> > Jerry
> > 
> > ---------------------MARGARET SPELLINGS:  SMALL SIGNS OF PROGRESS, BUT, THEN, 
> > THERE
> > SHE GOES AGAIN INTO ORWELLâ??S REALM
> > 
> > Margaret Spellings and I did not get off to a good start as she assumed the 
> > mantle of Secretary of Education.  Her first act as Secretary was to protect 
> > American children fromâ?¦a bunny rabbit.  Buster, by name.  Buster stars in 
> > â??Postcards from Buster,â?? part of a PBS early-learning series.  He visits 
> > families of different life-styles.  Before Spellings whacked him, he had 
> visited 
> > Mormon, Evangelical and Muslim families.  He had been seen clogging, rodeo 
> > barrel racing, monoskiing and grooving to the Arapahoe grass dance.
> > 
> > In â??Sugartime!â?? Buster visited two families in Vermont to learn how they 
> make 
> > maple syrup and cheese.  The six children he talked to lived in two families 
> > where both parents were women.  Uh-oh.  The adults are very much in the 
> > background and neither â??lesbianâ?? nor â??gayâ?? is spoken, but Spellings 
> killed the 
> 
> > episode and disinvited Busterâ??s executive producer, Carol Greenwald, from 
> > speaking at a conference on childrenâ??s television.  And demanded that the 
> money 
> > spent on â??Sugartime!â?? be returned.
> > 
> > That was then, a time when the Bush administration had the popularity and 
> clout 
> > to be as vindictive as it wanted to be, and, brother, did it want to be. This 
> is 
> > now, with not only Bushâ??s popularity at an all-time low but a time when her 
> own 
> > department is suffering the Reading First and student loan scandals. But in 
> her 
> > op-ed in the Washington Post on June 9, Spellings showed signs that maybe the 
> > Bushies are now aware that they donâ??t create reality after all (in an 
> October 
> > 17, 2004 New York Times Magazine article, a Bush staffer actually argued that 
> > they did).  The signs are faint and, as usual, Spellings litters the landscape 
> 
> > with fractured images and mixed metaphors and other language outrages, but I 
> > think the signs are there.
> > 
> > First, Spellings referred to the â??tough NAEP standards.â??  To the best of 
> my 
> > knowledge, this is the first time that any administration official has used 
> any 
> > modifier in front of â??NAEP standards.â??  Letâ??s hope itâ??s a first step 
> towards 
> > saying â??unrealistically tough NAEP standardsâ?? or â??outrageously tough 
> NAEP 
> > standards.â??  Thatâ??s what they are as indicated in my blog â??A test 
> everyone 
> will 
> > failâ?? last month.
> > 
> > Second, she wrote, â??According to NAEP, more reading progress was made by 
> > 9-year-olds from 1999 to 2004 than in the previous 28 years combined.â??  In 
> her 
> 
> > many, many previous repetitions of this mantra, she had always said â??In the 
> last 
> > five years,â?? implying a more current time frame than 1999-2004.  As I have 
> noted 
> > before, NCLB became law only in 2002.  All of the gain could have happened on 
> > Clintonâ??s watch.  We canâ??t tellâ??these are NAEP trend data only farmed 
> every so 
> 
> > often.  No data were gathered in 2000, 2001, 2002 or 2003.  The implementation 
> 
> > of NCLB during the 2002-2003 school year can charitably be described as 
> > â??chaotic.â??  The 2004 NAEP data were gathered in February.  That means that 
> NCLB 
> > only had the fall of 2003 to work its miracles.
> > 
> > But, after these small signs of candor, Spellings loped off to double-think 
> > land.  Her article announced her opposition to national standards.  Her first 
> > argument was that â??[National Standards] goes against more than two centuries 
> of 
> > American educational tradition.  Under the Constitution, states and localities 
> 
> > have the primary leadership role in public education.  They design the 
> > curriculum and pay 90 percent of the bills.  Neighborhood schools deserve 
> > neighborhood leadership, not dictates from bureaucrats thousands of miles 
> away.â??
> > 
> > It always makes me a bit dizzy when a bureaucrat in Washington rails against 
> > bureaucrats in Washington.  And this from an architect of and Chief 
> Flagellator 
> > for the largest federal intrusion into this state and local function in the 
> > nationâ??s history.  Takes oneâ??s breath away.  
> > 
> > She also revealed a new dictate from The Decider: â??The presidentâ??s plan to 
> > reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act calls on states to post their scores 
> > side-by-side with the NAEP results.â??  This is a great way to destroy NAEP.  
> > NAEPâ??s integrity rests largely on the fact that people donâ??t pay much 
> attention 
> > to it.  Attach high-stakes to it and it will lose whatever utility and 
> validity 
> > it has.
> > 
> > Anyone interested in reading more about the Maggie and Buster saga can do so 
> at 
> > www.america-tomorrow.com/bracey/EDDRA.  Go to the â??Rotten Apples in 
> Education 
> > Awards 2005.â??  Spellings received the â??Jimmy Carter Amphibious Killer 
> Rabbitâ?? 
> > award.  The U. S. Department of Education has just published its Condition of 
> > Education 2007. Perusal of the Rotten Apples over the last three years will 
> give 
> > you a good idea of the condition of the U. S. Department of Education.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > ------------------------------
> > 
> > Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:59:42 -0400
> > From: "Monty Neill" <monty@fairtest.org>
> > To: "ARN Main List" <arn-l@interversity.org>,
> >   <arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com>
> > Subject: Re: [arn2-strategy] Sen. Clinton Questions NCLB Testing Emphasis
> > Message-ID: <041301c7ad34$99cf41f0$280a010a@Monty>
> > 
> > As Stan Karp points out in the current Rethinking Schools, Hillary Clinton has 
> 
> > also said she would vote for renewing NLCB. The question is, how to hold her 
> to 
> > making the kinds of changes that would make her talk here (and similar ones in 
> 
> > OH and NH) walk - to say she will not vote for reauth unless and until the 
> > federal law has been thoroughly overhauled. Obama, Stan, points out, has not 
> > been particularly better, and he too is on the Senate HELP committee, as is 
> Sen 
> > Dodd, also running for president. Other candidates, according to the most 
> recent 
> > I have heard, also lack specifics on their websites. 
> > 
> > Stan's article is at http://www.rethinkingschools.org/. 
> > 
> > Monty 
> >   ----- Original Message ----- 
> >   From: Bob Schaeffer 
> >   To: ARN Main List ; arn2-strategy 
> >   Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2007 9:42 AM
> >   Subject: [arn2-strategy] Sen. Clinton Questions NCLB Testing Emphasis
> > 
> > 
> >   CLINTON QUESTIONS EMPHASIS ON TESTING 
> >   Associated Press -- June 9, 2007
> >   by Henry C. Jackson
> > 
> >   CLINTON QUESTIONS EMPHASIS ON TESTING
> > 
> >   Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton criticized the No 
> >   Child Left Behind education program Saturday, saying its emphasis on 
> >   testing puts American students in danger of losing their creative edge.
> > 
> >   "I think that we are in danger of narrowing the curriculum and leaving 
> >   children behind," Clinton said Saturday. "That's the very opposite of 
> >   what they said would happen."
> > 
> >   Clinton voted for No Child Left Behind, President Bush's signature 
> >   education policy, in 2001, but has since been a sharp critic. She said 
> >   the program's emphasis on testing is diluting resources from other 
> >   valuable areas of education.
> > 
> >   That will be a problem for the country going forward, she said.
> > 
> >   "Part of the reason America was always in the forefront of the World 
> >   Economy is that we're the innovators ... it's because we have creative 
> >   learners, we have people who learned to get around obstacles, they 
> >   didn't go in a straight line."
> > 
> >   Clinton spoke at a campaign event in Indianola, where she helped raise 
> >   money for state lawmaker Sen. Staci Appel. At the end of the event 
> >   Appel, who is serving her first term in the Legislature, said she was 
> >   endorsing Clinton's presidential bid.
> > 
> >   Clinton gave a version of her stump speech before taking a handful of 
> >   questions from a crowd of about 300 people.
> > 
> >   One woman, a college student studying music, asked Clinton what she 
> >   would do to ensure there was room for music education in public schools. 
> >   Clinton said she was a big supporter of music and other creative venues 
> >   in school.
> > 
> >   "Anyone who's ever heard me sing, knows, I can't sing," she said. "It's 
> >   a shame. I always sound great to my ears. ... But I love music, and I 
> >   cherish music, and I think back to my own years at school when the music 
> >   teachers would come into our classroom."
> > 
> >   Clinton said music and art can help unlock hidden potential in some 
> >   students.
> > 
> >   "Music and art, and exposure to different set of cultural experiences 
> >   can ignite such a creative passion and imagination in some people," she 
> >   said. "I worry that No Child Left Behind with its emphasis on tests ... 
> >   is going to weed so many kids out."
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >   __._,_.___ 
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> > ------------------------------
> > 
> > Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:10:56 -0400
> > From: Susan Ohanian <susano@gmavt.net>
> > To: arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com
> > Cc: ARN Main List <arn-l@interversity.org>
> > Subject: Re: [arn2-strategy] Sen. Clinton Questions NCLB Testing Emphasis
> > Message-ID: <466F0BE0.4030309@gmavt.net>
> > 
> > BothhHilary and Obama are so tight with corporate interests, I don't see 
> > much hope. I admit I didn't vote for Clinton because of their 
> > Standardista policy in Arkansas. After all, Bill and Lou Gerstner joined 
> > hands to bring home America 2000 for Bush the elder.
> > 
> > And Center for American Progress wrote Obama's big speech on education. 
> > They want to test more rigorously than NCLB currently does.
> > http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.html?id=4963
> > http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.html?id=4715
> > 
> > Susan Ohanian
> > 
> > Monty Neill wrote:
> > >
> > > As Stan Karp points out in the current Rethinking Schools, Hillary 
> > > Clinton has also said she would vote for renewing NLCB. The question 
> > > is, how to hold her to making the kinds of changes that would make her 
> > > talk here (and similar ones in OH and NH) walk - to say she will not 
> > > vote for reauth unless and until the federal law has been thoroughly 
> > > overhauled. Obama, Stan, points out, has not been particularly better, 
> > > and he too is on the Senate HELP committee, as is Sen Dodd, also 
> > > running for president. Other candidates, according to the most recent 
> > > I have heard, also lack specifics on their websites.
> > >  
> > > Stan's article is at http://www.rethinkingschools.org/ 
> > > <http://www.rethinkingschools.org/>.
> > >  
> > > Monty
> > >
> > >     ----- Original Message -----
> > >     *From:* Bob Schaeffer <mailto:bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>
> > >     *To:* ARN Main List <mailto:arn-l@interversity.org> ;
> > >     arn2-strategy <mailto:arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com>
> > >     *Sent:* Sunday, June 10, 2007 9:42 AM
> > >     *Subject:* [arn2-strategy] Sen. Clinton Questions NCLB Testing
> > >     Emphasis
> > >
> > >     CLINTON QUESTIONS EMPHASIS ON TESTING
> > >     Associated Press -- June 9, 2007
> > >     by Henry C. Jackson
> > >
> > >     CLINTON QUESTIONS EMPHASIS ON TESTING
> > >
> > >     Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton criticized the No
> > >     Child Left Behind education program Saturday, saying its emphasis on
> > >     testing puts American students in danger of losing their creative
> > >     edge.
> > >
> > >     "I think that we are in danger of narrowing the curriculum and
> > >     leaving
> > >     children behind," Clinton said Saturday. "That's the very opposite of
> > >     what they said would happen."
> > >
> > >     Clinton voted for No Child Left Behind, President Bush's signature
> > >     education policy, in 2001, but has since been a sharp critic. She
> > >     said
> > >     the program's emphasis on testing is diluting resources from other
> > >     valuable areas of education.
> > >
> > >     That will be a problem for the country going forward, she said.
> > >
> > >     "Part of the reason America was always in the forefront of the World
> > >     Economy is that we're the innovators ... it's because we have
> > >     creative
> > >     learners, we have people who learned to get around obstacles, they
> > >     didn't go in a straight line."
> > >
> > >     Clinton spoke at a campaign event in Indianola, where she helped
> > >     raise
> > >     money for state lawmaker Sen. Staci Appel. At the end of the event
> > >     Appel, who is serving her first term in the Legislature, said she was
> > >     endorsing Clinton's presidential bid.
> > >
> > >     Clinton gave a version of her stump speech before taking a handful of
> > >     questions from a crowd of about 300 people.
> > >
> > >     One woman, a college student studying music, asked Clinton what she
> > >     would do to ensure there was room for music education in public
> > >     schools.
> > >     Clinton said she was a big supporter of music and other creative
> > >     venues
> > >     in school.
> > >
> > >     "Anyone who's ever heard me sing, knows, I can't sing," she said.
> > >     "It's
> > >     a shame. I always sound great to my ears. ... But I love music, and I
> > >     cherish music, and I think back to my own years at school when the
> > >     music
> > >     teachers would come into our classroom."
> > >
> > >     Clinton said music and art can help unlock hidden potential in some
> > >     students.
> > >
> > >     "Music and art, and exposure to different set of cultural experiences
> > >     can ignite such a creative passion and imagination in some
> > >     people," she
> > >     said. "I worry that No Child Left Behind with its emphasis on
> > >     tests ...
> > >     is going to weed so many kids out."
> > >
> > > __._,_.___
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> > > __,_._,___ 
> > 
> > ------------------------------
> > 
> > Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:58:30 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
> > From: Kenneth Bernstein <kber@earthlink.net>
> > To: arn-l@interversity.org
> > Subject: Re: [arn2-strategy] Sen. Clinton Questions NCLB Testing
> >  Emphasis
> > Message-ID: 
> > <33088480.1181681910936.JavaMail.root@elwamui-mouette.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
> > 
> > Monty
> > 
> > you may have to pass this on to other lists.
> > 
> > Back towards the end of March I did a detailed examination of the webpages of 
> > all 8 Dem candidates to see what they had up on education.  It was 
> > disappointing, to say the least.
> > 
> > You can read that diary, and the accompanying comment thread, at 
> > http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/25/53932/7703
> > 
> > The last time I spot-checked, about 3 weeks ago, I had seen no significant 
> > changes in any of the websites.
> > And from some communication I have had recently both directly and indirectly, 
> I 
> > really do not see any of the three top tier really going out on a limb on NCLB 
> 
> > or anything else.
> > 
> > 
> > Ken Bernstein aka teacherken
> > 
> > Kenneth J. Bernstein
> > 
> > ------------------------------
> > 
> > End of [arn-l Digest] Vol. 3 No. 438 Messages: 6
> > **********
> 
> ------------------------------------------------
> Direct list questions to listmom@interversity.net
> 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
> ________________________________________________________________________
> AOL now offers free email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL 
> at AOL.com.
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:19:42 -0600
> From: "Tauna Rogers" <taunar@plateautel.net>
> To: <arn-l@interversity.org>
> Subject: Spelings Press Release on  FEA Recommendations
> Message-ID: <005201c7aec9$bad29190$87905a40@WMPCYRC0>
> 
> PRESS RELEASES
> Statement by Secretary Spellings on NCLB Recommendations by the Forum on 
> Educational Accountability
> 
>       FOR RELEASE:
>       June 14, 2007 Contact: Katherine McLane
>       (202) 401-1576
>      
> 
> Secretary Spellings today issued the following statement on recommendations by 
> the Forum on Educational Accountability: 
> 
>   As we work with Congress to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act, we must 
> keep our eye on the ball: ensuring that all students achieve grade level 
> proficiency in reading and math by 2014. Unfortunately, the report released 
> today by the Forum on Educational Accountability (FEA) shifts the focus from 
> results to excuses.
> 
>   The report would turn back the clock to a time when accountability was not a 
> way of life in our schools. Specifically, Principle I lets schools off the hook 
> for improving student performance until unspecified "inequities in access" were 
> eliminated. A school dissatisfied with its current level of state funding, for 
> example, could hold student achievement hostage to its demands.
> 
>   The report walks away from the goal of full proficiency by 2014, substituting 
> a fuzzy and shifting target that sets the bar low. It would put students with 
> disabilities and English-language learners back on a separate, slower academic 
> track. And it would de-emphasize assessments in favor of vague concepts such as 
> "improvements in the learning climate."
> 
>   We agree with some elements of the report, including its call for 
> flexibilities such as the use of growth models and better ways to target 
> interventions on lagging schools. We also share its rejection of national 
> curriculum standards. But in the end, it must be judged on whether it can help 
> us achieve results.
> 
>   The data shows that No Child Left Behind is working for our children. We must 
> pick up the pace by strengthening accountability, not watering it down.
> 
> ###
> 
> Top
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 14:53:07 -0700
> From: Richard Hake <rrhake@earthlink.net>
> To: <POD@LISTSERV.ND.EDU>
> Cc: <eddra@yahoogroups.com>, <arn-l@interversity.org>,
>  <STLHE-L@LISTSERV.UNB.CA>
> Subject: Bunkum Awards #2 (was Education Research by Conservative Think
>  Tanks)
> Message-ID: <a06240803c2975f93d3d1@[192.168.0.2]>
> 
> If you reply to this long (14kB) post please don't hit the reply 
> button unless you prune the copy of this post that may appear in your 
> reply down to a few relevant lines, otherwise the entire already 
> archived post may be needlessly resent to subscribers.
> ********************************************
> ABSTRACT: Russ Hunt, in his POD post "Bunkum Awards " has given some 
> valuable insights and references on conservative think tanks. In one 
> of Hunt's references, David Callahan quotes Robert Reich on the 
> importance of "framing" the national debate.  In turn, I quote 
> excerpts from linguist George Lakoff's "Don't Think of an Elephant" 
> on the cognitive rationale for framing, and on the smart conservative 
> vs naive progressive strategies for influencing policy.
> ********************************************
> 
> In response to my post "Bunkum Awards (was Education Research by 
> Conservative Think Tanks)," Russ Hunt (2007) wrote [bracketed by 
> lines "HHHHH. . . . "; slightly edited so as to employ standard 
> academic references; my inserts at ". . . .[insert]. . . ."]:
> 
> HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
> A number of times recently I've read articles about the advent of 
> these "thinktanks." See, for instance:
> 
> 1. "No Mercy: How Conservative Think Tanks and Foundations Changed 
> America's Social Agenda" [Stefancic & Delgado (1996)].
> 
> 2. Review of Stefancic & Delgado (1996) [Brennan (1998)].
> 
> 3. "Excerpt of '$1 Billion for Ideas:  Conservative Think Tanks in 
> the 1990's' " [Callahan (1999a)].
> 
> 4. "Think Tanks"  [Source Watch (2007)]. 
> 
> Something it's important to know -- before you even think about. . . 
> .["Think Tank Review Project" 
> <http://epsl.asu.edu/epru/thinktankreview.htm>]. . . ., which looks 
> great to me -- is that many of them have been specifically set up and 
> lavishly funded by people whose interests lie in enhancing the wealth 
> of the rich, to pursue that aim. They have, usually, virtually 
> unlimited funding. We have a few of them in Canada as well -- one 
> local one styles itself the "Atlantic Institute for Market 
> Research,". . . .[<http://www.aims.ca/default.asp>]. . . . . and they 
> publish an annual report on education in the Maritime provinces. No 
> one in the media ever asks why we care what a market research 
> institute has to say about education (I suppose someone might ask if 
> they published a report on dentistry or civil engineering): the 
> papers print their reports as though they had some sort of authority. 
> Oddly enough, it usually turns out that private enterprise could do 
> it better.
> HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
> 
> For the Source Watch (SW) (2007) analysis of the "Atlantic Institute 
> for Market Studies" see <http://tinyurl.com/2lwqej>.  SW wrote:
> 
> "Like its sister think tank in western Canada, the Fraser Institute 
> in Calgary, Alberta,. . . .[<http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/>]. . . . 
> the Atlantic Institute of Marketing Studies issues annual 'report 
> cards' for public schools in Atlantic Canada, which lead to the 
> impression that public schools provide poor education and receive a 
> great deal of media coverage . . . . . [see e.g.. "AIMS' 5th Annual 
> Report Card on Atlantic Canadian High Schools: No excuses: Success 
> comes in every school package" (AIMS, 2007)]. . . . .  .  Many 
> leading academics and universities in the region have sharply 
> criticized the methodology of the AIMS study of public schools, 
> saying the results are without scientific merit."
> 
> Hunt's third reference, Callahan (1999), quotes Robert Reich 
> <http://www.robertreich.org/reich/biography.asp>:
> 
> "How the national debate is framed. . . . [e.g., the "No Child Left 
> Behind" act]. . . ., and what options are put before the public, can 
> be more important ultimately than the immediate choices made. The 
> framing defines the breadth of the nation's ambitions, and thus 
> either raises or lowers expectations, fires or depresses 
> imaginations, ignites or deflates political movements. "  George 
> Lakoff <http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/people/fac/lakoff.html> in 
> "Don't Think of an Elephant" [Lakoff (2004)] provides an insightful 
> discussion of framing and the effective conservative vs the generally 
> ineffective progressive strategies for influencing policy. On pages 
> 16-17 (online at 
> <http://www.chelseagreen.com/images/DTE_Sampler.pdf> ) he writes [my 
> insert at ". . . . . [insert]. . . .", my CAPS]:
> 
> LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
> When the amount of research money spent by the right over a period of 
> time is compared with the amount of media time during that period, we 
> see a direct correlation. In 2002 four times as much money was spent 
> on research by the right as by the left, and they got four times as 
> much media time. They get what they pay for.
> 
> This is not an accident. Conservatives, through their think tanks, 
> figured out the importance of framing, and they figured out how to 
> frame every issue. They figured out how to get those frames out 
> there, how to get their people in the media all the time. . . . . .
> 
> Nothing like this happens in the progressive world, because there are 
> so many people thinking that what each does is *the* right thing. It 
> is not smart. It is self-defeating. And what is worse is a set of 
> myths believed by liberals and progressives. These myths come from a 
> good source, but they end up hurting us badly.
> 
> The myths began with the Enlightenment, and the first one goes like this:
> 
> "The truth will set us free. If we just tell people the facts, since 
> people are basically rational beings, they'll all reach the right 
> conclusions."
> 
> But we know from cognitive science that people do not think like 
> that. PEOPLE THINK IN FRAMES. The strict father and nurturing parent 
> frames each force a certain logic. To be accepted, the truth must fit 
> people's frames. If the facts do not fit a frame, the frame stays and 
> the facts bounce off. . . . . . .[as anyone who has attempted to 
> bring Aristotelian thinkers (motion requires a force) into the 
> Newtonian World can testify- see, e.g,. Hake, 1987)]. . . . . . Why?
> 
> Neuroscience tells us that each of the concepts we have-the long-term 
> concepts that structure how we think-is instantiated in the synapses 
> of our brains. CONCEPTS ARE NOT THINGS THAT CAN BE CHANGED JUST BY 
> SOMEONE TELLING US A FACT. We may be presented with facts, but for us 
> to make sense of them, they have to fit what is already in the 
> synapses of the brain. Otherwise facts go in and then they go right 
> back out. They are not heard, or they are not accepted as facts, or 
> they mystify us: Why would anyone have said that? Then we label the 
> fact as irrational, crazy, or stupid. That's what happens when 
> progressives just "confront conservatives with the facts." It has 
> little or no effect, unless the conservatives have a frame that makes 
> sense of the facts.
> LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
> 
> Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
> 24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
> <rrhake@earthlink.net>
> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>
> 
> "[The elder William Simon] convinced some very wealthy people - 
> Coors, Scaife, Olin - to set up the Heritage Foundation . . . 
> .[<http://www.heritage.org/>]. . . ., the Olin professorships, the 
> Olin Institute at Harvard. . . . . . 
> .[<http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/olin/>]. . . ., and other 
> institutions. These institutes have done their job very well. People 
> associated with them have written more books than the people on the 
> left have, on all issues. The conservatives support their 
> intellectuals. They create media opportunities. They have media 
> studios down the hall in institutes so that getting on television is 
> easy. Eighty percent of the talking heads on television are from the 
> conservative think tanks."
>         George Lakoff (2004, p. 15-16)]
> 
> REFERENCES
> AIMS. 2007. "AIMS' 5th Annual Report Card on Atlantic Canadian High 
> Schools: No excuses: Success comes in every school package," online 
> at  <http://www.aims.ca/aimslibrary.asp?ft=1&id=1641>.
> 
> Brennan, M.C. 1998. Review of Stefancic & Delgado (1996). Journal of 
> American History 85(3): 1171-1172; online to Jastor subscribers at 
> <http://tinyurl.com/3albv6>.
> 
> Callahan, D. 1999a. "Excerpt from Callahan (1999b); online at 
> <http://www.commonwealinstitute.org/ncrp.callahan.1.htm>.
> 
> Callahan. D. 1999b.  "$1 Billion for Ideas:  Conservative Think Tanks 
> in the 1990's." National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.
> 
> Hake, R.R. 1987. "Promoting student crossover to the Newtonian 
> world." Am J. Phys. 55(10): 878-884; online at 
> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/PromotingCrossover.pdf> (788 
> kB).
> 
> Hake, R.R. 2007. "Bunkum Awards (was Education Research by 
> Conservative Think Tanks)," online at 
> <http://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0706&L=pod&O=D&P=9279>. Post 
> of 13 Jun 2007 17:44:21-0700 to AERA-D, AERA-L, ARN-L, ASSESS, EDDRA, 
> EdResMeth, EvalTalk, Math-Teach, PhysLnrR, and POD.
> 
> Hunt, R. 2007. "Re: Bunkum Awards (was Education Research by 
> Conservative Think Tanks)," POD post of 13 Jun 2007 22:38:38-0300; 
> online at
> <http://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0706&L=pod&O=D&P=9556>.
> 
> Lakoff, G. 2004. "Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and 
> Frame the Debate." Chelsea Green. Information at 
> <http://www.chelseagreen.com/2004/items/elephant>; excerpts at 
> <http://www.chelseagreen.com/images/DTE_Sampler.pdf> (1 MB).
> 
> Source Watch. 2007. "Think Tanks." online at 
> <http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Think_tanks>.
> 
> Stefancic, J. & R.Delgado. 1996. "No Mercy: How Conservative Think 
> Tanks and Foundations Changed America's Social Agenda," Temple Univ 
> Press. Amazon.com information at <http://tinyurl.com/3avkf3>. The 
> Midwest Book Review opines: "No Mercy reveals the rather shocking 
> truth about how the New Right Conservatives have managed to gain the 
> advantage in setting the country's political agenda through sheer 
> ingenuity, determination, focused efforts and persuasive use of the 
> media. The authors offer an alarming call to action urging the 
> Political Left to adopt the same dedication and economy of effort 
> that have proven so effective for the Right (e. g. English Only, 
> Immigration Reform, Race and Eugenics, the abolition of Affirmative 
> Action, Welfare Reform, Tort Reform, and the discrediting of Campus 
> Multiculturalism). Stefancic and Delgado seek to inform Americans 
> about how the juggernaut operates (not to celebrate but to combat it) 
> before it's too late. No Mercy is a national wake-up call that should 
> be on every political science department's library shelf."
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:00:50 -0500
> From: monty@fairtest.org
> To: arn2-strategy <arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com>,
> 	ARN-L <arn-l@interversity.org>,
> 	ARN-state <ARN-state@yahoogroups.com>,
> 	NDSG <ndsgroup@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: Fwd: Article from CongressNow on NCLB - mentions FEA- see below
> Message-ID: <20070614180050.zdectgsxjj4kk48s@webmail.fairtest.org>
> 
> 
> The expert panel on assessment released recommendations on ESEA/NCLB  
> today. We have thus far been attacked by Sec Spellings, Ed Trust,  
> Aspen 'Commission' - doing well. To some extent their attacks make  
> clear the deep disageements we have about the future of education, and  
> to some extent it suggests they cannot read or wilfully misrepresent.  
> Below is one news article already about the event.
> 
> If you want to read the exec sum or full report, go to  
> www.fairtest.org and click on NCLB and then alternatives; or go to  
> www.edaccountability.org and click on reports.
> 
> Monty
> 
> ----- Forwarded message from ecr@rollcall.com -----
>     Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 16:51:43 -0400
>     From: ecr@rollcall.com
> Reply-To: ecr@rollcall.com
> Subject: Article from CongressNow on NCLB - mentions FEA- see below
>       To: monty@fairtest.org
> 
> Monty,
> 
> This article just came out - thought you should see it- below.
> 
> eric
> 
> Lawmakers, Experts Call For New Testing Methods Under No Child Left Behind
> 
> By Stephen Langel
> CongressNow Staff
> Thursday, June 14, 2007   3:42 PM
> 
> Lawmakers and academics are increasingly looking to change the way the  
> federal government evaluates school performance under the No Child  
> Left Behind Act, arguing that current testing methods are too  
> simplistic and too sporadic to give an accurate assessment.
> 
> The Forum on Educational Accountability today issued a report,  
> ?Assessment and Accountability for Improving Schools and Learning,?  
> that recommends testing that is more frequent and classroom-based, as  
> opposed to the annual standardized test used under NCLB.
> 
> A yearly test, the group said, does not give the most up-to-date  
> assessment of performance, and the standard multiple-choice approach  
> does not provide a realistic view of what students have learned.  
> Instead, teachers should be allowed to evaluate students? classroom  
> performance, the panel said.
> 
> The ?testing mentality sacrifices learning,? in that it leads  
> educators to teach to a test rather than using a broader curriculum,  
> said Pat Roschewski, one of the study?s authors, during a briefing  
> today. These ?one-size-fits-all? tests also shortchange special-needs  
> students, including those who are developmentally challenged or not  
> native speakers of English, said Alba Ortiz, another of the study?s  
> authors.
> 
> The group is hoping to use the report to modify NCLB as it moves  
> toward reauthorization. Reauthorization will provide a vehicle to  
> ?rectify flaws in the system,? Ortiz added.
> 
> NCLB, which sets federal performance standards for schools, is due to  
> expire at the end of the year. Lawmakers are concerned that NCLB will  
> fail to meet its goal of having all children reading at their grade  
> level by 2014.
> 
> To achieve such changes, the panel is lobbying lawmakers in the Senate  
> Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House  
> Education and Labor Committee to include their recommendations in  
> reauthorization. ?I?m sensing an interest? in these changes,  
> Roschewski said.
> 
> The group has sent the report to various lawmakers in both committees,  
> Monty Neill, director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing,  
> told CongressNow. Lawmakers are ?clearly interested? in changing the  
> law, with several members poised to introduce legislation that would  
> establish new performance standards for state and local governments  
> under NCLB. Neill declined to elaborate on who was offering these bills.
> 
> Initially, the group?s proposal has the support of lawmakers such as  
> Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), a former college provost and a member of the  
> Education and Labor Committee. A one-time written test is too  
> ?limiting? and provides too much of an incentive for teachers to teach  
> to the test, Bishop said. Such an approach is inhibiting teachers from  
> doing their jobs, he added.
> 
> A variety of groups are calling for new performance standards, Rep.  
> George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the Education and Labor  
> committee, told CongressNow. But he has not decided what steps the  
> committee will take, Miller added.
> 
> Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas), chairman of the Education and Labor  
> subcommittee on higher education, lifelong learning and  
> competitiveness, pledged during the briefing to circulate the report  
> to his colleagues. The chairman also promised more money for NCLB.
> 
> While previous Congresses had underfunded the program, he said,  
> ?there?s a new sheriff in town? now that Democrats are in the  
> majority, he said.
> Back to top
> 
>   Related GalleryWatch HotDocs
> 
> Report to the President On Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy  
> (PDF 434 KB)
> Fact Sheet of the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (H.R 2669) (PDF 54.3 KB)
> Legislative Text of the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (H.R 2669)  
> (PDF 210 KB)
> GAO Correspondence to Librarian of Congress James Billington (PDF 924 KB)
> GAO Report to Chairs, House and Senate Homeland Security Committees,  
> Rep. Bennie Thompson and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (PDF 2.06 MB)
> 
> --
> Eric Richardson
> Roll Call Newspaper
> 50 F Street, NW  Suite 700
> Washington D.C.  20001
> 202-824-6815-direct
> 410-533-2078-cell
> 202-824-0475-fax
> 202-824-6800-front desk
> ecr@rollcall.com
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> 
> The Votes Are In: In the recently released 2006-2007 E&M Opinion Leader
> Survey, Congressional opinion leaders voted Roll Call No. 1 in total and
> regular readership, as well as the most current and enjoyable publication.
> 
> -- 
> Eric Richardson
> Roll Call Newspaper
> 50 F Street, NW  Suite 700
> Washington D.C.  20001
> 202-824-6815-direct
> 410-533-2078-cell
> 202-824-0475-fax
> 202-824-6800-front desk
> ecr@rollcall.com
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> 
> The Votes Are In: In the recently released 2006-2007 E&M Opinion Leader
> Survey, Congressional opinion leaders voted Roll Call No. 1 in total and
> regular readership, as well as the most current and enjoyable publication.
> 
> ----- End forwarded message -----
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 19:22:36 -0600
> From: "Tauna Rogers" <taunar@plateautel.net>
> To: <arn-l@interversity.org>
> Subject: Re: Fwd: Article from CongressNow on NCLB - mentions FEA- see below
> Message-ID: <006601c7aeeb$a995c1a0$87905a40@WMPCYRC0>
> 
> Please forgive me but I find Sec. Spellings response to the FEA's 
> recommendations outrageous. But of course what should I have expected! See 
> her press release I sent in separate post. Among other ridiculous things, 
> she says,
> 
> "As we work with Congress to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act, we 
> must keep our eye on the ball: ensuring that all students achieve grade 
> level proficiency in reading and math by 2014. Unfortunately, the report 
> released today by the Forum on Educational Accountability (FEA) shifts the 
> focus from results to excuses."
> 
> She continues to demand that all students must achieve grade level 
> proficiency iin reading and math by 2014. Is this woman that dumb/ignorant, 
> or am I the one? Am I wrong that the concept of grade level is simply an 
> average and that by definition, half of all students will be below grade 
> level? And given that all measurable human attributes and abilities vary 
> enormously and fall along a continuum, the only possible way to reach  100% 
> proficiency is to define and set proficiency so low that it would be 
> meaningless.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for your tremendous efforts Monty, et al.  Being attacked by 
> Spellings, Ed Trust, and Aspen is a compliment.
> 
> Tauna
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <monty@fairtest.org>
> To: "arn2-strategy" <arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com>; "ARN-L" 
> <arn-l@interversity.org>; "ARN-state" <ARN-state@yahoogroups.com>; "NDSG" 
> <ndsgroup@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2007 5:00 PM
> Subject: [arn-l] Fwd: Article from CongressNow on NCLB - mentions FEA- see 
> below
> 
> 
> 
> The expert panel on assessment released recommendations on ESEA/NCLB
> today. We have thus far been attacked by Sec Spellings, Ed Trust,
> Aspen 'Commission' - doing well. To some extent their attacks make
> clear the deep disageements we have about the future of education, and
> to some extent it suggests they cannot read or wilfully misrepresent.
> Below is one news article already about the event.
> 
> If you want to read the exec sum or full report, go to
> www.fairtest.org and click on NCLB and then alternatives; or go to
> www.edaccountability.org and click on reports.
> 
> Monty
> 
> ----- Forwarded message from ecr@rollcall.com -----
> Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 16:51:43 -0400
> From: ecr@rollcall.com
> Reply-To: ecr@rollcall.com
> Subject: Article from CongressNow on NCLB - mentions FEA- see below
> To: monty@fairtest.org
> 
> Monty,
> 
> This article just came out - thought you should see it- below.
> 
> eric
> 
> Lawmakers, Experts Call For New Testing Methods Under No Child Left Behind
> 
> By Stephen Langel
> CongressNow Staff
> Thursday, June 14, 2007 3:42 PM
> 
> Lawmakers and academics are increasingly looking to change the way the
> federal government evaluates school performance under the No Child
> Left Behind Act, arguing that current testing methods are too
> simplistic and too sporadic to give an accurate assessment.
> 
> The Forum on Educational Accountability today issued a report,
> "Assessment and Accountability for Improving Schools and Learning,?
> that recommends testing that is more frequent and classroom-based, as
> opposed to the annual standardized test used under NCLB.
> 
> A yearly test, the group said, does not give the most up-to-date
> assessment of performance, and the standard multiple-choice approach
> does not provide a realistic view of what students have learned.
> Instead, teachers should be allowed to evaluate students, classroom
> performance, the panel said.
> 
> The "testing mentality sacrifices learning,? in that it leads
> educators to teach to a test rather than using a broader curriculum,
> said Pat Roschewski, one of the study,s authors, during a briefing
> today. These "one-size-fits-all? tests also shortchange special-needs
> students, including those who are developmentally challenged or not
> native speakers of English, said Alba Ortiz, another of the study,s
> authors.
> 
> The group is hoping to use the report to modify NCLB as it moves
> toward reauthorization. Reauthorization will provide a vehicle to
> "rectify flaws in the system,? Ortiz added.
> 
> NCLB, which sets federal performance standards for schools, is due to
> expire at the end of the year. Lawmakers are concerned that NCLB will
> fail to meet its goal of having all children reading at their grade
> level by 2014.
> 
> To achieve such changes, the panel is lobbying lawmakers in the Senate
> Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House
> Education and Labor Committee to include their recommendations in
> reauthorization. "I,m sensing an interest? in these changes,
> Roschewski said.
> 
> The group has sent the report to various lawmakers in both committees,
> Monty Neill, director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing,
> told CongressNow. Lawmakers are "clearly interested? in changing the
> law, with several members poised to introduce legislation that would
> establish new performance standards for state and local governments
> under NCLB. Neill declined to elaborate on who was offering these bills.
> 
> Initially, the group,s proposal has the support of lawmakers such as
> Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), a former college provost and a member of the
> Education and Labor Committee. A one-time written test is too
> "limiting? and provides too much of an incentive for teachers to teach
> to the test, Bishop said. Such an approach is inhibiting teachers from
> doing their jobs, he added.
> 
> A variety of groups are calling for new performance standards, Rep.
> George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the Education and Labor
> committee, told CongressNow. But he has not decided what steps the
> committee will take, Miller added.
> 
> Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas), chairman of the Education and Labor
> subcommittee on higher education, lifelong learning and
> competitiveness, pledged during the briefing to circulate the report
> to his colleagues. The chairman also promised more money for NCLB.
> 
> While previous Congresses had underfunded the program, he said,
> "there,s a new sheriff in town? now that Democrats are in the
> majority, he said.
> Back to top
> 
> Related GalleryWatch HotDocs
> 
> Report to the President On Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy
> (PDF 434 KB)
> Fact Sheet of the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (H.R 2669) (PDF 54.3 
> KB)
> Legislative Text of the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (H.R 2669)
> (PDF 210 KB)
> GAO Correspondence to Librarian of Congress James Billington (PDF 924 KB)
> GAO Report to Chairs, House and Senate Homeland Security Committees,
> Rep. Bennie Thompson and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (PDF 2.06 MB)
> 
> --
> Eric Richardson
> Roll Call Newspaper
> 50 F Street, NW Suite 700
> Washington D.C. 20001
> 202-824-6815-direct
> 410-533-2078-cell
> 202-824-0475-fax
> 202-824-6800-front desk
> ecr@rollcall.com
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> 
> The Votes Are In: In the recently released 2006-2007 E&M Opinion Leader
> Survey, Congressional opinion leaders voted Roll Call No. 1 in total and
> regular readership, as well as the most current and enjoyable publication.
> 
> -- 
> Eric Richardson
> Roll Call Newspaper
> 50 F Street, NW Suite 700
> Washington D.C. 20001
> 202-824-6815-direct
> 410-533-2078-cell
> 202-824-0475-fax
> 202-824-6800-front desk
> ecr@rollcall.com
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> 
> The Votes Are In: In the recently released 2006-2007 E&M Opinion Leader
> Survey, Congressional opinion leaders voted Roll Call No. 1 in total and
> regular readership, as well as the most current and enjoyable publication.
> 
> ----- End forwarded message -----
> -----------------------------------------------
> Report list problems to listmom@interversity.net
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 22:32:20 -0400
> From: aburke5054@aol.com
> To: arn-l@interversity.org
> Subject: Re: Fwd: Article from CongressNow on NCLB - mentions FEA- see below
> Message-ID: <8C97D0C88591EC2-17CC-2977@FWM-D11.sysops.aol.com>
> 
> 
>  Secretary Spellings has spoken movingly on many occasions about committing 
> American public education to erasing gaps between children in important 
> knowledge and skills and about the importance of remaining faithful to that 
> commitment.? Surely she can be excused for her imprecise language about all 
> children achieving "grade level proficiency."
> 
> NCLB holds a very clear and direct vision for public education:? Set the same 
> high standards for all children, test them with the same tests, and improve 
> schools where children are falling behind.? That seems to me both bedrock 
> common-sense? sound and consistent with where we've been going with civil rights 
> in this country since the 50s and before.? I can make very little sense out of 
> most of what FairTest and the FEA propose.? They seem completely unaware of what 
> is actually in NCLB;? some of the things they propose as new have in fact been 
> in NCLB from the start.? Be that as it may, if we're not making enough progress 
> under NCLB, the reasons have very little to do with the tests or how they are 
> being used, despite what FairTest and the FEA say and believe.? And federal 
> education law is not the right vehicle for advancing the mishmash of things that 
> FEA proposes? - all that would do would create a full employment act for 
> professional development developers, teacher-directed 
>  assessment directors, capacity-building builders, parent-involvement involvers, 
> and accountability-loophole loopholers.
> 
> 
> 
>  Art
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tauna Rogiers <taunar@plateautel.net>
> To: arn-l@interversity.org
> Sent: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 6:22 pm
> Subject: Re: [arn-l] Fwd: Article from CongressNow on NCLB - mentions FEA- see 
> below
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please forgive me but I find Sec. Spellings response to the FEA's 
> recommendations outrageous. But of course what should I have expected! See 
> her press release I sent in separate post. Among other ridiculous things, 
> she says,?
> ?
> 
> "As we work with Congress to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act, we 
> must keep our eye on the ball: ensuring that all students achieve grade 
> level proficiency in reading and math by 2014. Unfortunately, the report 
> released today by the Forum on Educational Accountability (FEA) shifts the 
> focus from results to excuses."?
> ?
> 
> She continues to demand that all students must achieve grade level 
> proficiency iin reading and math by 2014. Is this woman that dumb/ignorant, 
> or am I the one? Am I wrong that the concept of grade level is simply an 
> average and that by definition, half of all students will be below grade 
> level? And given that all measurable human attributes and abilities vary 
> enormously and fall along a continuum, the only possible way to reach  100% 
> proficiency is to define and set proficiency so low that it would be 
> meaningless.?
> ?
> 
> Anyway, thanks for your tremendous efforts Monty, et al.  Being attacked by 
> Spellings, Ed Trust, and Aspen is a compliment.?
> ?
> 
> Tauna?
> ?
>  
> 
> 
> ________________________________________________________________________
> AOL now offers free email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL 
> at AOL.com.
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> End of [arn-l Digest] Vol. 3 No. 440 Messages: 6
> **********