Re: more on: How are private schools able to bypass testing?

[Richard <rpouncy@southcentral.net>]

You know, the public school system is beginning to sounds more like 
Hitler's school for boys except it is class based now.

Richard

gerald w. bracey wrote:
> I love it.  George Orwell must be laughing/crying--hysterical in any case.
>
> Whil NCLB forces the same thing on all schools the argument for privates is
> that they offer alternatives.  Well, golly, when I worked in a school
> district, not all parents had the same philosophy.  Nor did all teachers and
> all principals (those of us in the central office weren't permitted
> philosophies).  Different schools had different approaches and
> within-district-choice attempted to match kids to schools.  What an idea.
>
> JB
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <Bussardre@aol.com>
> To: <arn-l@interversity.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2003 3:39 PM
> Subject: [arn-l] more on: How are private schools able to bypass testing?
>
>
>
> > Well, I am sure some of you have seen this already, but in case you
>
> haven't,
>
> > here is the convoluted reasoning behind why private schools shouldn't be
>
> held
>
> > to the same testing standards as public schools, according to none other
>
> than
>
> > the Manhattan Institute.
> >
> > Can you believe the following argument that appeared in the Tallahassee
> > Democrat?
> >
> > "Imposing this conformity on private schools by requiring that they
> > administer the FCAT would prevent those schools from offering meaningful
> > alternatives to the type of education offered in state schools. Not all
> > children learn in the same way and not all families share the same
>
> philosophy
>
> > of education. Allowing a diversity of approaches is precisely one of the
>
> most
>
> > important benefits of having alternatives to public schools available
>
> through
>
> > voucher programs."
> >
> > In other words, they are admitting they would have to teach to the test,
> > which provides an inferior way of educating kids since not all kids learn
>
> the
>
> > same way.  What kind of hypocrisy is going on here?  The full article is
> > below.  Hope this is posted on EVERY anti-testing website to expose these
> > double-standard phonies for what they are.
> >
> > --billee
> >
> >
> >    Posted on Mon, Mar. 31, 2003
> >
> > http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/5507229.htm
> >
> >
> >
> > Forcing the FCAT on voucher schools is a bad idea
> > By Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. Winters
> > SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT
> >
> > More than 24,000 students in Florida attend private schools with vouchers
> > from government programs. Some legislators and other voucher opponents
>
> have
>
> > voiced concerns that these students are using public money at private
>
> schools
>
> > that are not "accountable" for their performance. They argue that these
> > schools should be forced to administer the state's standardized test, the
> > FCAT. Such a policy, however, would be as harmful as it is unnecessary.
> >
> > The truth is that while many public schools complain about being judged by
>
> a
>
> > standardized test, almost all private schools jump at the chance.
>
> According
>
> > to a survey conducted by Florida Children First, the vast majority of
> > students attending a private school with a voucher from the state's
>
> Corporate
>
> > Tax Credit Program already take a commercially designed standardized test,
> > such as the Stanford-9.
> >
> > Of the 426 private schools in the survey, 95 percent administer such a
>
> test
>
> > even though the state does not require them to do so. These highly
>
> respected
>
> > tests are also given in many public schools throughout the nation. In
>
> fact,
>
> > along with the FCAT, every public school in Florida also administers the
> > Stanford-9.
> >
> > Private schools use their own dollars to administer standardized tests so
> > that they can show parents that they offer a quality education. Unlike
>
> public
>
> > schools, which are assigned students based upon geography, private schools
> > must compete for students in the marketplace. If parents are not convinced
> > that their private school is providing an adequate education, they will
> > enroll their children in another school. Private schools voluntarily
> > administer standardized tests similar to the FCAT to assure parents that
>
> the
>
> > education they offer is of high quality.
> >
> > Though most private schools already administer standardized tests,
>
> requiring
>
> > that they give the FCAT would be a mistake. The reason is not that the
>
> FCAT
>
> > is a bad test - our own research has shown that the FCAT accurately
>
> measures
>
> > student proficiency - but that forcing private schools to give the FCAT
>
> would
>
> > force them to change their focus and curriculum in ways that could hinder
> > their ability to provide distinct alternatives to public schools.
> >
> > Tests are designed to measure how well students do given certain curricula
> > and teaching philosophies. The FCAT is based on the curriculum and
> > educational philosophy contained in the Sunshine State Standards. If
>
> private
>
> > schools had to take the FCAT, then they would have to adopt the same
> > curriculum and philosophy used by state schools that are trying to meet
>
> those
>
> > Sunshine State Standards.
> >
> > Imposing this conformity on private schools by requiring that they
>
> administer
>
> > the FCAT would prevent those schools from offering meaningful alternatives
>
> to
>
> > the type of education offered in state schools. Not all children learn in
>
> the
>
> > same way and not all families share the same philosophy of education.
> > Allowing a diversity of approaches is precisely one of the most important
> > benefits of having alternatives to public schools available through
>
> voucher
>
> > programs.
> >
> > Though private schools do not follow the state standards, we need not be
>
> too
>
> > concerned that private schools are failing to adhere to adequate
>
> standards.
>
> > The market forces them to have meaningful standards in order to entice
> > parents to choose their school. Furthermore, since almost all private
>
> schools
>
> > already administer nationally respected standardized tests, we can judge
>
> the
>
> > value of a private school's standards by how well they perform on these
> > tests.
> >
> > We should demand that private schools receiving vouchers offer at least as
> > good an education as the public schools students are leaving. We should
>
> not
>
> > demand that the private schools are indistinguishable from public schools.
> > Forcing private schools that accept vouchers to administer the FCAT would
>
> be
>
> > a needless and counterproductive policy. Unlike public schools, which are
> > largely immune from losing their students, private schools must worry
>
> every
>
> > day about how to best educate their customers. The marketplace is more
>
> than
>
> > powerful enough to hold private schools accountable, as seen by their
> > eagerness to voluntarily administer standardized tests.
> >
> > Legislatures would do better to concentrate on ensuring progress at public
> > schools that object to being held accountable for the progress of students
> > who have no choice but to attend their school, rather than on the private
> > schools that have to earn their students everyday.
> >
> > Jay P. Greene is a senior fellow and Marcus A. Winters is a research
> > associate at the Manhattan Institute's Education Research Office in Davie,
> > Fla. Web site: <A
>
> HREF="http://www.miedresearchoffice.org/";>www.miedresearchoffice.org</A>.
>
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