" Testing is issue in Nov. election "

[Peter Farruggio <pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu>]

> Hopefuls spar over exit exams
> Testing is issue in Nov. election
>
> Mike Cronin
> The Arizona Republic
> Oct. 9, 2006 12:00 AM
>
> If Tom Horne still heads Arizona's public schools after Election 
> Day, passing exit exams to earn a diploma will remain a part of 
> every Arizona student's high school experience.
>
> "That's the big issue," Horne said more than once during a debate 
> Sunday afternoon with challenger Jason Williams.
>
> About 100 people attended the forum at Burton Barr Library in 
> downtown Phoenix.Horne, 60, hammered home the importance of high 
> school students passing a "reasonable test" before they get a diploma.
>
> That type of test is crucial to ensure that Arizona's students are 
> prepared to enter the 21st-century workforce, said Horne, a 
> Harvard-educated lawyer who has served as state superintendent since 2003.
>
> Williams rejected the idea of an exit exam.
>
> Teachers should evaluate students using many measures of performance 
> instead, he said. And that process must begin in the lower grades to 
> better monitor student progress.
>
> The pro-Williams crowd exploded in applause when he asked why wait 
> until the 10th grade to monitor how well students are learning.
>
> The creation of "community corps" in all of Arizona's school 
> districts is central to his vision of improving the state's K-12 
> education system, Williams said.
>
> Those groups would consist of parents, school officials and business 
> leaders, said the former sixth-grade teacher and executive director 
> of the Phoenix chapter of Teach for America.
>
>
> Attack on Horne
>
>
> Williams attacked Horne for educational failures that have occurred 
> "on his watch," including a high dropout rate.
>
> To tackle that problem, Williams proposed a three-pronged approach. 
> The strategy would include cultivating community as well as teacher 
> mentors who begin guiding students in elementary school, halting 
> funding cuts to guidance-counselor and social-worker positions, and 
> having a broad curriculum in high school.
>
> Horne touted a new position in the Department of Education created 
> to combat dropouts.
>
> "We give (students) tutors to help them, workbooks, practically 
> everything but get them up in the morning," he said.
>
> Regarding teaching students who are learning English, Williams 
> called for "an aggressive program of language acquisition and a 
> serious assessment" of where pupils are in their English abilities.
>
>
> Tests called 'a joke'
>
>
> The current self-tests students take are "a joke," Williams said. He 
> advocates the option of teaching many languages to young students.
>
> Horne responded that he has increased a staff of six to 26 whose job 
> it is to scour the state for the best ways to teach English 
> learners. He said all students should learn Spanish, and should 
> begin to do so early in elementary school.
>
> And he said that it is imperative that public schools try to help 
> parents learn English, too. Otherwise, their children won't learn as 
> well or as quickly, he said.
>
> Williams highlighted his experience as a teacher, something Horne 
> lacks, saying that qualifies to him to become superintendent more 
> than Horne's 28 years of experience developing education policy.
>
> "The attorney general was a lawyer," Williams told the audience. 
> "The surgeon general was a doctor. Isn't it about time the state 
> schools superintendent was a public school teacher?"
>
> Horne countered that the 29-year-old Williams only taught for two 
> years before choosing to run for elected office in a teachers union.
>
> Both candidates agreed that Arizona schools, ranked last in the 
> nation by some reports in per-pupil-funding, need more money.
>
> Horne said he pushed for the state to provide $150 million to raise 
> teacher salaries. A governor-legislative compromise netted $100 
> million, he said.
>
> "That's not enough," Horne said. "And I'll continue to fight for more."
>
> Both candidates excoriated the federal government's testing policies 
> for disabled students. Under President Bush's education reform law, 
> No Child Left Behind, disabled students must pass exams that test 
> them on reading skills often at a level higher than their actual abilities.
>
> Horne and Williams also agreed that early-childhood literacy was 
> crucial to success later in a student's life.
>
>
> The candidates
>
>
> Tom Horne, Republican, incumbent
>
> Current position: Arizona superintendent of public instruction since 2003.
>
> Age: 60.
>
> Education: Harvard College, Harvard Law School.
>
> Other experience: Representative, Arizona Legislature; Paradise 
> Valley Unified School District board of directors.
>
>
>
> Jason Williams, Democrat, challenger
>
> Current position: Before choosing to campaign full time, Williams 
> served as executive director of the Phoenix branch of Teach for America.
>
> Age: 29.
>
> Education: Boston College.
>
> Other experience: Elected representative, California Teachers 
> Association State Council of Education; sixth-grade math and science 
> teacher, Oakland, Calif.
>
> Reach the reporter at mike.cronin@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-7938.