Re: making the numbers show it

[aburke5054@aol.com]

Leaving Fordham and NWEA aside, Monty Neill claims below that making 
state tests easier may be justifiable to avoid NCLB "sanctions."  NCLB 
requires far more than sanctions and claiming that all there is to NCLB 
is sanctions is simply irresponsible - NCLB imposes specific 
responsibilities on states to improve schools where children have 
fallen behind.  For all its clunkiness, NCLB is an important civil 
rights  law precisely because it creates that urgency.  States have 
perverse incentives to play games with their tests - they might not 
want to spend the money required to improve schools, they might not 
want to take responsibility for troubled schools, and they might cave 
to pressure from educators who want to protect their own interests at 
the expense of the interests of parents and children.  These are not 
good reasons to make tests easier.

Art

-----Original Message-----
From: GERALD BRACEY <gbracey1@verizon.net>
To: arn-l@interversity.org
Sent: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 1:17 pm
Subject: Re: [arn-l] making the numbers show it


This is a main claim in Fordham's Proficiency Illusion report.  Fordham
might or might not be trustworthy, but the study was done by the NWEA 
with 4
of its people as authors.

JB
nt

----- Original Message -----
From: "Monty Neill" <monty@fairtest.org>

To: <ndsgroup@yahoogroups.com>; "ARN-L" <arn-l@interversity.org>;
"arn2-strategy" <arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com>

Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 3:30 PM

Subject: [arn-l] making the numbers show it



Back in Sept a flurry of attention was paid to NY Daily News reporting 
that
tests in NY were getting easier, accounting for the boost in scores.


This piece on the NYC public school parents website provides more
comprehensive info on this.


How many other states are making their tests easier? I've not seen this 
sort
of info from other states, tho I expect it may well happen.


Doing so to avoid a greater harm - NCLB sanctions - may be justifiable, 
but
of course the pols then claim the results show schools are improving. 
Gaming
every which way at once.


http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2007/09/here-are-numbers-everything-is.html 


Monty Neill, Ed.D.

Co-Executive Director

FairTest

342 Broadway

Cambridge, MA 02139

617-864-4810 x 101;  fax 617-497-2224

monty@fairtest.org

http://www.fairtest.org

Donate: https://secure.entango.com/servlet/donate/MnrXjT8MQqk


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