Feasting on educational statistics

["Allen Flanigan." <Allen.Flanigan@USPTO.GOV>]

"I just bring different dishes to the feast."

Whatever feast I go to, I always try to bring some humble pie with me just
in case.

I have even been called upon to eat crow occasionally (though I ususally
don't bring any with me).

I agree that tests can be useful tools when their limitations are
recognized; this is a premise which usually gets overlooked.  I think James
Popham's essay on the proper use of standardized tests(and how improper it
is to use them to measure school quality) states most succinctly and clearly
how these tests often get misused because we forget to recognize their
limitations.  Maybe you can start serving up his essay for administrators
and parents in your school system to digest if you truly are concerned about
proper test use.  The person who brings a heart-healthy dish to a dinner for
people with high cholesterol levels may not be as popular as the one who
brings fried chicken, but at least you can serve your food with a clear
conscience.

http://www.familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,1-6219,00.html

Allen Flanigan

Parents Across Virginia United to Reform Standards of Learning

-----Original Message-----
From: aburke@VANSD.ORG [mailto:aburke@VANSD.ORG]
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2001 4:40 PM
To: ARN-L@listsrva.CUA.EDU
Subject: Re: misplacing blame


Juanita ... I'm sorry I don't remember what you said about school funding
and I didn't save the post.  I am still interested in what you think about
it.  Personally, I think we should tax business profits and capital gains
for schools in a way that would plough resources into the schools in
profitable years and maintain a safety net in less profitable ones.  I
haven't worked out the economics of this at all (and probably wouldn't be
good at it anyway), so maybe it's way off.

I still don't understand where your're coming from on "control."  You said
you want state and national laws to function as checks and balances, but not
serve as micromanagers.  Seems like some degree of management goes
hand-in-hand with checks and balances.  Our crazy-quilt educational system
has resources, regulations, policies, advice, opinions, and players coming
from everywhere.  There are deep reasons for this, in the history of how we
came to be who we are as a people and a country.  As frustrating and
irritating as it is, maybe it's a reason to celebrate.

By the way, the Supreme Court has agreed to review the Ohio voucher
decisions.  Things about funding and control of schools could change as a
result.

Tests and statistics are things I know a lot about.   I think they can be
tremendously useful tools towards the same ends that you are working for - -
shaping better educational experiences for the nation's children.  I do not
believe they are the only tools or the best tools;  I believe that in many
situations they are not even necessary tools.  I do not believe that tests
and statistics are the best ways to know children or that they give easy
answers to helping them.  In the human activity we call "education," science
has its limits and I wholeheartedly favor the engagement you talk about.  I
just bring different dishes to the feast.

Art

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the ARN-L list, send command SIGNOFF ARN-L
to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU.