From Scathing Purple Musings, by Bob Sykes
The Gainesville Sun and Tampa Bay Times reports that two more school boards, Alachua and Hernando, will be strongly considering resolutions against Florida’s suffocating high-stakes test regime. The Sun has this from Alachua board chairman:
To base everything on one high-stakes test is not in the best interest of our children,” said April Griffin, chair of the School Board.
….Griffin emphasized that districts want to be held accountable, but current state and federal testing mandates are not the answer.
“We want to encourage the state of Florida, the governor and the state Board of Education to come up with a different type of accountability standard,” Griffin said. “Basing everything on one day in a child’s year is not the correct way, we believe.”
The disconnect between the Jeb Bush led cabal of education policy-makers and the everyone else in the state is astonishing. This from the state’s BOE vice chairman:
Roberto Martinez, vice chairman of the state Board of Education, said Monday he believes school boards like Pinellas and Hernando are responding to constituents in passing the resolutions, but questioned what he said were a lack of specifics.
“I don’t hear anyone saying let’s replace what we have with X, Y or Z,” Martinez said.
Really?
Responding to constituents – taxpayers all - is wrong? I thought this crew was all about choice. Martinez and his ilk are mad that school boards and taxpayers aren’t choosing what they want them too.
Neither Martinez, nor Bush for that matter, are elected officials. Yet both impose policy. Instead of offering a defense for their decade old testing regime, Martinez’ rhetorical “X, Y, Z” snort brings out into the open their vulnerability.
http://bobsidlethoughtsandmusings.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/alachua-hernando-school-boards-to-take-up-resolution-on-high-stakes-testing/
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