New state Superintendent Randy Dorn's proposal to abolish the WASL may well create the most interesting non-budgetary debate in Olympia this legislative session. Moreover, his claim to be able to take such action without specific legislative approval - never mind that of the Governor - creates a number of potentially fascinating subplots.
For now, one relevant issue is what Dorn's proposal doesn't do. If implemented, students will still be tested regularly, they will still face a test-related graduation requirement, and our overall system of testing & standards isn't going anywhere. That's grim news for the extreme anti-testing camps on both sides of the aisle - though a notable nod to the modern reality of modern education reform).
Whatever the details of Dorn's proposal, this is the kind of thinking on to which the GOP should latch. Charters and vouchers are a complete non-starter in Washington state based on past political history, including multiple statewide votes on charters. And aggressive anti-teacher's union rhetoric is a proven electoral loser in many a red state, let alone in our blue environs.
Steady yet serious reform within the system, however, such as that which Dorn proposes, has real potential for combining prudent policy with sound electoral politics. Concurrently, the issue of merit or performance-based pay for teachers could prove equally fortuitous. Note that President Obama is long on record in support of such measures. Furthermore, new Secretary of Education Arne Duncan - about as solid a reformer as could be hoped for in an Obama Administration - has cheered the related "Teacher Incentive Fund" instituted by Congress at the urging of President Bush.
When an idea makes sense, is popular with the public, AND has the backing of key Democrats in Washington, DC, it should be a no-brainer for Republicans to push locally (knowing full well the WEA will oppose it, thus putting local Democrats in a bind).
Posted by Eric Earling at January 22, 2009 05:49 PM | Email ThisIt is pretty firm in my mind that the way we have been approaching the education in this state hasn't been either efficient, cost effective or productive. The only thing that I feel we have accomplished is padding the teacher's union.
It is time that we actually have the well being of the kids at heart. However, that is accomplished by efficient productivity. By spending money wisely. By holding our school boards, our administrators and our teachers accountable for what they produce. Educated kids.
Don't get me wrong. I come from a family of teachers and know first hand the difficulties they face in a lot of cases. Our answer has been to throw more money in hopes of getting better teachers. There isn't anything wrong with the teachers, but there are serious problems in the structure and tools the teachers have to work with. It is like trying to paint an entire school building with a single paint brush. We never quite get the job done no matter how many painters we hire or how much we pay them.
So, maybe Mr. Dorn has some great plans that will move our education system in the right direction for a change. We will see and if he doesn't, it will be a one term flop.
Posted by: Lin Wicks on January 22, 2009 07:39 PMi distrust the union influence link to him, any WA-centric (and nationally non-standard) test and the lack of accountability or taxpayer ability to remove ineffective principals & teachers--you know--hold them to the same performance pressures as we feel in the private sector for what we pay in taxes;
and yes, i too come from a family of educators; in fairness to teachers, though, teachers can't make miracles due to the main problem--ditzy, selfish, uncommmitted parents & families who don't care nor want to---how can we hold THEM primarily responsible in this day & age of "blame everyone but me?"
also--dump the society-softening p.c. crap taught now for the basic 3-R's--worked then, worked now--wasn't that Occam's Razor?--the simple answer is usually the one?
Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on January 22, 2009 07:56 PMI can think of some other key topics that merit attention, aside from the additional issue of performance based-pay I mentioned: high school graduation standards, improved preparedness for college, drop-out prevention, improved alignment of curriculum with standards, and real accountability at the state level for test results are all worthy topics...though too much to be handled all at once with real effectiveness.
Posted by: Eric Earling on January 22, 2009 08:11 PMYes, and if you believe that happens with any degree of frequency I have a goodly collection of bridges to sell you in Arizona.
Meanwhile, private school teachers are generally hired and retained based on their individual performance, not a collective contract that rewards them for seniority and little else.
Either way, the issue of removing ineffective teachers is a comparative non-issue in the list of more pressing and plausible education reform opportunities I noted.
Posted by: Eric Earling on January 22, 2009 10:30 PMit is nearly impossible to have a teacher fired once they have achieved tenure, which happens after just a few years of experience.
private school teachers do get merit pay...it's called getting paid according to their ability. if a private school hires a famous/great teacher that will bring in paying students, then the school will pay the teacher more money. that's how the real world works...people are paid based on their relative value to the organization they work for.
unions break the free-market check on salaries. they artificially increase the basis cost of production in any industry they infiltrate. the increase in basis cost is transferred to the consumer in the form of higher prices without any guarantee of increased quality and efficiency. that's ultimately what pushes companies to seek cheaper labor abroad.
teacher's unions are especially dangerous for three reasons:
What I don't get is how Democrats who love to bash the rich, never say anything about how the current education system divides us along have and have-not lines.
Wealthy people opt-out of the shitty public school system and send their kids to private prep schools which leads to spots at elite universities and a much higher chance of being wealthy like their parents. The rest of us are forced to send our kids to the broken (and now segregated like Seattle) public school system where they are brainwashed to be incompetent and dependent on government largess the rest of their lives.
No wonder the prosperity gap is widening. There are far more shitty public school districts than competent ones. The shitty ones are cranking out generation after generation of stupid people who believe they are entitled to government hand outs and that any time anything goes wrong, the government should bail them out.
Government programs stratify our society along economic lines and are the primary force for limiting individual liberty and social mobility while creating the new American bourgeois. Novus ordo seclorum indeed.
Posted by: blindman on January 22, 2009 10:47 PMWhat worries me about Dorn and Democrats in general is that once a system fails (WASL), excuses for the failure are made and usually it is the test itself. So, either we dumb down the test, change the minimum standard or get a new test. So, what happens when the newest and greatest thing also fails?
Just asking and hoping for an answer.
My teacher family members seem to think the problem is just the test. I, however, think along the lines of jimmie.
Posted by: swatter on January 23, 2009 07:16 AM" Wasn't Duncan in charge of a school system and school reform that didn't work? Eric, are you thinking this guy is good because he "learned from his mistakes"? It is a valid reason (I hope because that is how I learned my profession), or are there other reasons for your support of Duncan? "
swatter:
Was there ever a time in your career when you stopped learning from your mistakes and learned not to make mistakes?
I am curious, in what profession is it permissible to learn the profession by making mistakes?
Are you a Democrat tax accountant?
Posted by: Brian Thomas on January 23, 2009 08:48 AMI knew alot about Bergeson. How she was hell-bent on fuzzy-math and an expert at duping people into believing that WASL equates to high standards (she served as head of every committee that was put in place to check validity and efficiency of WASL), and she cut funding for other tests that showed that there was no improvement in education. (3rd and 7th grade ITBS test scores hardly moved; an indication that no improvement was made like the WASL was indicating-so she got rid of the ITBS test)
The WASL was ten times the cost of other tests so I am glad to see it go. If my kids were still in public school I would boycott the WASL this year to show my support for the removal of WASL.
Good for you, I guess, though that wasn't the main topic at all of my post. I would warn you, however, that your anecdotal experiences are not representative in the least of my interactions with administrators across the Northwest and the associations that represent them. Your opinion on the ease of removing bad teachers is contrary to established opinion in the education policy-making community.
What size is your school, how many teachers have you actually removed, and how many teachers over all have worked for you in your 22 years in the profession?
swatter @ 9 -
I'm not saying Duncan was the best large school system superintendent (it's an impossibly difficult job anyway). What he was while he was there was an effective reformer, who made substantial progress with some of the most stereotypically difficult student populations, and who wasn't afraid to try solutions that had merit but which were outside some people's comfort zones.
Chicago overall isn't a great school system because it's starting point before Duncan was terrible with a capital T. He did, however, significantly improve overall student achievement while embracing non-status quo ideas (charters, closing persistently under-performing schools, etc.). That and he's an effective overall leader. That's about as good as can be hoped for in this Administration.
Posted by: Eric Earling on January 23, 2009 09:09 AMMy comments on Duncan aren't platitudes. I do believe the overall view of his record in Chicago should be positive given where things were when he started and where they are on his departure (and none of that has anything to do with money). Moreover, he is perhaps the best possible Education Secretary conservatives could expect from Obama. I have high hopes he will be effective.
Posted by: Eric Earling on January 23, 2009 09:42 AMhow about this--follow the $$ on who will profit? some educator's consulting and testing company? why not make it a hefty refundable % with interest to taxpayers if it does not work?
why not be comparable to national tests? hiding something? all this hope-n-change govt. gibberish about the transparency buzzword everywhere...
don't those accountants (?) or cpa's take some kind of standardized test across the nation? why not for schools?
Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on January 23, 2009 07:45 PMredux -
Was there ever a time in your career when you stopped learning from your mistakes and learned not to make mistakes?
I am curious, in what profession is it permissible to learn the profession by making mistakes?
Are you a Democrat tax accountant?
Posted by: Brian Thomas on January 24, 2009 04:15 PMMy kids don't need more class hours, more class days, more homework,
more parent volunteer time, more service and graduation requirements,
more math beyond calculus, more assessments or more ANYTHING. We just
need a BASIC FREAKING EDUCATION. ARGH.
Read more about how the WASL passes kids at a 4th grade level, and
how I personally killed the arts classroom based assessment where
they used a Picasso sample that would get any kids slapped with
harassement if they tried drawing a portrait like that, and another
sample picture that was lipstick on a garage.
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfthx7q4_1395dzjr5nfx
Posted by: awarthurhu on January 26, 2009 01:08 PM