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<blockquote type="cite" cite>Visionaries:</blockquote>
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<div>This article appeared in the Town Crier today. It outlines
the impact</div>
<div>of No Child Left Behind or better said, "No Child Left
Untested." No</div>
<div>Child Left Behind was advertized as being fully federally
funded. It is</div>
<div>very apparent that states and local school districts are having
to pick up</div>
<div>major costs of the unfunded mandate.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Rep. Tom Trail</div>
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</x-tab>Testing 1,2,3Š<br>
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</x-tab>Or four, or five BILLION dollars?<br>
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</x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab>By
Elyse Cregar<br>
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Try 1.9 to 5.3 billion dollars. According to a 2003 report by the
Government Accounting Office, that's the estimated range of what
states will spend between 2002 and 2008 to implement school tests
mandated by No Child Left Behind. I am not optimistic about having
more mandated testing then we've ever seen in our history.<br>
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Four major testing companies will siphon off our tax dollars to
compile and market so-called standardized tests to children throughout
the nation. The above figures cover only the costs of developing,
scoring and reporting the tests. There are many more extended costs
such as teacher time in preparing students and offering essays in
addition to multiple-choice questions, so that these figures could be
tens of billions of dollars higher than 5.3 billion dollars.
Additionally, in order to meet the NCLB requirement for Adequate
Yearly Progress reports, states will have to store and evaluate test
data.<br>
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Consider the following common folktale: A peasant believes his small
home is too noisy with crying children and a snoring wife. The wise
person in the village advises him to bring home a cow, then a goat, a
few hens, and, finally, a rooster. As each animal is added to his
home, the noise only gets worse. The peasant throws up his hands.
"Remove all of the farm animals from your house," the sage
advises. The peasant does so and lives a peaceful life thereafter.<br>
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In the early days of our country, parents taught their children at
home and literacy rates were high. With industrialization children
were mandated to attend public schools. "But are they learning?"
some people would ask. And so the premise of accountability was
instituted. Teachers tested children at the end of a day or week to
see how much they had retained and could apply to hypothetical
problems.<br>
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For many years this was the norm. Tests were devised, administered and
graded by teachers for those groups of individuals known to them
personally. Teachers continue to test as part of the year's teaching
time,<i> as a way to learn for themselves which areas of study need to
be reinforced and which children need extra help</i>.<br>
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Bureaucrats through the years cried for<i> more</i> accountability.
They voiced concerns about whether our children were prepared for the
workforce in a growing economy. They contracted with corporations to
develop, distribute, and grade tests. They inserted media budget items
in order to convince well-intentioned people that such tests are
necessary for the future survival of our society.<br>
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By the end of the twentieth century more bureaucracies sprang up to
handle the growing "demand" for accountability. Were parents
asking for this? Certainly children were not. Nor, I suspect, were
most teachers. Their days are already crowded to the point of having
to cut creative projects to make time for mandated test
preparation.<br>
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With NCLB entire school districts are being tested by the State. In
spite of shrinking budgets and burgeoning social ills, schools need to
"show improvement" or face being taken over by privateers.
And the Swords of Damocles - school district success rates, federal
funding, and high school graduation - hang over the furrowed brows of
our children. How dare we put this kind of pressure on our kids? We
already experience a 30% high school dropout rate nationwide.<br>
<br>
Donald C. Orlich, Professor Emeritus at WSU, has written "School
Reform: The Great American Brain Robbery." This 259 page
book is an indictment against current federal education policy and
NCLB. The details are meticulously researched and the reader can
only conclude that current federal public school reforms are
undermining the democratic purposes of public education.
PublishAmerica of Baltimore is bringing out this important book in
August.</font></blockquote>
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After researching NCLB real expenditures online, I am revisiting the
3Rs: I'm going to Revolt, Refuse and Revise whenever possible,
starting with the children in my own circle. I will support these
children in their efforts to refuse to take the test. Wisconsin was
the first state to pass an Exemption Provision from the state-mandated
tests, thanks largely to efforts of the home-schooling community. If
enough people gather together at local levels we can successfully
protest this appalling waste of our resources - both human and
financial.<br>
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There is another common legend - about a fire-breathing dragon - who
demands of the villagers their children as fodder for its bloated
belly.</font></blockquote>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite>Donald C. Orlich<br>
SMEEC<br>
PO Box 644237<br>
Pullman, WA 99164-4237<br>
(509) 335-4844 FAX (509) 335-7389</blockquote>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite>Donald C. Orlich<br>
SMEEC<br>
PO Box 644237<br>
Pullman, WA 99164-4237<br>
(509) 335-4844 FAX (509) 335-7389</blockquote>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite>Dr. Tom Trail<br>
International Trails<br>
1375 Mt. View Rd.<br>
Moscow, Id. 83843<br>
Tel: (208) 882-6077<br>
Fax: (208) 882-0896<br>
e mail ttrail@moscow.com</blockquote>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite>Dr. Tom Trail<br>
International Trails<br>
1375 Mt. View Rd.<br>
Moscow, Id. 83843<br>
Tel: (208) 882-6077<br>
Fax: (208) 882-0896<br>
e mail ttrail@moscow.com</blockquote>
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<div>Dr. Tom Trail<br>
International Trails<br>
1375 Mt. View Rd.<br>
Moscow, Id. 83843<br>
Tel: (208) 882-6077<br>
Fax: (208) 882-0896<br>
e mail ttrail@moscow.com</div>
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