By Jim Brown
The godfather of “compassionate conservatism” says in many public schools today, a passing grade on an achievement test doesn't mean a whole lot.
In Texas, for example, students receive a passing grade if they get 55% of the answers correct on the state's new assessment test. For a school, if 55% of its students get 55% of the answers right, then the school or the school district is deemed acceptable.
Marvin Olasky, editor of the Christian news magazine World, says that is not a very high standard.
“The tests, in many ways, are designed not to push students on to higher achievement but to establish public confidence in the public school system,” Olasky says. “That confidence has been waning in recent years as parents and others have seen that the schools often don't produce the product that they say they're producing in terms of children who can read, write, and cipher well.”
Olasky believes these tests in many ways have been established to try to give some “statistical gloss” to what is essentially a “confidence game” on the part of the government establishment.
Continuing on a related issue, Olasky is convinced that because of the great power of the National Education Association (NEA) and its various state affiliates, it will be a struggle for Congress to pass legislation providing private school vouchers or education tax credits for the entire country.
He says the NEA vigorously fights what is in the best interest of children because the union is trying to work for the economic interests of its current teachers.
“They're afraid that if you have real school choice, some of the [teacher] wages that have increased substantially over the past few years may be decreased as there's more competition among schools,” he says.
He adds that some teachers may choose to go to private or religious schools where they have more freedom — and will do so at lower wages, which the NEA fears may depress the wages for teachers in the public schools.
Olasky says it is very sad that the NEA is not looking at the other interests of its members who really want to teach and be free to educate students in the way they think is best.
(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)
