Not junk mail
I don't talk about it much, but besides GR the main gig on my resume is 10 years spent editing textbooks. It wasn't the most glamorous job, but I liked it. I met and worked with some great people, and making textbooks better is a good thing. (I am also able to appreciate shows like The Office...)
Maybe that's why I got this email. I don't like to get on soapboxes much, but I think this one is worth reading. It's super long, but even if you just skim the beginning, you'll get the idea.
Dear Martin,
Monday, January 8, marked the fifth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act and the beginning of the reauthorization process. It's been five years, and the controversial legislation is still underfunded by billions of dollars, still heavily focused on one-size-fits-all testing, and still unfairly punishing too many schools and students. We hope you will take this opportunity to editorialize in favor of practical reforms to the law that will assist schools in closing achievement gaps and meet the needs of those actually in the classroom.
The National Education Association's 3.2 million members have said loud and clear what reforms are most needed. The key elements of NEA's positive agenda for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act include accountability systems that reward success, smaller class sizes, adequate resources, quality educators in every classroom, and engaged parents, families, and communities.
*NCLB should focus less on tests and more on multiple measures of success
Rather than focusing almost exclusively on two standardized tests, educators say student achievement should be measured over time through multiple indicators. NCLB takes a snapshot of student performance on two tests on one day, rather than delivering a complete portrait of student needs and achievement or of school quality. NCLB fails to recognize that, while all students can learn, not all students learn at the same rate.
Placing so much emphasis on reading and math tests has prompted thousands of schools to reduce, and even eliminate, time spent on other subjects, according to the Center on Education Policy. Since 2002, when the law was passed, 71 percent of the nation's 15,000 school districts have reduced time spent on subjects like art, social studies, and history. Schools that don't deliver high enough test scores face stiff penalties.
*Educators are willing to be held accountable, but they need the basic tools to do their jobs
An increasing number of schools fear stiff penalties in part because NCLB is woefully underfunded. The law has never been funded at the authorized levels, and schools face a cumulative 6-year shortfall likely to exceed $56 billion. After a reasonable increase in funding in the first year, and smaller increases in the succeeding three years, funding was cut by over $1 billion dollars last year. To add insult to injury, there are more mandates this year that schools must comply with, yet they are receiving less money than they were three years ago.
About 80 percent of school districts said they have costs associated with NCLB not covered by federal funding. Indeed, in this current school year 62 percent of all school districts had their Title I funds cut. According to the Education Department, 27 percent of schools failed to meet "adequate yearly progress” under the law for 2004–2005, a one percentage point increase from 2003–2004. NEA's positive agenda calls on lawmakers to provide adequate tools and resources to comply with the law.
*Educators, parents, and the general public all want positive changes to the law that will help students succeed
About 70 percent of NEA members said they disapprove of NCLB and 57 percent said they want major reforms, according to a recent survey. Most people share their concerns—nearly six in 10 Americans believe NCLB has had no effect on schools, or has had a negative effect, according to a Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll.
NEA has been collecting eyewitness accounts of educators' experiences with the law and compiled them into ESEA/NCLB: It's Time for a Change! Voices from America's Classrooms, a publication that will be released next week. The stories are from every state, from all sizes of school districts, and from all types of educators, but they raise strikingly similar concerns.
Karol Nyberg, a high school teacher in Grand Forks, North Dakota, said:
"It's a professional slap in the face—someone telling you, after you've been working so hard at your craft for 30 years, that all of a sudden you are not qualified to do it. But the piece that did surprise me was the number of young teachers who told me they were getting out because they said that 'if they do this to us now, what else are they going to decide to pull when we get further into our careers and don't have any options?' They felt that now they have the option to go and do something else, to be treated with more respect, and to make more money at the same time.”
Not only do NEA and educators throughout the country have serious concerns about this law, but so do a wide variety of other organizations and policymakers. A coalition of 99 national organizations representing education, civil rights, religious, children, disability rights and other interests have joined together and called for changes to NCLB (http://www.nea.org/presscenter/nclbjointstatement.html). The National Conference of State Legislatures last year issued a report criticizing the law and calling for specific changes. And in the previous Congress, 41 bills supported by NEA to amend NCLB were introduced, including several sponsored by Republicans.
Please editorialize in favor of lawmakers working across party lines to ensure NCLB reflects the best interests of students and prepares them to compete in a global economy.
Sincerely,
Will Potter
Maybe that's why I got this email. I don't like to get on soapboxes much, but I think this one is worth reading. It's super long, but even if you just skim the beginning, you'll get the idea.
Dear Martin,
Monday, January 8, marked the fifth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act and the beginning of the reauthorization process. It's been five years, and the controversial legislation is still underfunded by billions of dollars, still heavily focused on one-size-fits-all testing, and still unfairly punishing too many schools and students. We hope you will take this opportunity to editorialize in favor of practical reforms to the law that will assist schools in closing achievement gaps and meet the needs of those actually in the classroom.
The National Education Association's 3.2 million members have said loud and clear what reforms are most needed. The key elements of NEA's positive agenda for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act include accountability systems that reward success, smaller class sizes, adequate resources, quality educators in every classroom, and engaged parents, families, and communities.
*NCLB should focus less on tests and more on multiple measures of success
Rather than focusing almost exclusively on two standardized tests, educators say student achievement should be measured over time through multiple indicators. NCLB takes a snapshot of student performance on two tests on one day, rather than delivering a complete portrait of student needs and achievement or of school quality. NCLB fails to recognize that, while all students can learn, not all students learn at the same rate.
Placing so much emphasis on reading and math tests has prompted thousands of schools to reduce, and even eliminate, time spent on other subjects, according to the Center on Education Policy. Since 2002, when the law was passed, 71 percent of the nation's 15,000 school districts have reduced time spent on subjects like art, social studies, and history. Schools that don't deliver high enough test scores face stiff penalties.
*Educators are willing to be held accountable, but they need the basic tools to do their jobs
An increasing number of schools fear stiff penalties in part because NCLB is woefully underfunded. The law has never been funded at the authorized levels, and schools face a cumulative 6-year shortfall likely to exceed $56 billion. After a reasonable increase in funding in the first year, and smaller increases in the succeeding three years, funding was cut by over $1 billion dollars last year. To add insult to injury, there are more mandates this year that schools must comply with, yet they are receiving less money than they were three years ago.
About 80 percent of school districts said they have costs associated with NCLB not covered by federal funding. Indeed, in this current school year 62 percent of all school districts had their Title I funds cut. According to the Education Department, 27 percent of schools failed to meet "adequate yearly progress” under the law for 2004–2005, a one percentage point increase from 2003–2004. NEA's positive agenda calls on lawmakers to provide adequate tools and resources to comply with the law.
*Educators, parents, and the general public all want positive changes to the law that will help students succeed
About 70 percent of NEA members said they disapprove of NCLB and 57 percent said they want major reforms, according to a recent survey. Most people share their concerns—nearly six in 10 Americans believe NCLB has had no effect on schools, or has had a negative effect, according to a Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll.
NEA has been collecting eyewitness accounts of educators' experiences with the law and compiled them into ESEA/NCLB: It's Time for a Change! Voices from America's Classrooms, a publication that will be released next week. The stories are from every state, from all sizes of school districts, and from all types of educators, but they raise strikingly similar concerns.
Karol Nyberg, a high school teacher in Grand Forks, North Dakota, said:
"It's a professional slap in the face—someone telling you, after you've been working so hard at your craft for 30 years, that all of a sudden you are not qualified to do it. But the piece that did surprise me was the number of young teachers who told me they were getting out because they said that 'if they do this to us now, what else are they going to decide to pull when we get further into our careers and don't have any options?' They felt that now they have the option to go and do something else, to be treated with more respect, and to make more money at the same time.”
Not only do NEA and educators throughout the country have serious concerns about this law, but so do a wide variety of other organizations and policymakers. A coalition of 99 national organizations representing education, civil rights, religious, children, disability rights and other interests have joined together and called for changes to NCLB (http://www.nea.org/presscenter/nclbjointstatement.html). The National Conference of State Legislatures last year issued a report criticizing the law and calling for specific changes. And in the previous Congress, 41 bills supported by NEA to amend NCLB were introduced, including several sponsored by Republicans.
Please editorialize in favor of lawmakers working across party lines to ensure NCLB reflects the best interests of students and prepares them to compete in a global economy.
Sincerely,
Will Potter
posted by gr at
2:13 PM
I work in the public school system.
It's getting to be a big mess.
It's true that some schools only focus on test scores and nothing else.
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