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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mr. Whist who wrote (40316)	9/28/2000 10:19:39 AM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 769667

I don't believe in tenure, I don't believe in a mandated minimum salary, and I don't know what due process protections were in question. I also don't believe in using the national average as a salary benchmark, since things like cost of living vary. On the other hand, Rand credited his initiatives with improving test scores across the board, and markedly so among minorities.......

To: Mr. Whist who wrote (40316)	9/28/2000 11:36:42 AM
From: flatsville	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 769667

If you take a critical look at the "Texas Educational Miracle" aka Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) you'll see that it's testing out of control. These schools spend millions on testing software, workbooks and study materials to assist the students in passing the test. They have TAAS rallies, like pep rallies. The some schools spend months simply preparing for TAAS to the exclusion of real academics. Many schools do not have adequate libraries, but have plenty of expensive TAAS materials. I live in a state where they do not teach to the test. They don't have to as the school standards here have been high consistently over time. I would hate to see what Bush has done in Texas with TAAS become some sort of national testing standard. School systems are a local issue and should remain so. As a Republican he should know that. I saw him on a talk show program attempt to explain how he would institute the "Texas Educational Miracle" on a nationwide basis. He couldn't explain. He mumbled something about federal funding. All I could assume was more federal dollars to the Department of Education. Weren't the Republicans out to dismantle that department just a few years ago? law.harvard.edu. Since Neocon is convinced Harvard is "safe haven" for communists and socialists here's another opinion: fni.com >>>By all reports, it would appear that Texas schools have finally taken a turn for the better. After all, over 1,000 schools recently obtained the state's highest academic rating. That's 400 more than last year, making a grand total of 16 percent of the state's 6,664 schools. "Let's be happy and holler," a Haltom City principal told her students over the loud speakers after receiving the "exemplary" rating based on the state's Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test (TAAS). But conservative critics are not so sure there's a lot to holler about. "Schools in Texas hold distinction for one of the lowest graduation rates in the nation coupled with one of the lowest ratings in the nation for college preparation," according to a report written by education research analyst Chris Patterson. Patterson's report revealed that, as TAAS scores continue to rise, the percentage of Texas students who require remediation in college has grown 16 percent. Furthermore, Texas SAT scores remain below the national average...<<<