tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post4430785590981866069..comments2023-05-07T04:15:06.213-07:00Comments on SF EdBlog: LIFO - FIREPROOF JOB INSURANCEAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14747706639487714496noreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-20822473858015026642013-12-06T12:44:54.939-08:002013-12-06T12:44:54.939-08:00Interesting article about teacher evaluations on S...Interesting article about teacher evaluations on SFGate today: http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/Aspire-teachers-at-center-of-fierce-national-5039678.php#page-1<br />ABnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-27194360462782351802013-11-01T22:42:53.101-07:002013-11-01T22:42:53.101-07:00This is shaping up to be an interesting battle wit...This is shaping up to be an interesting battle with, unfortunately, a generation of students being used as pawns in a political tug of war.<br /><br />I know a few SFUSD schools that are worried about the new tests. They are concerned that they do not have adequate computers to administer the tests and that their students do not have the necessary computer skills to take the tests.<br /><br />From what I observed on my thirty elementary school tours last year the availability and quality of computer labs/tech centers and emphasis on keyboarding skills/computer proficiency varies dramatically across SFUSD. <br /><br />I have to believe that this is a significant issue that will take at least two years to work out once the resources are in place. Simply stated: Without a commitment of resources to every school in the district (technology, staff training, student computer classes) the MAPP tests cannot be properly administered and will not reflect actual student learning.<br /><br />I have to agree with the State that first year or two of test scores need to be evaluated to ensure they are an accurate reflection of learning. In the business world we do extensive testing before, during, and even after a program rollout. Presumably these tests have been vetted and focus grouped or sample tested. The State should administer both tests over a period (two-three years?) to transition, establish some baseline comparisons, and work out the inevitable kinks.<br /><br />Unfortunately this is shaping up to be another big-government boondoggle (much like the current ACA launch) - top down mandates without providing adequate guidance, support or resources to test and rollout correctly. (Note: This is not a judgement on ACA or MAPP, just on the pitiful execution.)<br /><br />I shudder to think what is going to happen at less resourced schools and districts (those without large PTA fundraising programs).<br /><br />ABnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-56244747793779979222013-11-01T20:21:39.633-07:002013-11-01T20:21:39.633-07:00If you think standardized testing is going away yo...If you think standardized testing is going away you are even crazier than I thought. I guess you've been teaching so long you forgot how to learn. It's called reading.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747706639487714496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-23782045405802785742013-11-01T16:37:02.933-07:002013-11-01T16:37:02.933-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-26681094965693685162013-11-01T14:15:23.678-07:002013-11-01T14:15:23.678-07:00Has Dennis Kelly ever not gotten his way? Once? ...Has Dennis Kelly ever not gotten his way? Once? Ever? If you think it's a delay I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd love to sell you. It's a delay until 2067, the hundred year anniversary of the Summer of Love.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-22441512780190730742013-11-01T13:18:37.560-07:002013-11-01T13:18:37.560-07:00Did you read the article?
You really make yoursel...Did you read the article?<br /><br />You really make yourself look bad when you comment about an article you didn't actually read first. Lack of knowledge is your trademark. You're a lot like your students in that regard. I'm having a Gomer Pyle moment.<br /><br />"State officials said it makes no sense to use the old STAR tests, which were administered in grades 2 to 11 every spring, in the midst of a switch to a new curriculum. Instead, next spring schools will test-drive the Smarter Balanced test, which succeeds STAR."<br /><br />The new curriculum has new content and different methodology. They recognize that there will be a major disconnect if they teach content not on the test or test content not taught. That is the reason for the proposed delay of new the standardized testing which is aligned with the content. Since you would never subject your students to a test of their knowledge testing wouldn't be something you'd know much about, would you?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747706639487714496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-81733003160764788912013-11-01T12:10:10.889-07:002013-11-01T12:10:10.889-07:00This is wonderful. It is being presented as a del...This is wonderful. It is being presented as a delay but we will never test children in this City or State again, every year we will find another reason to delay. It is not worth the money, it's blood money to harass teachers and make children feel bad about themselves for reasons beyond their control such as poverty and racism. Never again will a California child get something in the mail telling them their percentile. How must it feel to get a letter saying you are at the 15th percentile, you are dumb and deserve poverty, your government hates you, prepare for prison. <br /><br />Black children in this City are essentially told, look at this statistic and test based on our culture, we the power structure won't let our children go to school with you and if they do, we will suspend you 11 x as much as whites to protect them, we will imprison them, we enslaved you and kept you away from us for centuries ha ha ha and now look at this paper telling you you are inferior. Mexicans we stole your land now look at this test which says you are inferior because you dare to speak Spanish and not become slaves to white habits. We will take money from your schools, keep you out of college, ridicule you, make sure you don't go to Lowell, and ultimately imprison you based on this number. Or as they say in Germany, VEE ARRE DZOOOPEEERIORR! Pretty soon there will be concentration camps for those who don't do well enough on these Fasco-Tests! <br /><br />We say NO to testing. It is over. You can call it a delay if you want to make yourself feel better just like you probably think you will one day have neighborhood schools and a school board who opposes LIFO, but you are insane! We control everything, get used to it! Dennis Kelly is against testing and he decides, not you! Not just him, but the whole union statewide is against it. We will threaten to strike if you try to bring it back. No amount of blood money is worth telling society's victims they deserve their poverty based on a culturally biased, racist test. And Asians aren't falling for it either, the leaders are all against this testing.<br /><br />You have been humiliated again Don. Get used to it! Why don't you and your fascist friends take up something more useful in your mothers' attics like video games or pornography or collecting Nazi memorabilia? Maybe that will be less frustrating for you and you can feel like a man again shooting alien spacecrafts or imagining poor abused women enjoy being exploited by sickos! You people make me sick!<br /><br />Never again I tell you, NEVER AGAIN! LIFO FOREVER AND NEVER ANOTHER TEST!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-30161665785268538702013-11-01T11:40:47.738-07:002013-11-01T11:40:47.738-07:00Is Sharon the person to call to complain?Is Sharon the person to call to complain?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-85722074089512527672013-11-01T08:48:20.712-07:002013-11-01T08:48:20.712-07:00Other states, he said, have figured out how to mee...<br />Other states, he said, have figured out how to meet federal standards even with changes to their curriculum. He said California is being cheap, saving money by dumping its state test, and paying for students to take just one of the two segments of the new, shared national tests.<br /><br />Last month, on the eve of the Legislature's vote phasing in the new tests, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan issued an unusual warning that the bill would violate federal law. Testing helps keep schools accountable, he said, and publishing results provides parents and the public needed information about school performance.<br /><br />But AB484, the bill promoted by Gov. Jerry Brown, passed easily.<br /><br />If the federal government does withhold funds, the impact could be significant, said Stephen Fiss, superintendent of the Alum Rock Union School District in San Jose. In special education, for instance, federal dollars account for about 30 percent of the budget. "I don't know if we could survive the impact."<br /><br />Still, he supports the Legislature's decision for a reprieve from high-stakes testing, giving schools needed time to develop curriculum and modify teaching.<br /><br />Kirst said he will continue to work with Washington officials.<br /><br />He noted that the federal government has never taken away money from schools. And, he wrote in a statement issued jointly with state schools Superintendent Tom Torlakson, "We would hope and expect that they would not start now."<br /><br />Contact Sharon Noguchi at 408-271-3775 . Follow her at Twitter.com/noguchionk12.<br /><br /><br />Funds the Feds threaten to withhold from state<br /><br /><br />A partial list of federally funded programs in California schools that could be vulnerable to the U.S. withholding funds:<br />$65.6 million -- School Improvement Grants program, for the lowest-performing schools<br />$155.8 million -- Title III of Elementary and Secondary Education Act for Language Acquisition, for English learners<br />$1.2 billion -- Part B of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, for special education<br />$1.3 million -- Title VI, Part B2 for Rural and Low-Income Schools<br />$133.5 million -- Title I, Part C of ESEA for migrant education<br />$265.7 million -- Title II, Part A of ESEA, for professional development and other support for educatorsAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747706639487714496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-9217284279482891682013-11-01T08:48:10.710-07:002013-11-01T08:48:10.710-07:00U.S. threatens to take $3.52 billion from Californ...U.S. threatens to take $3.52 billion from California schools in testing dispute<br /><br />Related Stories<br /><br />Oct 30:<br />•Document: Federal government letter to California education officials<br />Oct 2:<br />•STAR test dumped: Brown ignores federal threats, signs bill allowing new exams<br />Sep 10:<br />•California schools could lose federal funding over STAR test suspension<br />Sep 3:<br />•Poll: California voters support more testing to assess students, teachers<br />Aug 29:<br />•California API scores fall, but Silicon Valley schools dominate state top tier<br />•Data Center: 2013 Growth API ratings for all California schools<br /><br />Reinforcing its threat to punish California for dumping its old standardized state tests next spring, the U.S. Department of Education said that decision could cost the state at least $3.5 billion.<br /><br />The state could lose $15 million it receives to administer a federal program for poor children, known as Title I. More critically, a letter sent Tuesday by Deborah S. Delisle, an assistant secretary of education, hinted California risks significantly more money from other federal initiatives, for the lowest-performing schools, English-language learners, disabled students, rural schools, migrant children and teacher training. Those totaled about $3.5 billion last school year.<br /><br />The dispute between state and federal education officials boils down to whether students need to take standardized tests in English and math every year, and whether the public should be able to see those results. Federal officials say the law requires that, but California believes that's unreasonable.<br /><br />State Board of Education President Michael Kirst said he was surprised that federal authorities would send a threatening letter. He and members of the California Department of Education have been meeting with U.S. officials about reconciling California's new testing regimen with federal law.<br /><br />He characterized the talks as constructive. "I don't believe we are stuck at all."<br /><br />The federal threat comes as California begins major changes to the way it teaches K-12 students. It has adopted a new standard for learning called Common Core, which is intended to offer practical and relevant lessons, teaching students to think critically and solve problems.<br /><br />State officials said it makes no sense to use the old STAR tests, which were administered in grades 2 to 11 every spring, in the midst of a switch to a new curriculum. Instead, next spring schools will test-drive the Smarter Balanced test, which succeeds STAR.<br /><br />The California Legislature decided that schools will only test students either in math or English, and the state will not release the results to schools nor to the public -- because the trial run is as much a calibration of the test as it is a measurement of student achievement.<br /><br />That limited testing, the elimination of the STAR tests and refusal to release results has infuriated federal education officials.<br /><br />Advocates for low-income students and school reform cheered the letter. "California is the only state in the entire nation that is choosing to violate the ESEA," the federal law mandating testing, said Arun Ramanathan, executive director of the advocacy group Education Trust-West, based in Oakland. "As a result, the federal government is saying, 'Enough is enough; we have to react.' "<br /><br /><br /><br />Taking a sample STAR test at San Jose High Academy, 2008. (Richard Koci Hernandez)<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747706639487714496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-71399504487419532192013-11-01T08:38:38.727-07:002013-11-01T08:38:38.727-07:00That's because to win the waiver, states had t...<br />That's because to win the waiver, states had to promise to base teacher evaluations at least in part on student test scores. California, swayed by powerful teachers unions, has resisted incorporating standardized test scores into teacher evaluations.<br /><br />In general, as they begin teaching the new Common Core curriculum adopted by most of the 50 states, school officials welcome the reprieve from publishing test scores.<br /><br />"We need this year and all of next year prior to the spring of 2015 to fully prepare for these changes," said John Porter, superintendent of the Franklin-McKinley School District in San Jose.<br /><br />In the spring, schools may voluntarily take either the English or math portion of the new MAPP exams. The state will pay for one, but not both, of the online-only tests.<br /><br />A district wanting to administer both English and math will have to pay for the extra test.<br /><br />Some districts, like East Side Union High in San Jose, would prefer to take both portions. "You would think that Mr. Duncan would want a large sample piloted to be sure that the tests are reliable," Superintendent Chris Funk said.<br /><br />California could end up with one of the largest pilot tests in the nation. Many states plan to test only 10 percent of students while using their current standardized exam for the test of their students.<br /><br />Many districts are still incorporating Common Core into the classroom. For example, Cupertino Union for a year and half has sent teams from each of its 26 schools to curriculum training, and to return to help train their colleagues.<br /><br />"We are giving the gift of time to teachers and students," said AB484's author, Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, a former English teacher, referring to the hiatus from releasing scores. "We want you to focus on classroom instruction. I understand the pressure a teacher feels when she knows an assessment is coming."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747706639487714496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-23761305273788631532013-11-01T08:38:26.300-07:002013-11-01T08:38:26.300-07:00By Sharon Noguchi
Related Stories
Oct 3...By Sharon Noguchi<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Related Stories<br /><br />Oct 30:<br />•U.S. threatens to take $3.52 billion from California schools in testing dispute<br />•Document: Federal government letter to California education officials<br />Oct 2:<br />•STAR test dumped: Brown ignores federal threats, signs bill allowing new exams<br />Sep 3:<br />•Poll: California voters support more testing to assess students, teachers<br />Aug 29:<br />•California API scores fall, but Silicon Valley schools dominate state top tier<br />•Data Center: 2013 Growth API ratings for all California schools<br /><br />Hesitating to fully embrace a nationwide campaign to bolster schools' accountability, California has turned up its nose at federal carrots and now wants a reprieve from Uncle Sam's stick -- an entreaty that has so infuriated the Obama administration that it is threatening to withhold federal money from the state's schools.<br /><br />Despite ostensibly working toward the same goal to improve public education, especially for disadvantaged children, Sacramento has resisted the changes in school accountability and teacher evaluation sought by Washington.<br /><br />On Tuesday, the state Senate overwhelmingly endorsed a bill that creates a new state testing regimen -- one supporters heralded as promoting more meaningful learning, and less drill and memorization. Known as MAPP, the exams will be field-tested by some schools in the spring.<br /><br />But the bill -- expected to pass the Assembly and be signed into law -- will let California ditch its STAR tests, the mainstay of its school accountability system. For more than a decade, public schools each spring have administered the standardized tests, which generate scores widely used to judge the success of schools and districts.<br /><br />Now that index may not be published for up to two years. And that puts the state in conflict with a federal requirement to test students and broadcast the results -- a requirement State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson would like to have waived for California.<br /><br />But this week, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan issued a peremptory response: "A request from California to not measure the achievement of millions of students this year is not something we could approve in good conscience," it read. "Backing away entirely from accountability and transparency is not good for students, parents, schools and districts."<br /><br />The reaction took state officials, who have been talking with Washington, aback. "I was a bit surprised at the timing," said state deputy superintendent Deb Sigman.<br /><br />State officials argued that it's unfair and meaningless to use old tests to assess how students do on new material, or to publish results of the still-unrefined MAPP, or Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress.<br /><br />If the dispute isn't resolved, it's not clear if or how much Uncle Sam could refuse to pay to California schools. While local and state taxpayers foot most of the K-12 bill, federal funds pay for key programs. For instance, of San Jose Unified's $286.8 million general fund, 5.3 percent comes from the federal government.<br /><br />More than any of his predecessors, Duncan has pressed vigorously for states to hold schools accountable for student achievement and teacher improvement. <br /><br /><br /><br />U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, center, answers students' questions during a tour of Emerson Elementary in Albuquerque, N.M., on Sept. 9, 2013. Duncan's back-to-school bus tour also includes stops in Texas, Arizona and California. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan) ( Susan Montoya Bryan )<br /><br />But California has resisted, despite the No Child Left Behind law, which requires states to bring growing numbers of students to proficiency or suffer sometimes-drastic consequences like school closures and takeovers. While most states recently have sought and won a way out of those federal threats, California was among just a handful that refused to seek a waiver of the law.<br /><br />cont...<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747706639487714496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-58501055364599759332013-11-01T08:34:52.346-07:002013-11-01T08:34:52.346-07:00Now the Department of Education has warned the Cal...Now the Department of Education has warned the California not to drop the STAR tests or it will lose almost half it deferral funding up to more than 3 billion.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747706639487714496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-32662693665845668692013-10-31T22:47:42.654-07:002013-10-31T22:47:42.654-07:00Maybe your god Dennis Kelly can give you some coun...Maybe your god Dennis Kelly can give you some counseling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-59633400076359597952013-10-31T16:38:49.988-07:002013-10-31T16:38:49.988-07:00I agree with you people on nothing! You are not t...I agree with you people on nothing! You are not the arbiter of right and wrong in SFUSD. Dennis Kelly is. He makes every decision including Prop H. I know he sometimes talks to a teacher who has done wrong and tells them in no uncertain terms, the pressure is too rough here, you are going to have to transfer to another school or we will take action. He's not only about protecting teachers. He has forced many to get extra assistance, receive counseling, take a sabbatical and even transfer schools. And not all transfers are only on seniority, if you think that you're crazy. In fact you are crazy we have already established that young man!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-46492258596339553032013-10-30T10:36:11.024-07:002013-10-30T10:36:11.024-07:00I agree Don. I think we should agree that schools...I agree Don. I think we should agree that schools should try to educate kids to get a good job, have a career and be good citizens, not start a revolution. Sadly I think a lot of teachers think like her. I've heard them discourage academic excellence, say just study an hour, who cares if you get into Lowell, etc. If they are being judged by test scores, no teachers will tell kids to limit their study time. It will align the teacher's goals with society's goals and the child's goals and the parents, at least good parents', goals, parents who noteacher despises.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-46476905303781520502013-10-29T20:23:48.642-07:002013-10-29T20:23:48.642-07:00The bulk of what appear to be Noteacher's comm...The bulk of what appear to be Noteacher's comments are akin to a virus that has infected this blog. If I want the blog to be a venue for stupidity than I will continue to allow what she writes to be posted here. On the other hand, I do not require sign in so I cannot prevent her from posting nor do I want to. But any further ideological trash talk will be deleted. So unless she wants to waste her time, she should be advised. I want SF Edblog to be a place for intelligent discussion with respect for different rational opinions.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747706639487714496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-77344213893577372762013-10-29T15:45:54.948-07:002013-10-29T15:45:54.948-07:002:01 You may have a valid point. If your employmen...2:01 You may have a valid point. If your employment contract guaranteed LIFO then maybe you should be grandfathered and only hires under a new contract would be subject to accountability. But, check your contract, does it guarantee your assignment? I would rather pay your salary and benefits to stay home than have you in the classroom. Your UAW brethren had a similar guaranteed employment stipulation, even if there was no work. I believe it has worked out very well for them and their thriving rustbelt community...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-61021311627231757402013-10-29T15:37:59.610-07:002013-10-29T15:37:59.610-07:00And you cannot revoke a drivers license once issue...And you cannot revoke a drivers license once issued no matter what.<br /><br />And you cannot disbar a lawyer once admitted to the bar no matter what.<br /><br />And you cannot remove a cop for the force no matter what.<br /><br />I could go on for days but I prefer to evolve and progress, maybe discuss appropriate evaluation standards.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-14202777040737585752013-10-29T11:47:17.806-07:002013-10-29T11:47:17.806-07:00The transition to Common Core and end of API coupl...The transition to Common Core and end of API coupled with Vergera presents an alignment of opportunity to create a new, more fully inclusive, evaluation process for both student achievement and teacher evaluation. <br /><br />I do not claim to hold the answers but this is the time to have this discussion, to consider options and push for a thorough and balanced approach.<br /><br />The answer lies somewhere between a single data point (API) and no data point (as has been 'proposed' by LIFO advocate noteacher lady).<br /><br />Don, maybe this is the next topic thread, people could post ideas, links to articles, examples of existing models.<br /><br />I, for one, would like to know more about what is proposed, what the options are, what other alternatives exist.ABnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-53009456912529475652013-10-29T10:03:05.048-07:002013-10-29T10:03:05.048-07:00That's all well and good but I'm nearly 60...That's all well and good but I'm nearly 60 years' old working toward a pension. I've served children for 35 years and would have never taken this job if I could be fired like Don wanted, and I've sacrificed millions in pay over the years. What am I going to do if I get fired because the students I teach don't get good test scores because they are poor and abused? It's nice the nation will improve, but it's breaking a contract.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-53851639928517751362013-10-29T00:42:34.031-07:002013-10-29T00:42:34.031-07:00Lady you are seriously confused. Your job is not ...Lady you are seriously confused. Your job is not to help the oppressed rebel, it's to teach all children, rich, poor, middle class, and everything in between, to have the tools to be able to earn a living, have a family, and be good Citizens. I don't deny that there is some internal good in learning, it's not all about jobs and money, but that's a big part of it, the economy, the more there is to go around for all, the better. Historically, we are at a high point in inequality, equality and inequality go in waves in America. We are at 1800s gilded age and 1920s levels, almost certainly a historical hight. Full equality will lead to no incentives, laziness, inefficiency and corruption and stagnation, which is why the Soviet Union collapsed. and if you get too much inequality, you get corporate corruption, nepotism, oligarchy, excessive greed, and most tragically extreme poverty and inequality of opportunity, which we have now partially because public school teachers can't be fired and private school ones can, but also due to other less fair reasons. Extreme inequality will lead to more people feeling it is unfair that opportunity is not equal for all children and concentration of wealth in a few hands and pay based on power, not actual employee value (CEOs are not producing 500 x what an average worker is, but they are being paid as if they are based on corruption) and if pushed too far, leads to a revolution like in Russia, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Korea, etc. These nations had horrible situations but horribly unfair economies before which caused it.<br /><br />The good news is we are producing a lot of wealth and Democrats are gaining every year due to demographics, immigration and more people being poorer and resenting the unfairness. They will probably win enough consecutive elections to stack the Supreme Court, raise the inheritance and capital gains taxes, institute an Alternative Minimum Tax for Corporations so no big ones pay no taxes, ensure hedge fund traders pay standard taxes, have a wealth tax which taxes all wealth at the same annual 1% as property, expand ObamaCare to be more inclusive and be single payer like the England / France /Germany / Canada systems which lead to longer lives with under 60% the GNP percentage cost, ensure low prescription drug prices, and increase spending on schools to the point where the poor get as much spent on them as the rich in private schools, just raise the percent until all children have equal opportunity and education.<br /><br />This is almost a sure thing. The '20s were a high in inequality, the mid '70s with strong unions a high in equality maybe even going a little too far with 90% taxes or 70% later and easy welfare requirements, and with now 35 years later, a high in inequality. Going forward, society will do whatever it takes to become more equal and rein in the extremes.<br /><br />But your history is off. California was part of Mexico for fewer than 20 years and General Santa Ana enslaved Indians into his army and was a pure white Spaniard who wasted countless lives in idiotic wars to enrich the Spaniards. The complaints about Native Americans and blacks are valid, but their best opportunity is a good education which LIFO is denying them. Skills matter. Sure we need to do things to cut the income of the rich and increase that of the poor, taxes, banning offshoring or taxing it so it's not profitable, perhaps direct forced transfers, unionizing Walmart and Fast Food and other retail, passing laws making it impossible to fire for unionizing and easier to do, many other things, a higher minimum wage for college grads, a surtax on income over a million to pay down college debt of those with lower incomes, per child tax subsidies, many other ideas. But education is key. We must improve it for all our children. More jobs require a degree. Offshoring/outsourcing need to be banned, but more jobs now require a degree and an education. You are hurting children with LIFO. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-87343243421005921652013-10-28T22:54:51.084-07:002013-10-28T22:54:51.084-07:00PuerilePuerileAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747706639487714496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-17973058756879826272013-10-28T13:47:42.174-07:002013-10-28T13:47:42.174-07:00This is wonderful. Maybe they could just make Low...This is wonderful. Maybe they could just make Lowell a district school by lottery so we stop having so many snooty Chinese kids insulting everyone else and looking down on them because they don't want to spend their whole life acting like nerds with their head in their book so they can make money while the ruling class kicks all the blacks out of the City and drives all the Latinos out of the Mission in dreams of an Aryan SuperCity. The Asians will be the last kicked out by the Nazi hordes, but they will be kicked out and are suckers for the opporession that awaits them. It is disgusting. Maybe this way we can unify and help the oppressed and abused like we are supposed to do.<br /><br />It will be wonderful. This will make it like it was before, teachers judged only by years of valiant service, students judged by their humanity, no test scores, no API, no grades, no racism, no classism, no sexism. It will be wonderful. Before NCLB and it's attendent fascism we could focus on the whole student. Now everyone wants to judge everyone. To which I say, you can all judge me when you get to hell. We will not fall prey to your judgements. What right do you have to judge people you enslaved and stole land from and enriched yourselves by murdering? Oh white man, oh white man, please just leave us be, please stop stealing and raping and pillaging and judging. Please stop being condescending. You cut off our ears and say we are inferior because we cannot hear, you cut out our eyes and blame us for not being able to see, you refuse to teach us the alphabet and call us dumb, you refuse to feed us and call us lithe and unsturdy, you refuse to allow us to bathe and call us filthy, you are an abomination please just give us 40 acres and a mule and let us be. Harriet Tubman. Please do not rob us of our very corn and our very earth, General Santa Ana. Please do not steal us from the land of our ancestors, Geronimo.<br /><br />Really Don, who are you to judge others by numerics you come up with? I think it's just disgusting. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589033419847538727.post-47768702676252928622013-10-27T14:56:34.996-07:002013-10-27T14:56:34.996-07:00This below is a portion from the article I posted ...This below is a portion from the article I posted a few back. It looks like STAR and API will be gone for awhile in which case Lowell would probably use a similar test like CLA for admission purposes.<br /><br /><br />"...for the first time since API was created in 1999, the State Board is likely to vote to suspend it next year. And the Board could decide to suspend the API again in 2015, on the grounds that there needs to be at least a couple of years of results from the official Common Core tests for math and English language arts before starting to judge schools by them."<br /><br />"These are the test components that made up this year's AP for elementary and middle schools (top) and high schools. CST stands for the California Standards Tests in various subjects..."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747706639487714496noreply@blogger.com