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The 11 things you need to
know about how ended up in its' current disastrous condition. 1. OSPI totally ignored the results of Project-Follow-Through
(1967-1995) the largest most historically important and expensive study ($1
billion) ever done in the history of education research. Click here for
LINK 2. OSPI totally ignored the Park City
Mathematics Institute’s MSSG’s [Mathematics Standards Study Group]
recommendations for revising State Standards.
MSSG, a group of mathematicians funded by the National Science
Foundation, produced recommendations during the summer of 2004. Under Dr. Bergeson’s guidance OSPI does almost
the exact opposite of MSSG’s five important points. Click here for
LINK. 3. OSPI created Grade Level Learning
Expectations [GLEs] so numerous only defective textbooks could come close to
matching them. Textbook alignment with
Washington State GLEs shows math reform textbooks, which have yet to show
positive significant gains in College Readiness, as the top most aligned with
Washington Standards. These books also
de-emphasize direct instruction as an instructional method in favor of greatly
increased time with instructional methods that are proven failures (read
Project Follow Through). Click here for
LINK. 4. OSPI adapted a testing system called the WASL
to be the measure for No Child Left Behind [NCLB] that at the 10th
grade level tested no real high school level Mathematics. Click here for
LINK 5. OSPI used the WASL as a Public Relations tool
for her reforms. The WASL is not much in
the way of a real test that is actually useful for something. Click here for
LINK. 6. OSPI created a system that was supposed to
produce more competent educated graduates of the State of Don’t go away there are five
more points coming on the page. I
figured 11 would be enough to educate you and perhaps convince you to take
action. I could produce lots more but we
need action not confusion and these 11 points will educate you adequately about
the current situation. 7. OSPI has now produced a system in which
dollars and resources are being diverted away from the teaching of real high
school level mathematics into preparing students to pass WASL MATH Grade 10
which is a test of reading, puzzles, problems, and questions on largely 8th
grade math topics sometime during their high school career. Click here for
LINK. 8. OSPI has misled us with inaccurate incorrect
statements. Click here for
LINK. 9. OSPI spends big dollars on WASL testing;
tests of little worth or usefulness. Why are we not spending less money on a far
more useful test plan?
Click here for
LINK.
10. OSPI has contributed to the current shortage
of math teachers by pushing math curricula with little real math content, so math
teachers leave teaching (more?
read this) to begin careers that involve math outside of education
(actuaries, engineers, computer programmers, etc.) or move to teaching at the
Community College level, where some now refer to themselves as agents of math
repair. Click
here for
LINK 11. Now there are several bills are considering
giving the State even more centralized autocratic power over textbooks. If you believe that local control,
democracy, and competition can produce better results for the children of this
state, Click here for
LINK. If you don’t believe that
local control, democracy, and competition with produce better results than even
more centralized power, then you would be like the farmer that hires the fox to
guard the hen house. Click here for
LINK Here is something about me
and my history and beliefs on these issues. Click here for
LINK
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