Ehrlich's number two {Nancy Grasmick and "MSPAP"}

The Washington Times ^ | June 22, 2002 | Editorial

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

Now that Maryland's state schools superintendent, Nancy Grasmick, has decided not to join Rep. Robert Ehrlich's gubernatorial ticket, he should count his blessings. It is certainly understandable that Mr. Ehrlich, running in a state where Republicans are outnumbered by roughly 2-1, would be tempted to court a big-name Democrat like Mrs. Grasmick. But, when it comes to real education reform, something Mr. Ehrlich has often advocated, he would have been hard-pressed to come up with a poorer choice for a running mate.

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

All, I have been trying for quite some time now to access this report on MSPAP. As the article states, it AIN'T available. Even though MSPAP has been "discontinued". Like many things "educational", MSPAP {Maryland PAP}, is most likely just being given a "new" name and shoved down our throats yet. What passes for education today is EVIL personified!! And, Nancy Grasmick gives one name and face to that evil. Peace and love, George.

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

"     Unfortunately, Mrs. Grasmick and her colleagues in Maryland's public-educational "blob" (to use a term coined by Bill Bennett) reacted by circling the wagons and seeking to discredit the Evers panel. State testing chief Mark Moody denounced its work as "unprofessional," "inflammatory" and "biased." Mrs. Grasmick termed the report "extremely conservative" and said she believed its purpose was to urge the state's educational system to "go back to facts, facts, facts, memorization and regurgitation." Mrs. Grasmick, citing specious confidentiality concerns, has blocked release of the Evers panel's 300-page report detailing even more problems with MSPAP."

Guys, THIS tells the whole story behind MSPAP and its sellers. FACTS are to be ignored, and "perception" is to be sold as "truth". And, "perception" is to be generated and "given" to the students by the same people {State testing chief Mark Moody, State Superintendant of Schools Nancy Grasmick and their Cronies} who demonize those who would dare to criticize {OR even talk about} the educational commune-ity's dogma. Peace and love, George.

[Freee-dame]

Bob Ehrlich was asked this morning on the Bruce Elliott Show about his meeting with Nancy Gasmick. Ehrlich's answer sure made it sound like the idea for Grasmick as a possible running mate came from her side, not his side. He sounded like he agreed to the meeting, not that he instigated the meeting. She would have been a terrible choice for a Republican candidate.

[Carry_Okie]

The most important thing we can do is to take away the NEA's political money by enforcing Communications Workers v. Beck.

[Carry_Okie]

Here is my program for California's school system:

1. Cut off the NEA’s money. Enforce the U.S. Supreme Court decision Communications Workers v. Beck (487 US 735, 1988). Sue the NEA for non-disclosure of political campaign spending (actually Landmark Legal is doing precisely that).
2. Analyze any Federal program for insufficient funds and unintended consequences suspecting un-funded mandates and disband compliance to any Federal program that doesn’t provide a measurable and immediate benefit in test score performance. Cite New York v. United States (505 US 144, 1992).
3. Put parents in control of local school boards by breaking up large unified school districts. Here’s how: First, complete Step 1. Then assist formation of corporate service associations providing legal services and insurance coverage to those local school districts who divest into smaller, more personalized institutions under parent control if, and only if, they contract with such services and lay off large portions of the administrative bureaucracy.
4. Veto any bill requiring home and private educators to conform to State teacher certification standards.
5. Veto any bill requiring State supervision of home schools.
6. Use the private and home education markets to develop and test pedagogical tools and services for both general and specialized requirements. Private, third-party validation services would assess product performance against suppliers’ claims. School boards meeting standards of divestiture would be free to select guaranteed products for use in public schools.
7. Insurance on the guarantee would cover the cost of remedial education if the product fails to meet warranted performance. If the supplier will not provide the product without offering their own instructional professionals, so be it. There would be a concurrent reduction in force.
8. As broadband services proliferate, those OUTSTANDING educators who can run effective lectures and multimedia presentations, and organize trained tutorial assistants will make a killing in the new education market. There would be a concurrent reduction in force among public school teachers. Public schools as we know them will collapse under the competition.

How long have we been testing? The trend is in the OPPOSITE direction and toward increasingly subjective test criteria. One could spend YEARS trying to get a standardized test upon which people would agree.

[staytrue]

If you look at the old MSAP test results, the results largely confirm most people's suspicions. There was almost a 1-1 correlation with test results and the number of black and/or poor white kids taking the test. I suspect this is why the test was discontinued and why its usefulness disputed and quite frankly, the MSAP was probably a good test that gave politically incorrect results.

[katherineisgreat]

I took this test three times.

I scared the teachers to death and wrecked my elementary school.

The more testing thing is one of the few things (well more are starting to appear) that I disagree with Bush on.

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

"the MSAP was probably a good test that gave politically incorrect results."

ST, Not A'tall! Black elementary students, who were using the Calvert Curriculum in two Baltimore City Schools, exceeded excellence in California standardized tests. In one of the schools, the kids scored 32 POINTS above the "national average". That's above you and me, and "our" kids. Nancy Grasmick's MSPAP was administered to the SAME students the SAME year, and those SAME kids finished down next to the bottom of Baltimore City schools which were among the worst in the U.S. of A. The California stansardized test required answers based on objective knowledge with questions that had answers based on fact.

The MSPAP {Maryland State Performance Assessment Program} consists of mostly questions WITHOUT answers based on fact as mentioned in this story. The questions required answers that were based on feelings and/or ideals. Subjective! Questions "without answers", by even the most sophisticated among us, asked of elementary students, and then "assessed" as to how the "schools" had done their jobs of indoctrinating the kids. And, if the example of black students in this post is to be a standard, then there can be NO doubt as to where these black students will be "placed" by their assessors in the society of their "betters". Nah, what passes for education today is pure unadulterated EVIL. No other word even comes close to describing this attrocity. Hitler only destroyed people. These people are DELIBERATELY destroying the MINDS of the future. And, it is NOT a "black and white". issue. The evil transcends all "difference". Peace and love, George.

[katherineisgreat]

It's a test that has "hands on" stuff and lots of writing and defending yourself, comments etc, evidence.

It was a good test that really showed whether you knew the stuff or not, but it really freaked the teachers out and they started drilling stuff into you for years.

The writing got so canned and icky it was bad.It did show what you knew, but what happened is that Grasnick freaked about it, and pressurized the school communities to the breaking point. It's a shame.

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

KIG, The teachers have been told to "teach to the test.". In other words, every day "ordinary" education does not work. The "answers" to the questions MUST be "given" to the students in order for them to "pass". If it were not the educational commune-ity doing this, it would be called "cheating". It ain't right! Peace and love, George.

[katherineisgreat]

They did teach to the test. But It wasn't cheating b/c what that test teaches is critical thinking and reasoning.

Can't cheat with that can you?

[Erasmus]

They did teach to the test. But It wasn't cheating b/c what that test teaches is critical thinking and reasoning.

Can't cheat with that can you?

The taker can't. The designers and the graders can.

[Freee-dame]

...IMHO, his best running mate would be the woman who ran for Governor two times before, Ellen Sauderberry. She is a smart, charismatic woman...

Charismatic...I don't think so. I'm afraid that she came across to the masses of politically uninformed as dowdy and out of shape. Even though I thought she would have made a great governor, I was very disappointed that she didn't use the time between her two runs to spruce up her appearance.

[mdwakeup]

She blew her chances on election night in 1994. She should have approached the podium the same way she did the night she beat Helen Bentley in the primary -- i.e., practically turning cartwheels at the job she had done in shaking up the establishment. Instead, she faced the cameras grim-faced and kept up a court challenge long after any reasonable hope of prevailing was gone. She's yesterday's news.

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

But It wasn't cheating b/c what that test teaches is critical thinking and reasoning.

Can't cheat with that can you?

KIG, Sure they can. In fact, it is why the test was designed to quantify "thinking". If one's thoughts aren't "correct" they are given a bad grade. It is the reason that "teaching to the test" is necessary. The answers, for actual thinkers who put their words on paper would necessarily be incorrect according to the politically correct. So, the students NEED to be taught to ignore all "common" sense, and answer as taught {trained}. It is evil. Peace and love, George.