The basis of the problem

Another Cyberspace find ... Concerned Citizen writes:

I would like to see the system of accountability that is going to be put on OSPI, the SBE, and the Legislature over education issues..... It is these people who exemplify Ronald Regan's famous quote..... "Government is not the solution to the problem..... it is the problem."

Of course they like to say that the voters can make these corrections. .... However, it took twelve years to get rid of Terry Bergeson even though she drove math education in the state of Washington into the ground...... spent a billion dollars on to develop failing standards and state assessments. ..and left us in a mess that is still costing money. OSPI personnel continue to push her failed policies with little worry of any consequences for their actions.....

The SBE is largely shielded from any public scrutiny...the legislature made sure of that when they took away the right to vote for most positions and made them appointees of the Governor. The SBE has no members who are qualified to make math education decisions but they continue to push their ignorance on the school districts of this state without worry of retribution. .... The Algebra II for all decision is just one example of being completely out of touch with reality.....

The legislature continues to meddle in these issues even though they are clueless about the results of their actions....Their ignorant decisions are made behind closed doors where deals are made for political reasons not because they are in the best interest of students. The "in-common" standards EOC assessments are a perfect example of how you can take a logical academic subject and turn it into an illogical political football game that the public pays for but doesn't get to see any of the important plays.

Although we know that reform curriculum is the main cause for the increase of mathematical illiteracy, the deterioration of WASL scores in this state is a direct result of the educational chaos caused by the legislature, inaction by OSPI, and the ineptness of the SBE to affect logical changes in the state standards revision and assessment system.

It doesn't matter that the Geometry EOC is now a stupid test that is based on politics not Geometry.... . The legislature gets to say that "we know it is messed up but we will fix it in the future...." Did you know that this is standard operating procedure for the legislature? They can pass stupid laws and justify them by saying they will fix them in the future! That should give everyone great confidence about the laws enacted in this state! In the meanwhile all of these agencies are contributing to the ruination of the education of future generations.