And now…a short thread 🧵 about why we need to look past standardized test scores as a way to determine if a school district is failing or not, if kids can or cannot read, etc, etc. & it’s because of 3 words: Corporate education reform (feel free to Google that on up) 🧵 1/4
Why standardized tests are a poor way to measure student achievement and teacher accountability, and why corporate reformers love them 🧵 2/4
Why standardized tests are a poor way to measure student achievement and teacher accountability, especially in inner city schools 🧵 3/4
Why we should be wary of those attacking inner city school districts as “failing” and what Supt. Walters could do to help 🧵 4/4
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This news broke last PM when I was in a 🌪️ Warning out here in Norman, so I’m just now digging in. 👀 Wow. Though I don’t know Terri Grissom, I’ve heard from others at SDE who share her experiences. 1/4
SDE has become a toxic work place where nothing gets done, everything is slowed down; the only constant is new folks working to curry favor with Walters and his puppeteer, Matt Langston. 2/4
We in #okleg were lied to by Walters about grants (& who knows what else) & this’ll cost our schools grant 💰 upon which many of them rely, esp in federal funding for special education. Could also cost the state as some of the granting orgs’ll clawback funds if not used. 3/4
Ok HD 46…Norman. This is a developing tornado and after a massive turn east…it looks like it’s heading directly to West Norman. It is off and on, not super strong…but if it drops…we could be affected. We’re taking our precautions now, and I would suggest y’all do so as well.
After yet another horrible mass shooting, this time just down I-35 in Allen, Texas, I’ve been thinking long and hard about what we see unfolding here in America regarding gun violence. 1/7
If this many folks died from literally any other means, elected leaders would throw away party politics and usher in policies to protect the people. But for whatever reasons, that’s not happening here in America. 2/7
There’s the gun lobby, a multi-billion dollar behemoth, which works extremely hard to keep elected folks in line. There’s the fact that guns and gun regulation legislation has, for the most part, become a Republican vs. Democrat thing. 3/7
Lots of folk wondering what the House just did w/ HB 1934, a stand-alone voucher bill. I’ll attempt to explain as clearly as I can 🧵 1/4
The House did vote to accept Senate amendments on HB 1934, a voucher bill in tax credit clothing, & there was bipartisan opposition. After passage, the Speaker then made a procedure which holds it in limbo, basically the House is holding it. Why? 2/4
All of this is more political games, as the House also didn’t accept the Senate amendments on HB 2672, meaning it is a work in progress still. So…all this was today was the House trying to “rebuild” the package they sent over to the Senate, in the form of HB 1935 & HB 2775. 3/4
My quick take on Walter’s SDE Budget plan so far: His plan is a mix of some of what Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, & Texas are doing and then sprinkling things in we’ve already invested in, like LETRS training. This is a Frankenplan! 🧵
His plan is asking for a ton of $ with very little deets. It’s like: “Just trust me and my SDE.”
Judging from the questions (from both sides of the aisle) Walters has a ton of work to do to build relationships & trust with #okleg