The article to the left appeared in the Random Harvest of Oct 2, 2002. The article was
written by the Van Etten building principal Alice Truman. Comments to the left are from
Rainer Langstedt
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| The decline in the state mandated 4'th grade Math test was 14 points
this year compared to last years results. The actual test results are available on the
net. Click here to see them. |
| School law does indeed require that the superintendent presents a plan to
the board. The superintendent has failed to do so. |
| The writer is complaining for the first time that test results are made
public. It is true that the superintendent who sets the agenda for the board meetings, has
avoided the issue of failed tests as if the subject was toxic. |
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| Second time that Mrs. Truman complains about test results being mentioned.
Why is she against parents knowing how we are doing? |
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| The results that Mrs. Truman is most responsible for are the tests fourth
fourth grade. Since the state mandated tests were introduced in 1999 we have experienced
the following results which Mrs. Truman refers to as "remarkable" progress
: The fourth grade math score has gone down from 658 to 651. Remarkable
"progress" indeed. |
| There has been actual progress in the English scores. The scores have
improved with 27 points. We started from such a low level that even with the improvement
we are still below the state average for white students. (Our student base is 98.3% white) |
| Third complaint about people finding out what kind of job the school is
doing. Why does Mrs. Truman want to hide that from the public? |
| The claim that the district would have cut expenditures with
$500,000 last year is horse feathers. The spending went UP about $300,000. |
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| Mr. Bailey has admitted that the 20% tax increase was a result of his
mistakes. |
