TOP

CSCOPE: Alive and Well

Share Button

 

cscope is alive

 

I don’t think I have personally witnessed such a huge money laundering scheme in my life. Texas homeowners are burdened with huge property value increases. We have school districts passing school bonds screaming they need more money to better educate our children. I assure you MONEY is not the problem MONEY MANAGEMENT is the problem.

This became quite clear when I and others discovered and researched the Texas online curriculum management system in 2013.  Cscope was not purchased by school districts but rented by 90% of Texas School Districts yearly from their local Education Service Centers for thousands of dollars.

The Texas Attorney General,  Greg Abbott requested a State Audit of Cscope in 2014. The State Auditor’s Report showed there was over 6 Million unaccounted for.  As  of today no one person responsible for this has been indicted and the money laundering scheme continues.

After Cscope’s damaged reputation to recover some viability the name was changed to the Teks Resource System. They removed the horrible lessons and Assessments. What is remaining and rented for up to millions statewide is criminal.

What is remaining can accessed off of the TEA website for FREE. But that would be to easy and financial responsible. Do our Texas Representatives care?

 

Below you will see that Frenship ISD rented the Teks Resource System for the 2015/2016 school year for $46,290.00.  Superintendents are funneling money into these Cesspools securing them a place to retire among other things.

 

OUTRAGEOUS!!!!

 

TEXAS WAKE UP!!

 

 

 

Share Button
Read More
TOP

“Texas School Children To Be Unable To Read Patriotic Documents”

Share Button

 patriotic documents

ACTION ALERT:  Texas public school students to be unable to read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution – no cursive writing to be taught

 

To voice objections to no cursive writing — The public is encouraged to send their comments to the TEA at the following address: TEKS@tea.texas.gov  and/or to write to the Texas State Board of Education members:

http://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/Leadership/State_Board_of_Education/Board_Members/SBOE_Members/

1.5.16 — ADDENDUM TO MY CRITIQUE OF THE NOV. 2015 ELAR/TEKS DRAFT SENT OUT YESTERDAY–

Today, I am sending out an addendum to the critique of the Nov. 2015 DRAFT OF THE ELAR/TEKS that I sent out yesterday (http://www.educationviews.org/critique-nov-2015-texas-elarteks-draft/ )  in which I verbalized my four Objections to what the Texas English / Language Arts / Reading (ELAR) Review Committee Members had produced.

The reason for this separate addendum is to explain thoroughly my concern that the leadership of the ELAR/TEKS Review Committee Members (RCM) chose to follow the Type #2 philosophy of education as exhibited in the Common Core Standards by taking away cursive handwriting from the Texas public schools. 

Here is my Objection #5 which should be added to the Objections #1 – #4 in yesterday’s critique. I have also added Objection #6 at the end of this addendum:

OBJECTION #5

The present ELAR/TEKS document (Beginning with School Year 2009 to the present) states:

(23)  Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to:

(A)  write legibly in cursive script with spacing between words in a sentence. (http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter110/ch110a.html#110.14)

In the Nov. 2015 ELAR/TEKS Draft, no mention is made of cursive writing to be taught in Grade 3.

 

Texas is one of the few states that requires cursive writing to be taught, starting in Grade 3. However, for some time, this state mandate in the present ELAR/TEKS to teach cursive has been ignored; and many Texas teachers have quit teaching cursive or correct handwriting habits.

 

Because Grade 3 teachers have quit teaching cursive, then the students going forward from Grade 3 have no longer had the ability to write nor to read cursive. Because the skills learned in ELAR are competency-based (build upon one another) and because the ELAR/TEKS set explicit goals at each grade level/course level, once students are taught to master a certain skill, then they are to be held accountable in the future grade levels to demonstrate that mastery.

 

In other words, once students are taught cursive in Grade 3, teachers in the succeeding grade levels can expect students to write cursively and to read text written in cursive writing.

 

The Common Core Standards deliberately do not support the teaching of cursive writing for two reasons:  (1) The agenda behind Obama’s Common Core Standards is to dumb down students to the same common level, and (2) Obama and his administration are indoctrinating students into the social justice agenda.

 

One of the best ways to indoctrinate this and future generations of students is to make sure they can no longer read the historical documents upon which our nation is founded.

 

Beyond the obvious (e.g., personal thank-you notes, friendly letters, etc.), if students can no longer read cursive writing, they will not be able to read the primary sources upon which our country is built — the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, journals, diaries, love letters, historical documents, ledgers, etc.  

 

Students will also not be able to read historical and literary documents that come from Britain and other English-speaking nations. This means that large portions of resources in every museum and library in this country and throughout the world would be unintelligible to generations of non-cursive-reading students. They would be forced to have someone else interpret these documents for them which is a dangerous thing in today’s politically correct world.

 

The advantages of cursive are well documented.  Cursive is a much faster form of handwriting than printing because each letter flows into the next letter. If people are without computers and need to be able to take or write notes, their handwriting speed would be severely impaired if they did not know how to write cursively.   

 

Computers are not always accessible and do not always work. Schools are already finding that out as they put their students in digitized textbooks. When the network or the device goes down, all learning stops!  As schools are forced to cut their technology budgets and the layers of tech support staffers are overcome with the deluge of techie devices in the schools, these “computer down” occurrences are occurring much more regularly.

 

Nothing forces students to pay attention to detail better than their having to write their compositions, test answers, open-response questions, timed writings in longhand; and cursive prioritizes classroom time. 

 

When people go into an office to apply for a job, they generally have to fill out applications in longhand.  Being able to write quickly, neatly, and clearly gives the prospective employer a favorable impression of the applicant.

 

How many of us who go to doctors’ offices, dentists’ offices, and hospital/clinic offices frequently are asked to fill out forms?  Again, being able to write quickly, neatly, and clearly expedites those office visits and gives healthcare workers important information about our health.  

 

We also have credible research done by qualified, peer-reviewed, published researchers that proves cursive is good for the brain.

 

6.2.14 – “What’s Lost As Handwriting Fades” – by Maria Konnikova – New York Times, Science – http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/science/whats-lost-as-handwriting-fades.html?_r=0

 

Excerpts from this article:

 

psychologists and neuroscientists say it is far too soon to declare handwriting a relic of the past. New evidence suggests that the links between handwriting and broader educational development run deep.

Children not only learn to read more quickly when they first learn to write by hand, but they also remain better able to generate ideas and retain information. In other words, it’s not just what we write that matters — but how.

“When we write, a unique neural circuit is automatically activated,” said Stanislas Dehaene, a psychologist at the Collège de France in Paris. “There is a core recognition of the gesture in the written word, a sort of recognition by mental simulation in your brain.

“And it seems that this circuit is contributing in unique ways we didn’t realize,” he continued. “Learning is made easier.”

When children had drawn a letter freehand, they exhibited increased activity in three areas of the brain that are activated in adults when they read and write: the left fusiform gyrus, the inferior frontal gyrus and the posterior parietal cortex.

By contrast, children who typed or traced the letter or shape showed no such effect. The activation was significantly weaker.

In another study, Dr. James is comparing children who physically form letters with those who only watch others doing it. Her observations suggest that it is only the actual effort that engages the brain’s motor pathways and delivers the learning benefits of handwriting.

Virginia Berninger, a psychologist at the University of Washington, demonstrated that “When the children composed text by hand, they not only consistently produced more words more quickly than they did on a keyboard, but expressed more ideas… When these children were asked to come up with ideas for a composition, the ones with better handwriting exhibited greater neural activation in areas associated with working memory — and increased overall activation in the reading and writing networks.”

Dr. Berninger goes so far as to suggest that cursive writing may train self-control ability in a way that other modes of writing do not, and some researchers argue that it may even be a path to treating dyslexia. 2012 review suggests that cursive may be particularly effective for individuals with developmental dysgraphia — motor-control difficulties in forming letters — and that it may aid in preventing the reversal and inversion of letters.

the benefits of writing by hand extend beyond childhood. For adults, typing may be a fast and efficient alternative to longhand, but that very efficiency may diminish our ability to process new information. Not only do we learn letters better when we commit them to memory through writing, memory and learning ability in general may benefit.

Two psychologists, Pam A. Mueller of Princeton and Daniel M. Oppenheimer of the University of California, Los Angeles, have reported that in both laboratory settings and real-world classrooms, students learn better when they take notes by hand than when they type on a keyboard…the new research suggests that writing by hand allows the student to process a lecture’s contents and reframe it — a process of reflection and manipulation that can lead to better understanding and memory encoding.

========

 

MY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE ACTUAL HANDWRITING STANDARDS

 

Not only should cursive handwriting be restored to the Nov. 15 ELAR/TEKS Draft going forward, but the teaching of good handwriting habits should be taught systematically beginning in Kindergarten. As I stated in my comments from 1.4.16, the Oral and Written Conventions strand should be restored to the Nov. 2015 ELAR/TEKS Draft going forward, and the following elements should be added to that strand:  

 

KINDERGARTEN

 

The student is expected to:

 

(A)  Practice good posture when seated at a table/desk for writing purposes.

 

(B)  Practice proper pencil gripping (using correct fingers to form vise to hold writing tool) while correctly positioning hand and arm in relationship to paper and desk.

 

(C)  Produce correct formation of letters using starting point, directionality, and ending point for each letter.

 

(D)  Identify the top/bottom, front/back, margins, lines on a sheet of paper.

 

 

 

GRADE 1

 

The student is expected to:

(A)  Practice good posture when seated at a table/desk for writing purposes.

 

(B)  Practice proper pencil gripping (using correct fingers to form vise to hold writing tool) while correctly positioning hand and arm in relationship to paper and desk.

 

(C)  Produce correct formation of letters using starting point, directionality, and ending point for each letter.

 

(D)   Identify margins and margin forming lines.

 

(E)   Identify appropriate times for writing outside the margin lines.

 

(F)   Start writing close to left margin line.

 

(G)   Form all letters so they rest on baseline.

 

(H)   Demonstrate correct starting point and stroke sequence for each letter.

 

(I)    Form both lower and upper case letters in correct manuscript style.

 

(J)   Form all letters so they occupy proper space in relationship to other letters.

 

(K)  Allow space between words.

 

(L)   Start next line at the left margin when one line is complete.

 

(M)  Form both lower and upper case letters in correct handwriting style.

 

 

GRADE 2

 

The student is expected to:

(A)  Distinguish cursive from printed  writing.

 

(B)  Explain the purpose of cursive writing.

 

(C)  Identify appropriate times to use printed writing (e.g., maps, charts) or cursive.

 

(D)  Demonstrate how to form the connecting line between any two given letters.

 

(E)  Produce neat, legible cursive writing (e.g., consistent slant, correct letter formation, correct size).

 

GRADE 3 – ENG. IV

 

The student is expected to:

 

(A)  Use neat, legible cursive writing on most school work.

 

(B)  Produce neat, legible cursive writing (e.g., consistent slant, correct letter formation.

 

OBJECTION #6

 

In the Nov. 2015 ELAR/TEKS Draft, the wording is as follows in the Introductions for K through Eng. IV:

 

Introduction

 

(a)(6) Statements that contain the word “including” reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase “such as” are intended as possible illustrative examples.

 

I would like to see this wording clarified by deleting the above explanation and inserting the following:

 

If the curriculum element says “such as” or “e.g.,” – (1) teachers may teach, (2) textbooks/instructional materials must include, (3) the element preceded by “such as” or “e.g.” may or may not be tested on STAAR/EOC’s

 

If the curriculum element says “including” – (1) teachers must teach, (2) textbooks/instructional materials must include, (3) element is permissible to be tested on STAAR/EOC’s

 

 

 

Donna Garner

Wgarner1@hot.rr.com

 

Share Button
Read More
TOP

Texas Governor Abbott is Two for Two

Share Button

 abbott

“Amazing News: Tex. Gov. Greg Abbott Is Two for Two”

By Donna Garner

6.20.15

 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is “two for two.”  Not only did Gov. Abbott make a wise choice in appointing Donna Bahorich to be the new Chair of the Texas State Board of Education, but today Gov. Abbott also vetoed SB 313 (please see both articles posted at the bottom of this page).   

 

With these two critical moves, Gov. Abbott has helped to stabilize two important structures in Texas upon which education reform is built – a strong SBOE Chair and the Type #1 curriculum standards (TEKS) that make our state the most unique and patriotic state in the United States.   

 

Besides giving our heartfelt thanks to Gov. Abbott, we also need to thank so many of the grassroots citizens of Texas who took their time to contact him and request that he (1) appoint Donna Bahorich as Chair and (2) veto SB 313.  

 

These are the comments about SB 313 that I sent to Gov. Abbott on 6.18.15, and many other concerned Texans did the same thing:

 

Gov. Abbott, we beg of you to veto SB 313 so that Texas can retain the most fact-based, patriotic curriculum standards (TEKS) in the entire United States.  No other state set up the parameters BEFORE a single word of their curriculum standards was written.  Texas did.

 

 

We said that our TEKS had to be knowledge-based, academic, grade-level-specific, clearly worded, increasing in depth and complexity from one grade-level to the next grade level, and measurable with largely right-or-wrong answers. This is what is called the Type #1 philosophy of education. 

 

 

If allowed to go forward, SB 313 would open up all of the TEKS in a helter-skelter, rushed manner and would invite those on the Board who are not conservatives to delete/change the wording, moving the TEKS into the same Type #2 philosophy as seen in the Common Core/CSCOPE products. 

 

 

Type #2 (instead of emphasizing facts and academic knowledge) emphasizes process over the right answer, emphasizes feelings, opinions, beliefs over facts. Type #2 stresses subjectivity, relativism, and opens the door to the social justice agenda to indoctrinate children’s minds.  SB 313 is not needed, and its only purpose is to trash our present TEKS.

 

 

The Texas State Board of Education and the Texas Education Agency have a well-orchestrated plan for revisiting the TEKS; and the English / Language Arts / Reading TEKS are beginning that process right now with the other TEKS in Science, Social, Studies, and Math going through that same, well-planned, systematic process in years to come.

 

 

SB 313 with its unrealistic mandates would throw that well-planned process into mass chaos. Chaos always breeds chaos which is exactly what the Type #2 proponents want to happen. Again, we beg of you to do the right thing and to veto SB 313.  Thank you.

 

 

6.20.15  — “Abbott Wields Veto Pen in Final Days of Decision Period” by Patrick Svitek  – Texas Tribune – http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/20/abbot-wields-veto-pen-final-days-decision-period/

Excerpts from this article:

Senate Bill 313 was one of the more visible ones nixed by Abbott. The bill, by state GOP Sen. Kel Seliger of Amarillo, aimed to tailor the state’s K-12 standards, but critics considered it a potential back door to the Common Core national education standards dreaded by the GOP base. 

Many in Abbott’s own party had urged him to veto the bill, including the Texas GOP leaders who had unanimously passed a resolution urging him to reject it. On Saturday, Abbott took to Twitter to announce his veto of SB 313 before releasing his veto statement, which said the bill “potentially restricts the ability of the State Board of Education to address the needs of Texas classrooms.” 

…Abbott wrapped up his work on vetoes by 2 a.m. Saturday, well ahead of the deadline at midnight Sunday to take action.

 

=======

To learn more details about why these two decisions by Gov. Abbott are so important to the future of our Texas public school children, please see these two articles:

 

 

6.19.15 – “Texas Governor Names Conservative As State Ed. Board Chair, News Upsets Board’s Lone Lobbyist” — by Merrill Hope – Breitbart Texas http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/06/19/texas-governor-names-conservative-as-state-ed-board-chair-news-upsets-boards-lone-lobbyist/

 

 

6.1.15 — “Emergency Alert: SB 313 To Mess with Texas School Children” — by Donna Garner – EdViews.org http://www.educationviews.org/emergency-alert-sb-313-mess-texas-school-children/

 

 

 

Donna Garner

Wgarner1@hot.rr.com

 

Share Button
Read More
TOP

ESCs Exposed-Part 2: No Accountability

Share Button

 

 

ostrich

by Janice VanCleave

Texas Education Service Centers (ESCs) were established to provide service to school districts in different regions of Texas. Schools in rural areas have different needs than do schools in cities.Thus, 20 ESCs were established to provide specific services to met the needs of school districts within each region.

The ESCs were originally supported by the state. In 2003 the state legislature allowed the ESCs to sell products and services to bring in more funding. This ended these agencies being a service to schools and opened the door for poor quality products and programs to be produced and sold to public schools.

The ESCs are allowed to be self-governed, thus there has and still is no one who evaluates the quality of the ESC products.

State legislatures, TEA and the State Commissioner of Education, like the ostrich in the illustration seem to keep their head buried in the sand. They certainly were not paying attention when the ESCs created a one-size-fits-all K-12 instruction material for core curriculum (math, science, ELAR, social studies).  To add a touch of credibility to this unvetted material called CSCOPE, the ESCs advertised the CSCOPE lessons as being “state lessons.” This is printed on the original CSCOPE materials. Since the ESCs are not held accountable for what they do, the original CSCOPE lessons had plagiarized content. This was not discovered because Texas school superintendents forced their teachers to sign a non-disclosure contract with the ESCs. Teachers signed or they had no job. They agreed to reveal the content of the CSCOPE lessons.  The penalty could be legal court action. This divided the staff in Texas schools. As a teacher, I would not respect a superintendent who cared so little for his/her staff that such a contract was mandatory for employment.

Q1 Who is suppose to oversees the ESCs to confirm that state grant money is spent as directed?

A1 TEA is responsible for confirming that grants from the state are used as described. I cannot testify to all grants given to the ESCs from the state of Texas, but the outside evaluation of the Rider 42 PD grant of $150 Million dollars was spent and the product and services were far below par, yet
yet TEA paid the ESCs the grant money.

Q2 Are the boards of trustees for each of the ESCs doing their job?

A2 Some of the ESC employees say having a board of trustees for the ESCs is a joke. The ESC directors handpick these trustees for their ESC.

Q3 Isn’t the Commissioner of Education suppose to oversee the ESCs to make sure they use money correctly?

A3  State Commission of Education, Michael Williams, allowed the ESCs to develop the rules governing the ESCs.

Basically all the Texas Education Service Centers are given “blank checks” with no real checks-and- balances for verifying what money is used for. Only a very small handful of top directors within each Education Service Center are privy to what happens to the yearly inflow of multi-millions of dollars received by each ESC.  The ESCs receive Federal Grants as well as grant money from the state. How much and what the money is to be used for is only known by the elite few within the ESCs.

The long and short of it is that the  ESCs have evolved from service centers to being part of a  very corrupt network. It is difficult to follow the money trail because of the secrecy and misappropriation of funds.  It is all hush hush when it comes to where grant money goes.

Q4 Why did Robert Scott resign from being the state commissioner of education?

A4  Scott resigned soon after the midwinter TASA conference when he basically did an 180 degree turn from where we all thought he was on many things. Most people considered Robert Scott to stand behind conservative education values.

When the superintendents at the TASA conference gave Scott a standing ovation for supporting TASA’s goals,  we realized that he had been a wolf in sheep clothing or had for some reason been persuaded to support TASA’s goals of implementing Common Core and its assessments.

Q5  I personally think the TEKS and the STAAR do not meet the expectations described. The science TEKS are very vague, and some science TEKS are not correct. When I ask for clarification or to report an error, the answer is always that I just do not understand the objective of the TEKS. Is this attitude the same for everyone who asks questions?

A4 Their patronizing attitude is how TEA and the ESCs get away with so much. It intimidates so many including good educators who might work at TEA or the ESCs. We are patted on the head like we just don’t understand the big picture. We get the picture, shut up and do what we say and don’t ask questions.

 

 

ESC’S EXPOSED-PART 1

Share Button
Read More
TOP

College and Career Readiness Scam

Share Button
TEXAS COLLEGE SCAM
BY JANICE VANCLEAVE
TEA keeps dreaming up new ways to disrupt the focus of the core curriculum: reading, writing, math, science, and social studies.
TEA and the 20 Texas Education Service Centers have more than 80% of the Texas School Districts indoctrinated with the progressive common core education philosophy –AKA– Discovery Learning. This method of education puts the student in charge of his/her education. The teacher just present problems and the students on their own discover the necessary facts to solve the problem. Discovery learning  is successful with gifted and talented students, but only if they are self-disciplined and self-motivated.Thus, discovery learning is unsuccessful with the majority of students.
Discovery learning  is a method where students take charge of their education and teachers are only to be  “guides on the side.”
What is the point of requiring teachers to have college degrees if students are to take charge of their own education?
The discover learning method depends on students coming to school with a desire to learn and information that they can share with other students. The idea is that each student has something different to contribute, thus by brain storming students can solve problems themselves. I started my teaching career in 1966. Teachers were expected to be in control of their classes. Teachers were expected to be knowledgeable about the subjects they taught and they were to provide students with the basic facts necessary to solve problems. During my teaching career I taught many different sciences at different grade levels and in different school districts. I started out with one if not the best mentor ever, Ms. Marcille Hollingsworth, who wisely taught me that a teacher must have control of the class in order to present the concepts necessary for problem solving. That was 49 years ago and now veteran teachers like Ms. Hollingsworth are encouraged to leave the teaching profession. They are considered trouble makers because they do not agree with what is being called the “Twenty First Century Progressive Discovery Method” of teaching.
How is the 21st Century Progressive Discovery Method working out?
I recently volunteered to mentor a new 8th grade science teacher and help create a science lab room. To say that I was shocked at the behavior of the students doesn’t come close to describing my experiences. Teacher friends had told me that students were difficult and the new teaching philosophies made it next to impossible to maintain order in the classroom. You cannot come close to imagining how the progressive discovery method has destroyed the learning environment of our public schools.
Some of these 8th grade students must have their tests read to them. Yes, there are 8th grade students who cannot read well enough to read their tests and are in regular class rooms without any particular assistance. The idea is that by being in regular classes these non-readers will learn more than if in a small class with teachers trained to help them. It is really sad to see a student making every effort for other students not to know they cannot read. By working in groups non-readers have learned to copy the work of other students even though they cannot read and understand what they write. Some are behavior problems. Some misbehave instead of doing any work because they cannot read and their writing skills are so poor. They would rather be viewed as being disobedient instead of thought of as being dumb.
Mixing students of different abilities is called Inclusion and is hailed as a system to provide equal education to all students.
I do understand that parents want their children to have the best education. Parents of students who have learning disabilities have fought for the rights of their children. They won the right for their children to be in the same classes with children having no specific learning disability. Now, instead of their children being in small classes with several specially trained teachers to help overcome and/or learn in special ways, children with learning disabilities have less special assistance. All inclusive classrooms move at the same pace.  Administrators promote the idea that teachers are able to provide individual assistance to students who need extra assistance. Teachers are to prepare lessons for students with different abilities, thus gifted students and students with learning as well as emotional disabilities all receive lessons designed especially for them.

STOP!

First of all students are suppose to be taking charge of their own education–working in groups and sharing ideas with teachers not giving them facts—remember teachers are to be guides on the side. But with inclusion there are students who are not capable of taking charge of their education. The truth is that no student can do this in elementary and few in upper grades. When questions about students with learning disabilities, administrators “craw-fish” and put the responsibility of providing special lessons for these students.

Public education is a mess.

Some of the 8th graders I work with can read but have little comprehension. Most of the students have little self-discipline. None of the students have the skills to design a science investigation to discover the answer to a problem. This is because all of the students have very little science knowledge to draw on. They have been in charge of their own education for so many years that many have such a poor education they could not apply for the most basic jobs.
The teachers are also trained to use the Fundamental Five Steps of teaching taught by “Lead Your School.” This requires teachers to have students working in groups among other things, such as having the perform critical writing at the end of every class period. I read the book for this course and it gives no clue what is considered critical writing. Basically students are to summarize what they learned during the class period.
 Students do not have textbooks that they bring to class. Instead, a worktext is issued and it remains in the classroom. The pages in this book are perforated so they easily tear out. These books were originally developed for common core standards. The publisher had a group of Texas educators to revise some of the sections so that these worktexts can be said to align with Texas standards called TEKS. These hodgepodge revised worktexts have students doing mindless busy work. A few students who are either self-disciplined enough to want to learn and/or have parents who encourage them to learn do the work and those in their group copy the answers.
In Waco ISD, students who want to learn are allowed to attend classes with other students of the same mind set. Waco ISD has a special school for these students. I’ve had the honor of being invited to work with these students. It was like stepping back a few years when teachers were in charge of their classes. Yes, traditional education, which has been described by our Texas Educational service systems as old fashion, not acceptable in our modern 21st century technology education systems. What a joke.
In classes where  teachers are not in charge, students often tend to be loud and not focused on the lesson. .Why are teachers being blamed for the failure of our education system when those at the state level force teachers to allow students to be in charge of their own education. The 8th graders that I work with would not have a clue how to behave in the event of a true emergency. During one of the labs, I tripped and fell on the floor hitting my head on the edge of a cabinet. There were students near me but none made an effort to help me. I was not badly injured and purposely remained on the floor as I screamed–
“I’ve fallen, will someone help me.”
The teacher in the adjoining room came in immediately, but most of the my students never acknowledged my cry for help because they were loudly talking to each other. I cannot control the behavior of these students. I ask the administration for help and was told to have a discipline plan–rules for students to follow and consequences. There are no consequences that these students fear.
Are is there? I recently observed something I’d never seen in the school before.
A substitute teacher who has never been indoctrinated with all the CSCOPE and Lead Your School nonsense monitored classes for one of the 8th grade teachers. For the first time I saw 8th grade students sitting quietly as they did their individual work. The substitute was busy assisting the teacher by grading papers. Had the teacher been there, he would have been reprimanded for sitting at his desk and grading papers.
It appears that only substitute teachers are allowed to have a quiet classroom. Only substitute teachers are not allowed to sit at their desks. Regular teachers must be walking around the room guiding and encouraging students who are working nosily in groups or making poster board projects etc…… Students are to appear to be enjoying the class. A quiet class with students doing individual work is only to be observed during the multitude of testings.
All the TEKS are to be taught before the STAAR tests in April
I am discovering that there is really not enough time to teach students the content of the TEKS before the assessments (STAAR/EOCs) are given.
Think about it:
     Some days are cut short so that teachers can be trained to encourage students to go to college. This is called “No Excuses University.” Teachers are given a book to read so they can better encourage students to go to college. This book has nothing to do with the content that each teacher is hired to teach. I read the book—It would be good for teachers training to be teachers. Those in the professions should know everything in the book. But, since our 20 Education Service Centers are now training people to be teachers, principals, and even superintendents, maybe they do not know how to teach–or lead.
Think about this:
The 20 ESCs are forbidden to write and sell lessons to schools because of the faulty, antiAmerican, anti-Christian CESCOPE lessons. Yet, these same people who purposely created instruction materials that were never reviewed are in charge of training people to teach our children; training people to be principals and superintendents as well as training school board members. In other words, the 20 ESCs have more control over Texas Public Education than TEA, the Commissioner of Education, and all the legislative education committees.
Since many students cannot read well and have little comprehension of what they read, TEA has solution for these problems:
1. Make the TEKS and STAAR/EOC tests more rigorous.
2. Add more for teachers to present as they guide from the side.
Now teachers are to incorporate College and Career Readiness into their “lessons.”This is another education scam–meaning that more material can be sold to schools–more programs sold to schools for college and career readiness when time needs to be spent teaching students to read.

DUH! WILL SOMEONE IN AUSTIN LISTEN?

MANY OF OUR CHILDREN CANNOT READ AND WRITE. MAKING THE TESTS HARDER DOESN’T IMPROVE THEIR READING SKILLS.

 

I WANT SENATORS AND STATE REPRESENTATIVES TO SPEND TIME IN CLASSROOM. I INVITE YOU TO VISIT THE CLASSES THAT I WORK WITH.  CONTACT ME HERE

WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM IN TEXAS?

PEOPLE WHO DO NOT CARE AND LOVE OUR CHILDREN HAVE TAKEN OVER EDUCATION. IT IS ALL ABOUT MONEY AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH EDUCATION.

Share Button
Read More
TOP

TEXAS EDUCATION SCHEDULES STUDENTS TO FAIL

Share Button

failing

TEA Schedules Students to Fail


                 by Janice VanCleave


The revised elementary math TEKS are above grade level.

The math TEKS are designed for a 36 week school year. Since the STAAR tests are given in April, teachers have about 24 weeks instead of 36 weeks to teach all of the math TEKS.

The STAAR tests are given in April to provide time during the school year for retesting.

TEA sets the testing date early knowing that students do not have enough time to learn all the TEKS. Thus TEA is responsible for the low performance on the STAAR tests. Retesting is very expensive. Who benefits from the retesting? Not our children.

Once the STAAR tests are taken, students who pass are given busy work for about 6 weeks while students who fail are retested.

Not only are the TEKS increasing in difficulty, teachers are not given ample number of instructional days to prepare students.

The same is true for every course being tested.

What is the purpose of giving STAAR tests? It has nothing to do with education.

 

Share Button
Read More
TOP

Has Your Child Failed the TX Math STAAR TEST?

Share Button
STAAR TEST
Many students across the State of Texas failed by record numbers the State STAAR test during the following 2 school years  2012/2013 & 2013/2014. Since passing scores for the STAAR test are not decided until after all the STAAR test have been completed, in response to the failing scores the passing grade was then lowered.
Who is actually in charge over what is going on in Education has yet to be determined. Why are students failing is outlined below. It would appear to me that a child that was held back due to their failing math scores have grounds for a lawsuit.
In 2006 Math TEKs K-12 were written. They were written for the current state TAKS test.
Problem: These same TEKS were used for the STAAR Tests given in April 2012, April 2013, and April 2014.
Changing from the TAKS to the STAAR was done so that a more rigorous math test would be given. The problem is that the TEKS were not revised to prepare students for the more rigorous STAAR math tests.
2012 Revised Math TEKS K-12 were Approved by the SBOE and shelved so that textbook companies had time to prepare their products so they aligned with the new revised math TEKS.
Problem: The SBOE knew the math TEKS used for the TAKS tests were being used for the math STAAR tests, which was given for the first time in April 2012.
TEA and the SBOE as well as the Commissioner of Education knew that students were taking more rigorous math STAAR tests and teachers were given the same math TEKS used for the less rigorous TAKS tests.
The ESCs also knew this and yet sold new CSCOPE math lessons that were to be used to prepare kids for the more rigorous STAAR tests.
The Math TEKS approved in 2006 are Word for Word the same as the TEKS used last year to prepare kids for the STAAR 2014 math TESTs.
Commissioner Williams had the guts to say that Texas students are not receiving rigorous class instructions thus are not prepared for the more rigorous STAAR tests. He did not point out that the Math TEKS for the TAKS tests were used for the STAAR math tests in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

2014 Revised math TEKS K-8 implemented. These are the math TEKS that were approved in April 2012 and shelved by the SBOE until the 2014-2015. While waiting for the book publishers, TEA use the old 2006 math TEKS to prepare kids for the more rigorous STAAR math tests. Thus, TEA was assured that more kids would fail the math STAAR tests and more kids would have to be retested.  Who benefited financially by this? 
2015 Revised math Teks 9-12 will be implemented.
This means that students in 9-12 will again be taking math STAAR tests using the old math TEKS.
PARENTS MUST GET INVOLVED. DON’T LET THE EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENT INTIMIDATE YOU. THAT IS THEIR MODE OF OPERATION.
*5th grade new math teks are exactly aligned with Common Core.
OUR TEXAS SCHOOLS ARE FAILING OUR CHILDREN. I HAVE HAD REQUEST AS TO WHAT TO SUPPLEMENT FOR A MATH PROGRAM. THE BEST PRODUCT OUT THERE IS SAXON MATH UP THROUGH THE 3ED EDITION.
* after the 3rd edition a different company purchased Saxon and they have now aligned it with Common Core.
SAXON
 

 

Share Button
Read More
TOP

TEXAS STUDENTS MATH SCORES at 22 YEAR LOW

Share Button

failing

[10.7.14 — I wonder when reporters such as Terrence Stutz are going to try to investigate exactly why Texas’ public school students have lost ground on the SAT.  Could it be (duh?)  that leading up to this last round of SAT testing, at least 893 ISD’s, charters, and private schools in Texas have been using the Texas version of Common Core called “CSCOPE”? 

 

CSCOPE was sold to Texas educators as being the answer to all problems!  It was started in 2006; and in 2013 alone, the Education Service Centers collected over $15,000,000 ANNUAL fees from taxpayers for CSCOPE license fees.  

 

With that huge amount of funding and the large numbers of schools using CSCOPE, Texas should have seen dramatic academic results on the SAT if CSCOPE (now referred to as the TEKS Resource System) were really working. 

 

Obviously, CSCOPE (a.k.a., Common Core Standards) is not raising students’ SAT scores but instead is causing them to drop.

 

Texas has good Type #1 curriculum standards (TEKS).  That is not the problem. The problem is that CSCOPE and Common Core are Type #2; and the subjective, constructivist philosophy of education is causing chaos in our schools and decreasing students’ academic results.

 

Taxpayers and parents should demand that their tax dollars not go to pay for CSCOPE, TEKS Resource System, Common Core, or any other Type #2 curriculum (progressive).  Not only is that money down the drain, but students’ academic achievement is suffering because of the wrong-headed Type #2 philosophy advocated by those products.   – Donna Garner]

 

 

10.7.14 – Dallas Morning News

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20141007-texas-sat-math-scores-hit-a-22-year-low.ece

 

Texas’ SAT math scores hit a 22-year low

 

Excerpts from this article:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By TERRENCE STUTZ

Austin Bureau

tstutz@dallasnews.com

Published: 07 October 2014 05:37 AM

Updated: 07 October 2014 05:39 AM

 

AUSTIN — Texas high school students slipped to their lowest SAT math scores in more than two decades this year, while reading scores on the college entrance exam were the second lowest during that period.

 

Results being released Tuesday by the College Board, which administers the exam, showed that the average score on the math section of the SAT dropped four points from last year to 495. That was the lowest figure since 1992, when Texas students recorded an average score of 493. A perfect score is 800.

 

In reading, the Class of 2014 in Texas scored an average 476. That was down slightly from last year but still two points better than their worst showing in the past two decades. That occurred in 2012.

 

In writing, Texas students registered an average 461 for the third year in a row.

 

Students across the U.S. saw their scores in math drop slightly. But the long-standing achievement gap between Texas and the nation grew significantly this year. In reading, the average score nationwide increased slightly and remained well above the average in Texas.

 

State education officials have attributed the declining SAT scores in Texas to an increase in the number of minority students taking the exam. Minorities generally perform worse than white students on standardized achievement tests like the SAT and ACT, the nation’s two leading college entrance exams.

 

However, California students outperformed Texans by big margins this year — 15 points in math and 22 points in reading. Demographics of the student populations in the two states are similar: California is 52.7 percent Hispanic and 25.5 percent white, while Texas is 51.3 percent Hispanic and 30 percent white.

 

In addition, more than 60 percent of seniors in both states took the SAT. School districts have in recent years encouraged students to take either the SAT or ACT to get them thinking about what to do after high school.

 

The drop in SAT math scores is likely to rekindle debate over the state’s recent decision to no longer require that all high school students take Algebra II. Over the objections of business and minority-rights groups, the Legislature and State Board of Education dropped Algebra II as a requirement except for students in advanced graduation plans.

 

Among those groups were the Texas Association of Business and Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

 

Bill Hammond, a former Texas House member who leads the influential business group, said at the time that the state’s retreat on Algebra II and other more challenging courses “dooms generations of students to a mediocre education and low-wage jobs.” Hammond also pointed out that research shows students who skip the course get lower scores in math on the SAT and ACT and are less prepared for college.

 

Officials for the College Board said an analysis of this year’s results shows that too many students missed opportunities that would have helped them do better on the exam and be better prepared for college-level classes.

 

Foremost is a more challenging lineup of courses that includes four or more years of English, and three or more years of math, science and social studies.

 

“The latest SAT results reaffirm that we must address the issue of preparedness much earlier and in a more focused way,” said Cyndie Schmeiser, chief of assessment for the College Board. “Students in the Class of 2014 missed opportunities that could have helped more of them make successful transitions to college and career.”

 

The College Board reported that just over a third of the 179,036 Texas students who took the SAT met its college and career readiness benchmark, which requires a score of 1,550 out of a possible total of 2,400. That was well under the national average of 42.6 percent who hit the benchmark.

 

Most minority students, as in the past, fell far short of the benchmark. Only 19 percent of Hispanic and 14 percent of black students in Texas met the college readiness standard. Both percentages trailed the national averages for those groups.

 

…In Texas, about 61 percent of high school seniors who took the SAT were minorities, compared with a national average of 47.5 percent.

 

Follow Terrence Stutz on Twitter at @tstutz.

 

Share Button
Read More
TOP

Math TEKS: More Data Mining

Share Button

pandora's box

Has Texas Opened Pandora’s Box?

 

By Janice VanCleave

www.txcscopereview.com

Kinder Financial LiteracyThe Texas Commissioner of Educator and the Texas State Board of Education are responsible for all the state content standards.

Having “Personal” in the title of the newly added math TEKS about finances is a clue that parents need to be more involved in the content of the instructions in Texas public schools.

While identified as math standards, the list for the Personal Financial Literacy for Kindergarten students is more like an upper level study for economics.

What does a list of skills required for jobs have to do with math for kindergarten children?

What does income mean to a kindergarten child?

Children in K-8 are only familiar with their own family income.

Its no secret that the government welfare system has gotten out of control. It is no secret that many people receiving welfare payments could and should be working to earn their income. It is no secret that welfare payments for some is higher than income from an entry job. Yes, politicians buy votes by promising higher welfare payments.

Is the intent of the Personal Financial Literacy TEKS suppose to fix the Welfare System?

Yes, there are families that need help, and the welfare system was set up for this purpose. Like anything that is “not earned” the welfare program is being abused. The financial literacy standards added to the Texas math TEKS is not going to solve this problem. If anything, it will make it worse.

Sadly if teachers have students to  make a list comparing all the wonderful things about working and earning money vs. receiving welfare, which path do you think young children will think the best choice? Work or not work and receive equal or more money? UMMMM!

Mining CartTexas has opened Pandora’s Box with the Personal Financial Literacy TEKS. Instead of including these TEKS as part of school standards they need to be posted on the office walls of every politician in Austin as well as in Washington DC. Our students need to know the fundamentals of math.

Are the new Financial Literacy Standards another way to add data to the state DATA Mining CART?

Most of the Texas Public School Districts are using school taxes to pay the personal membership fees of Administrators and school board members into private organizations. The State Board of Education has a lobbyists as its vice-chairman, which is illegal. The Texas education system as a whole needs to teach students by example about financial responsibility.

By definition, unearned income is considered to be that income which is not from wages, salaries, tips, or self-employment business income. Thus welfare is unearned income. Since a large percent of Texans receive welfare, how do teachers instruct 5 year old children about jobs and earning an income when the family income is by definition unearned?

Elementary children should not be stressed over getting jobs, going to college, earning income.

What is the real reason that the Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education have come up with standards about personal income? Why have they dumped the TEKS and STAAR/EOC tests that cost so many millions of dollars to develop and suddenly introduce the most bizzare set of Math standards ever?

The Timeline for 5th grade math TEKs shows what the Texas Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education members are not revealing to the public. On top of the line is the progression of what were called the transition TEKs for STAAR. Millions and millions of dollars were spent developing these math standards. The Control for scoring the math TEKS was set in 2012. Thus, the STAAR  tests  aligned with these TEKS have only been given for two years 2013 and 2014.

Now the Commissioner of Education announces that this transition from TAKS testing to STAAR testing was a minor change. REALLY? If so, why was $200 million dollars given by the Rider 42 grant just to prepare training materials for teachers to make this transition.

The Texas Commissioner of Education and the SBOE are not providing Texans with the real truth.

Why was the Texas Commissioner of Education and the SBOE secretly developing a second set of math TEKS at the same time the transition set of math TEKS were being developed? WHY develop two sets of TEKS during the same time period?

Please ask your state representatives to find out why two sets of math standards were developed.

Timeline for 5th Grade TEKS

Share Button
Read More
TOP

Communist Howard Zinn’s History Book read by Bellaire High School Students.

Share Button

hammer_and_sickle-svg-med2

 

Howard Zinn, was a card-carrying member of the communist party. Zinn authored a book titled “The People’s History of the United States“. Unfortunately for our country his book is read throughout numerous College and High School classes as in the AP History Class of Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas.

Zinn is bent on destroying the fabric of America with his revisionist history and unfortunately his ideals of America are promoted as truth on many impressionable minds.  The new AP History written and sold by an outside agency, the College Board  has taken a radical leftist view and has been purchased and implemented in most high schools throughout the country. Texas State Board of Education Member Ken Mercer has been fighting  to have the new AP History removed from Texas class rooms. Unbeknownst to parents and taxpayers Texas superintendents and school administrators have pushed forward with purchasing and implementing the curriculum.

I personally have notified my local school district’s superintendent and school board  of Magnolia ISD and have received no response from any school board member. I did receive one email from the superintendent, Todd Stephens informing me  they will teach the TEKS. There are 181+ TEK requirements missing out the of the curriculum. So in other words the AP Test will not cover much of the TEK’s requirements and will be aligned with Common Core. Parents are going to have to wake up and find out what is going on in their schools and districts. Our country is in peril. zinns

Ken Mercer on AP History

A Case Against Howard Zinn

 

Below is a copy of Round Rock ISD’s AP US History recommended reading of Howard Zinn.

 

McNeil

Share Button
Read More
TOP

TEXAS ‘GRASSROOTS’ EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS REVEAL PROGRESSIVE FUNDING SOURCES

Share Button

breit

 

 

 

by  14 Mar 2014, 4:36 AM

AUSTIN, TEXAS–TAMSA (Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment) is the mom-pack posing as the grassroots on the Texas education advocacy front that Breitbart Texas reported flew under the radar when working with elected officials Representative Jimmy Don Aycock (R-Killeen) and State Board of Education Vice Chair Thomas Ratliff on HB 5. Although TAMSA identifies itself as a non-partisan organization, campaign and other financial contributions made by TAMSA leadership and core members tells a story that supports a very progressive educational agenda in Texas.

In public records housed on the Texas Tribune’s Texas Campaign Finance Database 2000-14, a non-grassroots public education picture emerges from 2012-13 where TAMSA–the darlings of HB5–supported a variety of Democratic and progressive causes in Texas. Among the cash recipients were Battleground Texas, Wendy Davis, and Ratliff, a paid Microsoft lobbyist. Microsoft is neck deep in the implementation of 21st Century learning through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Texas’ 21st Century learning and College and Career Readiness Standards are all a part of the federal agenda, the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

TAMSA president Dineen Majcher  contributed a diminutive $300 to Texas Parent PAC, however, the records show that the PAC’s top contributors also included TAMSA agitator-at-large Susan Kellner and former Lt. Governor Bill Ratliff, who sits on the Parents for Public Schools advisory board with Linda Darling-Hammond, a key education policy ideologue and influencer behind both the controversial Common Core State and CSCOPE.

Furthermore, Texas Parent PAC is an organization that endorses Save Texas Schools and whose advisory committee chairman Allen Weeks was featured on the “Reclaiming the Promise through Community Schools” SXSWedu 2014 panel with Randi Weingarten, president of the largest and most powerful teacher’s union in the United States — the American Federation of Teachers.

Breitbart Texas was there when Weingarten told attendees on March 3, 2014 that she had been in Austin since January with Weeks to work on a “community schools strategy.”  This is the same strategy Breitbart Texas recently reported on that New York Governor Cuomoexecutive ordered into aligning education, health and social services into the one convenient hub–the public school.

At the conference, Weeks made no mention about his ties to Save Texas Schools. He was listed as executive director of Austin Voices for Education and Youth. However, to donate online to Save Texas Schools, the check needs to be made out to Austin Voices for Education and Youth where it also states that Austin Voices for Education and Youth is the nonprofit organization that is the fiscal sponsor for Save Texas Schools. Reclaiming the Promise is AFT initiative lead by Weingarten.

Also in the 2012-13 records, TAMSA Treasurer Laura Yeager contributed to the most likely Democratic candidates and groups to champion Fed Led Ed right into Texas. Shedonated to the campaigns of Wendy R. Davis for Governor, Inc.; Battleground Texas and the Leticia Van Putte for Lieutenant Governor Campaign Committee.

TAMSA mouth piece Kellner, who is the former Spring Branch ISD Board of Trustees, along with husband Larry Kellner, former chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Airlines, made generous contributions to Democratic causes, candidates and legislators in Texas according to the online records.

The Kellners, however, landed on the top recipients list, contributing a combined total of $40,000 to Texans for Joe Straus, straddling the 2012-13 period at $10,000 per contribution. In 2012, they also ranked among the top contributors to SBOE Vice Chair Thomas Ratliff, flanked by the Texas State Teachers Association PAC and Charles Butt, HEB grocery chain magnate. Among their 2013 contributions listed, they plunked down $20,000 to the Harris County based Citizens for School Readiness, a 527 political organization, busy pushing the federal pre-kindergarten program in a CATO Institutereport posted by EAG News.

Thomas Ratliff has been tagged a controversial figure because of questions that have arisen about his lobbyist status and the legitimacy for him to serve on the Texas State Board of Education. Although the Texas Education Code (Title 2. Public Education, Subtitle B, Section 7.103) states in as eligibility for membership that “a person who is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305, Government Code, by virtue of the person’s activities for compensation in or on behalf of a profession, business, or association related to the operation of the board, may not serve as a member of the board or act as the general counsel to the board,” Ratliff continues to sit on the Texas State Board of Education despite a 2011 opinion rendered on the matter from the Texas Attorney General’s office.

Also, the son of the former Lieutenant Governor, Ratliff’s top contributors over the same period have been Butt, the Kellners, and Chris Huckabee, appointed to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board by Governor Rick Perry.

The dollars on record do not lie. They tell the story of a well-organized machine and a lot of disconcerting ties that may not reflect Texas values after all.

Currently, TAMSA lists among their latest plank-of-action opting out of the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS) aligned STAAR testing but not necessarily in the grassroots spirit of “teaching to the test.” Rather, their goal is to replace the Texas exams with the “nationally recognized tests” a.k.a. the Common Core assessments in grades 3-8.  It’s right on their website. They are who Thomas Ratliff praised as the “real grassroots” at SXSWedu 2014.

Original records source credited is the Texas Ethics Commission.

Follow Merrill Hope on Twitter @OutOfTheBoxMom

 

Share Button
Read More
TOP

Five Pillars of Islam taught by Texas ISD’s!

Share Button

5 PILLARS

Thanks Donna Garner. I wanted to share this with everyone, as you may need it too.
Subject: UPSET FATHER — NORTHWEST ISD, FT. WORTH, TX. — SON TAUGHT 5 PILLARS OF ISLAM, LITTLE ABOUT CHRISTIANITY — 2.11.14

VIDEO – 2.51 minutes — Andrew Bennett — Upset Father – Northwest ISD, Ft. Worth, Texas – 5 Pillars of Islam and Common Core in Texas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yq8ERrxzx8&feature=youtu.be (video below)

Published on Feb 10, 2014

Northwest ISD Parents and Teachers Against Common Core, address school board regarding the heavy focus of Islam, while just briefly touching on primary religions. Common Core is in Texas, just by another name — College and Career Ready, CSCOPE, Springboard, 21st Century Learning Skills…

========
To read through the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Social Studies, please go to the following link:http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter113/index.html

The World History Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) start at:
§113.42. Notice that Islam is only one of the many elements that Texas students are to be taught:
(23) Culture. The student understands the history and relevance of major religious and philosophical traditions. The student is expected to:
(A) describe the historical origins, central ideas, and spread of major religious and philosophical traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and the development of monotheism; and
(B) identify examples of religious influence on various events referenced in the major eras of world history.

Donna Garner
Wgarner1@hot.rr.com

 

Share Button
Read More
TOP

TEXAS: CSCOPE vs PEG LIST

Share Button

 

 

“The Day of Reckoning: CSCOPE vs. PEG List”

By Donna Garner

1.10.14

 

The Texas Education Agency has just released the list of 892 Texas public school campuses that have been identified as low performing because of poor test scores or unacceptable ratings under the Public Education Grant program (PEG):

 http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/peg/2013/peg_list_2014-15.pdf

 

Below is the list of CSCOPE school districts/school systems as of 8.25.12:   http://nocompromisepac.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cscope-list-of-texas-school-districts-school-systems-as-of-8-25?xg_source=activity

 

By comparing the two lists posted above (PEG vs. CSCOPE), the public should be able to  determine generally whether CSCOPE is helping or hindering the academic performance of Texas students.

 

The following chart tells what the abbreviations found in the far right-hand column on the PEG List mean.

 

Reasons for Identification:
R

The STAAR/TAKS passing rate inReading/English Language Artswas 50 percent or below for the tested grades at the campus (2011, 2012, 2013).

W

The STAAR/TAKS passing rate inWriting was 50 percent or below for the tested grades at the campus (2011 or 2013).

M

The STAAR/TAKS passing rate inMathematics was 50 percent or below for the tested grades at the campus (2011, 2012, 2013).

C

The STAAR/TAKS passing rate inScience was 50 percent or below for the tested grades at the campus (2011 or 2013).

S

The STAAR/TAKS passing rate inSocial Studies was 50 percent or below for the tested grades at the campus (2011 or 2013).

AU

The campus was ratedAcademically Unacceptable (2011), or Improvement Required (2013).

 

 

More information about the methodology used to prepare the PEG List can be found at:   http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/peg/2013/method_exp.pdf

 

 

 

 

Donna Garner

Wgarner1@hot.rr.com

 

Share Button
Read More
TOP

TEXAS EDUCATION, DATA MINING, CSCOPE & COMMON CORE

Share Button


TEXAS ED

 

Texans need to be aware that Texas has fallen in line with the same radical progressive agenda as those using Common Core in other states.   Yes, Texas did not officially adopt Common Core but the philosophy, assessments and data mining behind Common Core are being used here in Texas as well. CSCOPE is riddled with assessments that do not align with the TEKS and students are subjected to them throughout their school year for the purpose of data mining. Texans need to wake up as to what is transpiring in your local school district. Educators try to intimidate you with words like, 21st Century Learning, Rigor, College and Career Readiness, Project Based Learning (aka Common Core & Cscope). Please don’t let them fool you. Please review the following information and educate yourself as to what is taking place in your local school district. COMMON CORE AND DATA MINING

Share Button
Read More
TOP

“Bias in School Lessons: Common Core’s Global Warming”

Share Button

GLOBAL WARMING HOAS

CSCOPE & Common Core are  riddled with Global Warming Propaganda. 

“Bias in School Lessons: Common Core’s Global Warming”

Countered by Henry W. Burke (with introductory comments from Donna Garner)

11.16.13

 

 Instructional materials such as the ones attached to this e-mail have been popping up in Texas elementary classrooms.  The content reflects the intent of Common Core Standards — to bias the way children think and to indoctrinate them at an early age to believe in such concepts as environmental extremism, global warming, and climate change.  

 

In a few schools, parents have found that teachers have cut off the bottom part of the worksheets in question so that parents will not see the words “Common Core Standards” printed at the bottom. 

 

When one mother went to her child’s school and said, “#Can I See… my child’s textbook and worksheets, she was told that the above attachments came from MentoringMinds.  [For documentation the mother then took a screenshot of the worksheets with her iPhone.]

 

When the parent contacted MentoringMinds, she was told that the worksheets in question are aligned with the Texas State Board of Education curriculum standards (TEKS) for science.  This is incorrect information as explained by Henry W. Burke further on down this page.

 

 

(FYI:  Here is the contact information for the employee at MentoringMinds:  Brittany Dickey, Inside Sales Support, [direct] 855.780.9892 * [p] 800.585.5258 * [f] 800.838.8186
[cid:image007.png@01CCF0B2.A14684E0]<http://www.mentoringminds.com/social> )

 

 

Below is Henry W. Burke’s response to the worksheets in question.  Please feel free to share this information widely so that people will be prepared to counter the bogus arguments from such publishing companies as MentoringMinds.

 

 

Donna Garner

Wgarner1@hot.rr.com

 

============

Response to Mentoring Minds Worksheet on Global Warming

 

by Henry W. Burke

 

11.16.13

 

 

 

I will start with the TEKS requirements.  In Brittany Dickey’s 11.15.13 letter, she said the “Fuel Facts” page was written to address the following TEKS: 

 

                   5.7(A) explore the processes that led to the formation of sedimentary rocks and fossil fuels;

5.7(C) identify alternative energy resources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biofuels

4.7(C) identify and classify Earth’s renewable resources, including air, plants, water, and animals; and nonrenewable resources, including coal, oil, and natural gas; and the importance of conservation. (tested in 5th)

5.1 (B) make informed choices in the conservation, disposal, and recycling of materials.

 

 

 

The Texas TEKS for Science do not state that global warming exists and is caused by human activities.  Of course, students should have a good understanding of renewable and non-renewable resources.  Likewise, citizens need to appreciate how to conserve energy and protect our environment.

 

 

One of the Mentoring Minds cartoons says the following:

 

          Fossil fuels are not good for the environment.  They produce carbon dioxide when burned.  Many scientists believe this is causing the Earth to get warmer.

IMG_1623 IMG_1627

 

IMG_1628

 

 

Mentoring Minds has injected their mindset and bias toward global warming into the subject matter.  To address their statements, I need to explain some scientific facts.

 

 

I am a Civil Engineer who depends upon real, proven science not “junk science.”  I served as a Sanitary Engineer in the National Air Pollution Control Administration (NAPCA) from 1968 to 1970.

 

 

The global warming proponents needed to create a future catastrophe to gain people’s attention and support.  They had to convince enough people that the earth is getting warmer and that man is causing this warming.  This is their false reasoning.  When man-made global warming raises the earth’s temperature, the earth’s ice would melt and cause catastrophic flooding of the coastal cities. 

 

 

They started with a known scientific fact (the greenhouse effect) and coupled it with human-caused carbon dioxide to produce a false conclusion.  We know that fossil fuels produce carbon dioxide (and other products of combustion) when they are burned.  Air pollution control measures have drastically reduced the amount of harmful air pollutants emitted into the atmosphere.  America’s air is cleaner as a result of our air pollution control efforts.

 

 

The greenhouse effect is real and it helps to regulate the temperature of our planet.  The Earth’s greenhouse effect is good because it keeps the Earth warm and makes our planet habitable.  Without a natural greenhouse effect, the temperature of the Earth would be about zero degrees F (and look much like Mars) instead of its present 57 ºF.

 

 

 

The basic premise (first assumption) behind global warming is that increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing the Earth’s atmosphere to become warmer.  The National Center for Policy Analysis determined:

 

Over long periods of time, there is no close relationship between CO2 levels and temperature.  The Earth’s average temperature has risen a little less than 1oC over the past century.  Although almost half of this warming occurred before 1940, greenhouse gas emissions began to rise substantially only after the 1950s.

 

            http://www.ncpa.org/pdfs/GlobalWarmingPrimer.pdf

 

The second assumption with global warming is that CO2 is a poison.  I have never seen a health effect study that showed CO2 was a poison and was harmful to humans.  When we were developing air quality criteria documents in NAPCA for the various air pollutants, we would have ridiculed anyone who suggested that carbon dioxide was an air pollutant!  CO2 is not an air pollutant and it is not a poison! 

 

 

We exhale CO2 and much of it is taken up by plants.  Actually, about 40 % of CO2 is reabsorbed by plants and trees.  The statistics on carbon dioxide emissions usually disregard the percentage that is reabsorbed by plants.

 

 

 

The key to the global warming alarmists’ work is to tie increasing atmospheric temperatures to higher levels of CO2, but not just any CO2; it must be CO­2   produced by human activities (anthropogenic). 

 

 

 

Temperatures are increasing somewhat as we recover from the “Little Ice Age” that occurred in the early 1800s.  It may become warmer without any human assistance. 

 

 

The (U.S.) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates the National Climatic Data Center.  The recent report, “Global Climate Change Indicators,” stated:

 

          Global average temperature is one of the most-cited indicators of global climate change, and shows an increase of approximately 1.4°F since the early 20th Century. 

 

            http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/indicators/

 

The NOAA “State of the Climate-2012” report indicated:

           

            The global annual temperature has increased at an average rate of 0.06°C (0.11°F) per decade since 1880and at an average rate of 0.16°C (0.28°F) per decade since 1970.

          http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/cag3/na.html

 

 

NOAA determined that the Contiguous United States temperature trend is 0.09 ºF per decade, for the full period from 1895 to 2012.  For the much shorter recent period from 1997 to 2012, the temperature trend is (a declining) – 0.71 ºF per decade.  Instead of getting warmer (as the global warming advocates claim), the earth may actually be cooling.

 

 

 

Many environmentalists are using the term “global climate change” instead of “global warming.”  Apparently they haven’t decided whether the earth is getting warmer or cooler; with the new term, they are covered either way. 

 

 

 

When the textbook companies produce instructional materials (IM) for the Texas schools, they should stick with the TEKS and avoid introducing their Common Core-driven biases.  Global warming (a.k.a. “climate change”) is not proven science!

 

=========================================

 

 

Bio for Henry W. Burke

 

 

Henry Burke is a Civil Engineer  with a B.S.C.E. and M.S.C.E.  He has been a Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) for 37 years and has worked as a Civil Engineer in construction for over 40 years. 

 

Henry Burke has experience in the air pollution control field through employment with the National Air Pollution Control Administration (NAPCA).  

 

Mr. Burke had a successful 27-year career with a large construction contractor. 

 

Henry Burke serves as a full-time volunteer to oversee various construction projects. He has written numerous articles on education, engineering, construction, environmental issues, politics, taxes, and the economy.

 

 

Henry W. Burke

E-mail:  hwburke@cox.net 

 

 

 

Share Button
Read More
TOP

Texas Education Service Centers Hide Free Materials

Share Button

ESCs Hide FREE Materials

MAY 6, 2013 BY  LEAVE A COMMENT

ESC hides TEKS PD material

In 2009-2010, the ESCs who own TESCCC received about $50 million to develop and present teacher training for science and ELAR TEKS. The first training sessions were offered in the summer of 2010. This was important because teachers would be developing their science and ELAR lessons around these new Texas standards called TEKS.

Few teachers attended the summer sessions even though a stipend was to be given to teachers attending. Why?

The answer is given in a report to TEA about the Rider 42 grant project below. Basically, the ESC made an effort not to announce this program. How could 20 different groups fail to advertise something so very important?

It seems that the ESCs didn’t do anything special to advertise these FREE TEKS Academies.

Remember: 2010-2011 was the first year that the TEKS were to be used and teachers were apprehensive about starting the school year “cold.” The ESCs had at least a year to work on developing the TEKS training for Texas educators and yet these ESCs did not notify educators that there would be free training in the summer of 2010. I keep thinking how much could be done with $50 million. Following is the very lame excuse given by the ESCs. ESC, which stands for Education Service Center is a misnomer.

During the summer of 2010, instead of promoting the Free TEKS Academies, teachers who serendipitous discovered that the academies were being presented attended, but many teachers were forced to attend CSCOPE training sessions. This is because the ESCs were selling CSCOPE and telling the public that schools had asked them to create the CSCOPE materials. If so, it was only because these schools were not offered the free TEKS academy materials.

I can testify to the fact that the Free Science K-4 TEKS professional development materials created by TEA and Region 4 are wonderful. In fact, to hide these free materials and sell CSCOPE materials is comparable of robbing children of food. The food in this case is their education. Yes, the ESCs have stolen the education away from Texas children.

I am preparing a series of articles that compare the Free TEKS PD Academy science lessons with comparable CSCOPE lessons. This will be information that parents can take to their superintendents and ask for an explanation.

See CSCOPE Hurts Children: Proof 1

Note: The ESCs were given a second chance to make amends. Yes, these same 20 groups were given another $50 million to develop TEKS PD for social studies as well as present the science and ELAR academies again. Yes, the ESCs knew this money was coming. Did they correct the error of not starting early to advertise the Free TEKS programs. NO! Same procedure–”If the teachers find out they will come.” Few teachers have attending these free programs and now the ESCs claim that there is no money for the Math TEKS. What! $152 million was allotted and there is no money for the math? What happened to all this money?

ESCs Fail to Advertise Free TEKS Academies

Share Button
Read More

Hit Counter provided by Skylight