Bad Deeds for 8-20-2008

Texas Board of Education Under Control of a Rogue Faction With a Specific Agenda – Recent actions have landed Texas State Board of Education Chairman Don McLeroy and an eight-member faction under legislative scrutiny.

At first glance, their misdeeds seem innocuous. But, it turns out, they might be costly and illegal.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills are the standards of school content, defining what students need to learn as they progress from grade to grade and what they are tested on at the end of the year.

On July 16, the House Public Education Committee requested that McLeroy answer questions about the TEKS adoption process. Some observers say he hanged himself. But in the words of a Monty Python character, he’s “not dead yet.”

In fact, he’s thumbing his nose at legislators. His testimony was circular and evasive and, according to knowledgeable educators, at times deceptive. Video of the committee meeting can be seen on the committee Web site at tinyurl.com/Public-Education.

McLeroy’s testimony and answers to questions from state Reps. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington; Dora Olivo, D-Richmond; and Donna Howard, D-Austin; revealed McLeroy’s rejection of sound educational practices.

When Howard attributed the SBOE’s adoption of damaging TEKS to “ideology” and “politicizing our children’s education,” observers overwhelmingly demonstrated their agreement with an eruption of applause.

Legislators heard testimony from SBOE members and more than two dozen of Texas’s top educators. Among them were Linda Ferreira-Buckley, chair of UT’s Rhetoric and Writing Department; Alana Morris, teacher and president of the Coalition of Reading and English Teachers; and Cindy Tyroff, curriculum developer for San Antonio’s Northside school district.

Educators who testified about the quality of the adopted TEKS described them in the worst of terms. Flawed. Full of gaps. Costly to local school districts. Damaging to children.

Legislators also learned from testimony that the new ELAR (English Language Arts) TEKS don’t completely align to college readiness standards. The last Legislature passed a law mandating that TEKS align with those standards. The State Board of Education broke the law.

Legislators also learned that the board’s rogue faction rejected a math textbook without reason. They broke the law.

Conclusion: The law applies only at these politicians’ pleasure.

What happened with the ELAR TEKS, and what happened at the next SBOE meeting, is of concern to all Texans because we will pay heavily for this faction’s ideology.

Good TEKS are aligned, meaning that students master content at each level that prepares them for the next grade level, but the adopted TEKS are not aligned. A result will be gaps in students’ learning because a child going through the system is almost guaranteed not to learn material at one level necessary for success on the next level. Most children will not recover the needed material, and many will be damaged as a result.

Texans will also pay with their pocketbooks. Local school districts will spend lots of unbudgeted money interpreting the messy TEKS so that they can match it to what they are teaching in the classrooms.

McLeroy’s testimony was an unintentional admission of guilt and a humiliating display of ignorance of the ELAR standards he voted on.

But he recovered. The next day, defying the advice of Public Education Committee member Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, and with arrogance that contrasts sharply with the humility legislators saw the day before, McLeroy led his SBOE faction to adopt Bible-course standards so vague that they leave the door gaping for classroom proselytizing.

SMU Religion Studies Chair Mark Chancey termed them “a constitutional train wreck” that will cost taxpayers in legal defense fees.

Continuing a radical rampage, McLeroy’s group outlined a process for the Science TEKS adoption that flies in the face of legislators’ intent. Their new process disempowers teachers and experts and enhances the group’s ability to adopt their ideology. If they succeed, taxpayers may foot that bill in court, as well.

And because most members of this faction had campaigns financed by James Leininger from San Antonio, we can anticipate another costly issue. Leininger is known for financing candidates who support his causes, which include school vouchers. Vouchers are one way to get taxpayers to pay for education in religious schools, exactly what America’s Founding Fathers didn’t want.

So what can be done? … One good remedy is in board District 7, where Laura Ewing is running against incumbent David Bradley. Bradley is infamous among educators for his statement, “Thinking is gobbledygook.” He votes with the ideologues. Ewing would balance the board with integrity.

Meantime, Gov. Rick Perry should revisit his appointment of McLeroy as board chair. …