Letter: Is education reform really working?

Dear Editor,

What has reform really meant for Louisiana beyond the fuzzy math and mysterious statistics recited by Jindal in his “Louisiana is Leading the Way in Education” op-ed of Sept. 15, 2013?

Jindal pretends to give credit for the initiation of the “transformation” of Louisiana’s public education system to “countless local teachers, students and parents.”

That transformation was from 68 locally-controlled and elected school board districts pre-Katrina, to a statewide conglomeration of 86 school districts with over 104 charters. Governor Jindal would have us believe this represents a reduction in government bureaucracy and an increase in efficiency. While education policy, state law, enrollment practices and funding differ for each, all are being held to the same form of pseudo accountability by virtue of one invalid and unreliable quantitative measure of success or failure – the state’s high stakes standardized test du jour.

It has been long established by education experts and clearly stated by the National Research Council that the use of a single standardized test is both invalid and unreliable for such high stakes measurement purposes.

Nevertheless, its continued use has evolved via reform into part of a complicated and ever changing formula used to grade students, teachers, schools and districts. Every element of testing has been gifted by the governor to one individual, State Education Superintendent John White, who manipulates those grades to illustrate an outcome that supports the claims of miraculous success touted by Jindal.

Yes, the creation and oversight of both the formula and the numbers plugged into that formula are controlled by an individual who holds no history, allegiance to or residency in this state and whose lack of qualifications for his appointed office required a policy waiver by BESE.

BESE appears to have abdicated their responsibility to hold Supt. White accountable and have allowed him to remove from public accessibility the essential data used to create this culture of failure. Students pass or fail, teachers retain or lose their professions, schools are closed and replaced by charters, parents lose control of their schools, and citizens are losing what should be a most precious asset and foundation for community stability – the neighborhood school. We are told this is our “Choice.”

And this is the basis for Jindal’s claim that Louisiana style education reform is a model for the nation.

Lee P. Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT,

Secondary English, Journalism, Gifted

Abita Springs, La.