Vol. 4, No. 14
April 9, 2002

*THE BLOB: The education groups have kicked off several months worth of national conventions that allow the public to see first hand what is - and is not - on the agenda of the groups who defend public education's status quo. The first in the annual ritual of spring and summer conferences is the National School Boards Association, in New Orleans, LA, which continues through Tuesday. To its credit, NSBA has thus far talked about achievement and small schools. And Secretary Paige was on the agenda, too. But specifics about how school board members can make education better seem to be taking a back seat to speeches from a diverse crew of people including former journalists, an astronaut, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. For people wanting to know what should be on the minds of the NSBA, link here for a set of 15 questions to ask your elected school board members. Coming next in June will be the annual meeting of the National PTA in San Antonio, Texas.

*WHY WE CALL IT THE BLOB: Back by popular demand, here's why we feel justified, happy, and even a little giddy about using the term Blob to refer to our well-intentioned but wholly misguided friends in the education establishment. We wrote this back in the February/March 1996 Monthly Letter - with many a mention of the Blob in Monthly Letters before and since - and given that our readership and friends continue to grow (and that even the old-timers' minds can use a refresher every so often) we thought we'd remind you. Note: This is just an excerpt. The full text appears on our web site, or is available in print for a large donation by calling the Center. So, the term Blob: "cropped up years ago when reformers began trying to work with the education establishment and ran smack into the more than 200 groups, associations, federations, alliances, departments, offices, administrations, councils, boards, commissions, panels, organizations, herds, flocks and coveys, that make up the education industrial complex. Taken individually they were frustrating enough, with their own agendas, bureaucracies, and power over education. But taken as a whole they were (and are) maddening in their resistance to change. Not really a wall - they always talk about change - but rather more like quicksand, or a tar pit where ideas slowly sink out of sight, leaving everything just as it had been. Now, we suppose they could have been called any number of things: a puddle, a maze, a swamp, a big fat fluffy feather pillow, but blob is what stuck. It's really nothing personal, just descriptive shorthand, like calling accountants "bean counters" and pentagon officials "brass hats," and our friends in the blob (yes, I have blob friends) all seem to accept it with good humor. "Those who we do not consider the 'BLOB' are the scores of individual educators, school board members, administrators and the like who toil in the vineyards. On the contrary, they are our unsung heroes and heroines. Rather, it is those at the state and national level, and in whose pockets their dues money rest, who most often fit the "blob" bill."

*ACHIEVEMENT: Great news came last week from an analysis of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Three states have narrowed the achievement gap among black and Hispanics by at least 10 points in 10 years, proof that a combination of reforms and effort can indeed help children for whom expectations are often low. Not so coincidentally, the three states that achieved the most have those pesky high stakes tests where there are consequences for both students and schools that fail to achieve at prescribed levels. Massachusetts, New York and Texas shrunk their gaps by 10, 12 and 14 points respectively, on NAEP math and science tests. Interestingly, in all of those states, the crowing against standardized tests as somehow harming students has been the loudest. Click here for the full report.

* ACCOUNTABILITY: A new, interactive Report Card for Parents by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation empowers Peachtree state parents to make informed decisions about how well their child's school is serving them -- and how the school compares to others in the district. This type of reporting can pave the way for real accountability. The statistics and data available in this database can show how well the best schools are doing and how poorly some others are faring. It can be used for parents with children in poor performing schools to turn up the heat on their schools, and by elected officials to make the changes needed to bring them the same quality services that are available in the higher performing schools. To check it out, go to: www.gppf.org.

* FEDERAL POLICY: The terms "government" and "user-friendly" are usually not synonymous. That's why the U.S. Department of Education's new website for their No Child Left Behind Initiative is a pleasant surprise: It's a place where even people who do not speak in jargon can go and easily find information about the federal government's new efforts to hold schools accountable and raise student achievement. To see for yourself, go to the DOE's NCLB page.

* CHARTER SCHOOLS: This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the opening of the nationís first charter school in Minnesota, and since then more than 2,400 charter schools around the country have opened, serving nearly 580,000 children. To recognize and honor the success of charter schools in educating our nation's children, the third annual National Charter, Schools Week will be celebrated April 29-May 3, 2002. For a list of activities, planning ideas and for more information, go to: www.edreform.com/ncsw/index.html.

* TEACHER CERTIFICATION: In a recent Baltimore Sun op-ed Robert Embry, President of the Maryland-based Abell Foundation, tackles the baseless but pervasive assumption that the best assurance that an educator is sound is state certification. Perhaps most telling is his observation about where certification is - and is not - required: "Extensive public school teaching regulations contrast with the absence of comparable regulations for other kinds of educational institutions. The nation's most highly respected and successful educational institutions do not have to follow state credential requirements when hiring teachers. Private and public colleges and universities, private and religious K-12 schools and the home sector are free to decide who will teach. Only the nation's most criticized and largest educational institution, the K-12 public school system, requires teacher certification." Click here to read the Abell Foundation's Teacher Certification Reconsidered: Stumbling for Quality at their website.

The fourth annual national charter school conference, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education will be held June 19-22, 2002 in Milwaukee, WI. For registration and other information, go to: www.edreform.com/info/events.htm.

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