GOOD NEWS FROM A NEIGHBOR - Just a Minute Radio for 05-22-08 Thursday

Hi Folks…

 

We’ve had some thunder bumpers out our way…but people are glad to get the rain.

 

Raleigh may not welcome this news… John Hood, President of the Locke Foundation in Raleigh has been turning up some education data, and because he’s followed the progress or lack of it in his Old North State… he has some rather startling things to observe.

 

He harks back to a few years ago when he says the Education establishment undertook to shift the goal posts a bit and earned themselves some ‘national infamy’ by, he says, “attempting to mislead the federals and the public.” Perhaps you’ll want to go deeper into it yourself… the Locke Foundation does some good work in keeping public servants operating in the public interest and transparency. He finds educational administrators have fiddled around to make North Carolina’s record to appear better than it is – particularly on graduation rates.

 

I’m not an expert but it sounds like he’s on to something – perhaps if you’re a parent or grandparent with children in school, you’ll want to examine what he says more closely.

 

Meanwhile we await your comments here as you please.

 

The audio link and comment line are below along with today’s script.

 

Cordially, IN HIM

Jack

 

 

“JUST A MINUTE”

GOOD NEWS FROM A NEIGHBOR

Just A Minute – John Hood, CEO of the Locke Foundation based in Raleigh, compliments South Carolina’s educational record even as he compares it with North Carolina’s.

Hood says North Carolina several years ago [quote] “Gained national infamy by concocting a grossly exaggerated ‘graduation rate’ in a blatant attempt to mislead federal officials and the public.” He adds a series of studies shows North Carolina sets some of the lowest achievement standards in the U.S.

Backing that up he points to academic testing of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, calling it the touchstone of academic testing. From unbiased data, Hood says North Carolina has manipulated measurements and earns just a D plus among a small group of states getting D’s and F’s, contrasting it with South Carolina, which he says has NOT dumbed down standards to make themselves look better.

Hood urges Raleigh to face facts: North Carolina has little to teach the rest of the country about enacting good education policy; South Carolina does.

Thanks, Mr. Hood, for encouraging South Carolina’s educators – and for challenging those in the Old North State.   

<> I’m Jack Buttram

(END)

 

 

Jebco Editorial Service

www.justaminuteradio.blogspot.com

e-mail n4zhk@arrl.net

Audio link: http://www.jebcovoice.net/audio/jama05-22-08.mp3