A political analysis of the CA school accountability laws, wriitten by a savvy education writer, Jill Tucker. He's been labeled the Education Governor, promising to improve the chronically dismal performance of the state's public schools. But teachers and administrators on the receiving end of Gov. Gray Davis' agenda to overhaul California classrooms say Education Dictator is more like it. Davis' school reforms have come fast and furious.
Reform has been too long in coming, says the governor, and something is better than nothing.
But state and local officials contend they are forced to implement sometimes half-baked programs. The API was designed to rank schools based on several criteria including the Stanford 9 standardized test of basic skills, knowledge of state academic standards, school dropout rates, the high school exit exam and attendance. Yet when the state rolls out the rankings at 10 a.m., the yardstick will only include the 1999 results of the Stanford 9 test. The high-stakes system will set a new bar for each school. Future increases in rank can mean extra cash, while declines or stagnation can mean financial or staffing consequences.