Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Gov. Perry, WTF?

Gee, Gov. Perry, did you ever think that one reason Texas has a hard time recruiting and retaining highly educated workers and high tech companies from outside the state is that you and your appointees have no respect for education at all?!  Someone please explain to me why the Governor's appointees for state school board think they should be able to warp the state history curriculum.  Then explain to me why our state, which is well below average in high school graduation rates and SAT scores, turned down $700,000,000 in federal education stimulus funds.  What's the deal?  I know that there are strings attached to the money, but given the repeated shortfalls in the state education system, should you really look down your nose at this?  Does Perry get kick-backs from all the private schools in the state in exchange for trashing public education?

3 comments:

Uncle Al said...

Texas public education produces world-class football players and idiots. Los Angeles Unified School District produces idiots. Texas is winning.

Los Angeles Times Sunday 10 January 2010, p. A10, "Charters are gaining strength" 100% proficiency is "No Child Left Behind" diversity:

7.67% students in magnet schools - the best schools intensely selective for student entry. 54% math proficiency, 67% reading proficiency.

8.38% students in charter schools - privately run outside district management and unions. 41% math proficiency, 47% reading proficiency.

83.94% or 581,457 LAUSD students in ordinary schools costing $13.6 billion 2008-2009. 35% math proficiency, 34% reading proficiency.

The average LAUSD high school graduate, 60% of incoming, have IQs 1.5 sigma below the European mean. The very best are barely of normal intelligence. Even Texas does better.

Zach said...

I'm not sure what the IQs of the LAUSD graduates have to do with anything... either you believe that IQ measures innate intelligence, in which case it sounds like LAUSD is doing remarkably well with a difficult student population, or you think that the IQ test measures only how well you can do on an IQ test, in which case who cares?

DanM said...

Somebody should check Gov. Perry's IQ. Perhaps he traded it for that awesome hair. Ya gotta admit, the guy has great hair. No actual qualifications to govern, but great hair.