The Problem With Education Today

In The Know: Are Tests Biased Against Students Who Don't Give A Shit?

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When the Math is Too Cute By Half

One of the most fun faces to watch statewide is going to be the contest for State Senate in the 6th Legislative District (suburban Spokane); by the time November is done, I expect this to be one of the most expensive and negative races we've ever seen.

Michael Baumgartner, the challenger, put out this email yesterday taking shots at Chris Marr:

My opponent has tried to blame his poor primary results on low Democratic turnout. But the numbers on the ground don’t bear this out. There were 9,658 Republican presidential primary voters and 9,288 Democrat presidential primary voters who turned out last week. This breaks down to a 1.95% advantage for a Republican candidate in the 6th District. My lead in the primary is 6.6% so among independents, I earned 55.4% of the vote compared to my opponent’s 44.6%.

What this particular bit of prestidigitation asks you to accept is that the presidential primaries in 2008 meant anything. For a quick review, Horse's Ass fisks a Joni Balter column from that week. Remember, the Republicans used the caucuses--not the primaries--to allocate their delegates; there was a bit of a kerfuffle about the state being called for McCain when Huckabee was still in the running. This was also the pick-a-party primary, one of the dumber ideas to come down the pipe.

In short--I don't know why Baumgartner would want to fall back on that particular bit of data. It's meaningless. This feels like a factoid an intern came up with to justify their time.

That knife cuts both ways, though. From Chris Marr's website:

Outspent, and viciously attacked… and STILL the top Democratic performer in the 6th!

Absolutely true, but not at all meaningful. In the two House races in the 6th, one was unopposed (Rep. Kevin Parker), and the other featured a hotly-contested Republican contest between Shelly O'Quinn and John Ahern with a rather blah Democrat (John Driscoll) taking what was left of the vote. Were I Marr I'd be making sure everyone knows that there were 26,000+ votes cast in the House race for Republicans, but only 21,200 for the Republican senate candidate, Baumgartner. If the partisans were really turning out, why wouldn't they have turned out in the Senate race as well?

It's going to be a slobberknocker.

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Profiles in Online Excellence: Federal Way Internet Academy!

This comparison is done with their 2007-2008 scores, not 2008-2009, because they didn't have a full set of scores for the most current year. Why didn't they? Awesomeness, that's why.

• For that year, FWIA had a 66% passing rate on their READING test. The state average was 81.8%. FWIA was 15.8% worse than the state average.
  
• FWIA had a 22.6% passing rate on their MATH test. The state average was 49.6%. FWIA was 27% worse than the state average.
  
• FWIA had a 66% passing rate on their WRITING test. The state average was 86.8%. FWIA was 20.8% worse that the state average.
  
• FWIA had a 17% passing rate on their SCIENCE test. The state average was 40% FWIA was 23% worse than the state average.

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Profiles in Online Excellence: WAVA of Monroe!

Excellence!

• In 2008-2009 47.6% of their kids passed the 10th grade READING test. The state average was 81.2%. WAVA was 33.6% worse than the state average.
  
• 19.8% of their kids passed the 10th grade MATH test. The state average was 45.4%. WAVA was 25.6% worse than the state average.
  
• 53.3% of their kids passed the 10th grade WRITING test. The state average was 86.7%. WAVA was 33.4% worse than the state average.
  
• 20.5% of their kids passed the SCIENCE test. The state average was 38.8%. WAVA was 18.3% worse than the state average.

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Brain Droppings

Skidmarks on the road fascinate me. Something happened there, something sudden, something that may have been meaningful.

If you have Wizard in your Magazine Dead Pool, I think that bet might pay off pretty quickly.

I'm sitting here in the airport thinking of my stepfather, my grandmother, my daughter. The world goes on, a sea of legs going back and forth in front of one balding, average male sitting on the floor.

There's a mouse in my house. I named him. I have to kill him before family comes to visit.

The guy I want to be and The guy I need to be like to argue with each other. Want To Be says to quit the job, devote to different work, push on into the ed policy domain that he loves. Need to Be has a mortgage payment and a daughter with health issues. Need To Be is kind of a killjoy, but he's easier.

I had my first dream about the new school year last night. My smartboard wasn't working. This really bugged the hell out of me. My smartboard has never worked. This wasn't such a big deal.

I'm going to be the father of a four year old. Those were the fastest four years of my life.

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My Worry About the Labor Situation in the Seattle Schools....

....is that Maria Goodloe-Johnson will ruin the NWEA MAP test for all us districts that use it well and informatively.

She's trying to force a strike. She's the superintendent. If the largest school district in Washington State is pushed over that ledge, the MAP test will be one of the big reasons why, and that's a damned shame.

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