OPINION
FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2005
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▼ A PRINCE IN THE PULPIT
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100 percent passing rate ridiculous goal for schools
PETE PRINCE
pprince@kansan.com
Have you ever approached finals week knowing that you had to ace your test in order to get that obso-beautiful A — or worse yet, in order to barely pull off earning a D? It's a difficult and seemingly impossible situation to face. Now, imagine an entire school dependent on every student
passing the test — this is exactly the situation our public schools will be facing a few years from now. Already they are battling extremely difficult and ever-increasing expectations.
No Child Left Behind is the current American education policy. Good name, right? Who wouldn't like that idea? Leaving no children behind is an admirable and just goal; the means to this end, however, are ridiculous. No Child Left Behind promotes accountability in teachers and students by calling for massive nation wide testing to take place each year in all public schools. When schools are on probation for more than two years, parents have a right to move their student to a different school.
For NCLB to be successful, each public school in the country must have a stipulated percentage of students earning passing grades on English and mathematics tests. This percentage of students includes students from different sub-groups, including students with disabilities, various racial groups and those coming from poor backgrounds. Right now, that percentage for schools can range anywhere from 55 to 65 percent; schools are asked to increase the percentage that is passing each year, by 2 to 3 percent. That means in 10 to 20 years, schools will be expected to have a 100 percent passing rate. Does this seem a bit outrageous to anyone else?
Every child in a school must pass the test. That means if one student isn't feeling well, doesn't care or just moved from a foreign country, the entire school fails the test. In turn, when a school doesn't meet the expected percentage of students passing the
test, it is put on probation, meaning students can choose to attend a different school and are provided a voucher for the extra expense. This cuts more funding from the failing school.
Many schools have already failed the tests. They are good schools, too — schools in Overland Park, Olathe and Lawrence. At this rate, it's not
Department of Education will NCLB will fail, it's only a matter of time. It's an impossible expectation — reaching 100 percent passing rates — just as it's likely impossible for you to ace all of your exams during finals week. In the coming years education reform ought to be a bigger part of our nation's political landscape. The programs must make sense, and it's the federal government that must outline and suggest a respectable plan with attainable goals.
going to take the estimated 10 to 25 years for the percentages of schools failing to arrive at 100 percent; a vast majority of schools will be failing these tests very soon. And here is the kicker: What makes the entire program almost hard to believe is that it's not funded. This massive mandate came down from the Bush administration and Congress, costing millions of dollars, without giving the States extra funding to help compensate. In many cases the amount of money the states have put towards education has gone down. Fred Rodriguez, dean of education at the University of Kansas, expects the system to break down in about two years. Rodriguez does not expect NCLB to be scrapped entirely but does expect a large reform to take place. And it seems the breakdown has already begun, the state of Hawaii has filed a lawsuit against the federal government citing the lack of funding. As more and more schools begin to fail, the crunch on each state's Department of Education will become tighter.
- Prince is a Lake Elmo, Minn., graduate student in secondary education.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Kline's subpeona for rape victims' medical records protects children
There are few issues that illicit as much emotional conflagration as that of abortion. It comes as little surprise then, that Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline's inquiry into 90 of the several thousand late-term abortions performed by George Tiller has people from all over the political spectrum up in arms. The facts surrounding Kline's actions and the system of law designed to arbitrate those actions are put on the backburner in the process of ideological ranting.
In the March 15 editorial in The University Daily Kansan, several crucial details were omitted and spurious personal attacks were made. It is essential to the integrity of the debate that everything is fully disclosed. As many as 78 of the 90 women whose medical records are in question are under the age of 15. Kansas law clearly states that sexual activity with anyone aged 15 and under is rape, even if both the parties involved are minors. The only plausible deduction? Over 70 children in Kansas have been raped. It is the Attorney General's duty to protect the citizenry of our state, specifically those who lack the capacity to defend themselves, like children.
Obtaining information through the acquisition of medical records is the only way, short of the girls coming forward to charge the perpetrators of their rape, to prosecute these crimes. As everyone knows, it is excruciatingly difficult for victims of domestic abuse to come forward for fear of their well-being. Multiply that by an order of magnitude, and you have some idea of the dire predicament these girls face.
The Attorney General cannot get a subpoena on a whim. The action must be approved by a district judge. This situation was no different Federal law, in fact, mandates that this be done if the information obtained may pertain to a criminal investigation. The rape of 78 girls demands this be done.
It is important to keep the medical records of these girls from the public, as Kline has pledged to do. The Kansas Supreme Court recently reinstated the gag order to ensure this. Interestingly, Tiller routinely sells the same information, under consent of the patient, to other agencies to use for such purposes as marketing and genetic research. The corollary assertion that Kline's actions will lead to the exposure of these women is apocryphal at best and outright dishonest at worst. Everyone involved is intent on not allowing that to happen.
As tragic as the violation of a child's innocence is, there is even more than that at issue. Tiller's Web site, drtiler.com, states: "If we reasonably believe you are a victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence, we may disclose PHI (Protected Health Information) to a government authority, including a social service or protective services agency, authorized by law to receive report of such abuse, neglect or domestic violence." By the doctor's own admission, Kline's actions are necessary given the rape of 78 minors who walked through Tiller's door. Kansas law states that post-viability abortions, generally beyond 22 weeks, may only be performed under two circumstances: 1) The abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman; or 2) Continuation of the pregnancy will cause a substantial, irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. It is impossible for Kline to verify that Kansas law has been met without the proper information concerning the health of the women involved.
Kline is not acting as a "zealous reactionary," but as an elected representative of the people of Kansas. This case clearly presents probable cause for Kline's actions. He should not be the subject of vitriolic character assassinations simply for performing the duty of his office.
Derek Clopton Business junior Lenexa
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GUEST COLUMNIST
Evolution misconstrued; Beliefs shouldn't cloud facts
In Vince Myers' March 10 column, "Intelligent design reasonable, but doesn't resemble science," several of his points were accurate, but he said several things that were twisted or misrepresentative, and others that were just plain wrong.
JUSTIN GRAMARYE
opinion@kansan.com
I'll limit myself to address-
ing his misconceptions about science.
ing his misconceptions about his history. In his background section, Myers stated that the science "faction" believed that "evolution is the untouchable truth of biology" and that "it should not be taught alongside anything else, and it should not be questioned in a science classroom."
While the first part is more or less true, in that evolution has been repeatedly proven to occur — contrary to what he said later in the column — and is accepted as fact by better than 99 percent of biologists, the second part is misleading.
Evolution should be questioned, along with everything else that is taught in a science classroom. That is exactly how science works, and how the bugs are worked out of any developing idea.
the bugs are worked out in evolutionary theory, and throwing those kinds of questions at it is exactly how those unclear points will be clarified. Bring them on.
As for being taught alongside something else, I challenge anyone to present another explanation to compete with evolution that will stand up to similarly rigorous scientific inquiry. Intelligent design has repeatedly failed that test.
Toward the end Myers added a quote from Ichthyology professor Ed Wiley, who is a zoologist who studies fish, that "no one has ever experienced evolution directly," and that therefore evolution cannot be said to be a fact. I contacted Wiley, who confirmed that the quote was not used in context.
in context:
What Wiley had intended to say was that because of the way evolution works at the population level, no individual organism ever directly experiences evolution. All an individual can do is live or die, reproduce or not. It's the sum of those data across a large group of organisms that constitute evolution.
On the other hand, the process of evolution has
been proven countless times by scientists all over the world, on a wide variety of organisms.
Perhaps the best and easiest to understand example is that of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. With more and more bacteria getting exposed to antibiotics
though normal use, periodically a mutant appears that is unaffected by the chemicals that would normally kill them.
While its companions are dying around it, this new germ isn't dying — it's surviving, thriving and reproducing. The less fit die off, leaving the more fit behind to continue the lineage. That's evolution.
Another quote from Wiley, used with permission: "Evolution is a natural process and thus as factual as other natural processes, such as gravity."
I commend Myers for comparing the theory of evolution to the theory of gravity, which has also been repeatedly proven, in myriad contexts, even though no one knows how gravity actually works.
While graviton particles have been speculated about, so far they haven't actually been identified. But that then begs the question, does he doubt the theory of gravity as well?
Another thing Myers said that is perfectly on target is that science cannot prove or disprove the existence of any god. It is therefore outside the realm of science, and science ignores it. Whether or not God exists is irrelevant to the pursuit of science.
On the other hand, there are a great many Christian "Darwinists" in the world. The two are not mutually exclusive, though many from both sides would have you think so.
A belief in evolution does not necessarily mean, nor require, a lack of belief in God. However, a person's inability to reconcile what science has proven with what their church tells them they're supposed to believe does not mean that the facts should suffer. Whether or not a person believes will not change the truth.
Gramarye is a Fairfax, Va., graduate student in vertebrate paleontology.
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So if I get arrested, will KU honor me with a scholarship so I don't have to take out student loans?
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So tonight at dinner, I overheard two sorority girls having a serious conversation about poking people on thefacebook. Do me a favor: Go outside, and get a life.
We just lost to Pearson Hall
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You don't understand; we lost to Pearson Hall!
Does anyone know who Bob Billings is?
members down in the South? It's where you belong.
Hey Phill Kline, why don't you go join the other Klan
I have an idea for the Free For All.
You need to accept text messages for when I'm in class and have an idea, because I always end up forgetting it.
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I love St. Patrick's Day! The best part of waking up is Killian's in your cup.
I think there should be a contest among all those with meal plans to see who used the least amount of their meals, and give them a prize because I would win.
The Business Statistics midterm just kicked my butt, so I'm gonna start drinking now.
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So I just watered my plants with vodka, thinking it was
er. What do you think that'd to do them?
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