Everybody Loves Apples, but not all Apples

are the Same

Monaghan responds to Roemer: “Let’s talk about the inherent unfairness of comparing Louisiana children with children in other states, given the current chaos and the documented failure to prepare students, parents, and teachers for these changes.”

“It is extraordinarily important that we have an assessment that allows us to compare what LA kids are doing, apples to apples, with those in other states.”  Senate Education Chairperson Conrad Appel (Advocate, Sunday, August 3, 2014)

“The only way to compare apples to apples.”  BESE President Chas Roemer (Baton Rouge Press Club, August 4, 2014 – arguing for assessments that compare Louisiana students nationally).

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Following BESE President Chas Roemer’s Baton Rouge Press Club speech about the common core / PARCC quarrel that pits BESE and Superintendent White against Governor Jindal and a number of legislators, LFT President Steve Monaghan had a few comments of his own.

“Let’s talk about the inherent unfairness of comparing Louisiana children with children in other states, given the current chaos and the documented failure to prepare students, parents, and teachers for these changes,” Monaghan said.

At the Press Club, Mr. Roemer defended BESE’s insistence on proceeding with high-stakes Common Core tests. Mr. Roemer said the tests will provide an “apples-to-apples” comparison that “sends a message to the U.S. and to the world that Louisiana is prepared to compete.”

But Monaghan said that the state’s roll out of the new standards and the still-to-be-developed  tests that go along with them have been so botched that comparisons among school districts – much less the rest of the nation – insure anything but “apples to apples” comparisons.

“This fruit-based metaphor does open the door for a discussion teachers want to have,” Monaghan said, “however, the demand for apples-to-apples enlightenment shouldn’t begin and end with assessments.”

To read more of this story, please click here.

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Re-elect Bob Lawyer to TRSL Board of Trustees!

LFT Vice President Robert Lawyer is in a runoff for a seat on the Board of Trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana.  He is running for re-election to the Board representing colleges and universities.

Lawyer is a Professor of Psychology and Social Studies at Delgado Community College, and Adjunct at Xavier University of New Orleans. He is currently president of the United Federation of College Teachers. He has a BA and MA from Ohio University, with post graduate work at Xavier and the University of New Orleans.

Ballots have been mailed to TRSL members.The voting deadline is 4:30 p.m., Thursday, August 28.