Per the Puzzle Palace, a.k.a. Lansing (the State Capitol of Michigan), I’m to administer another series of standardized tests. My students should have the Test of Adult Basic Education memorized by now. They take it every three months to check for grade level improvements. If you were to ask me about its reliability I’d say, “The TABE is inconclusive and no longer valid for determining aptitude or chances of success.”
“Why do I need to take this when I’m scheduled for the GED Exams next week?” a student asks.
“So we can capture some of that Obama money,” I answer.
Ah yes, educational funding, such a fickle endeavor. Anyone who has taken a Probability and Statistics class knows there are ways to twist the data in your favor.
A special education student approaches my desk in the middle of testing. “The judge says I need to get my GED before he’ll consider a time cut.” He’s wondering whether these tests will help.
“That’s between the two of you," I say, "leave me out of it."
He sits back down. He’s all pissed off, as if I’m holding the keys to his freedom. I’m a dutiful prison educator; I’ve learned not to question the powers that be; I’m like that guy in those old pizza commercials on television: “Make the dough Daryl. Make the dough.”
6 comments:
Jim c'mon now admit it you are chagrined and secretly amused at all the goings on that keep your job interesting aren't you?
If you had to pinpoint only one thing as the place in time where MI became the State of stupidity, where would that point be?
TWM,
There are an infinite amount of points on that time line of stupidity; too many to look back on. Still no State Budget. Maybe our politicians will make progress with Governor Granholm in Japan. In the mean time, we're releasing felons to save money ... oh, and because they've served their minimums (had to put that in there to stay out of trouble with my employer).
Time to make the dough. And I'm tired, tired tired
JR, Don't you know that it's how you stack up on paper that counts? It has nothing to do with having knowledge. Take a look at your own employer and you'll see that knowing up from down isn't as important as having a Masters Degree in anything -- Underwater Basket Weaving perhaps. The more tests you pass, the more higher degrees you amass, the less accountability. You owe it to yourself to join the upper ranks. J.W.
"We don't have the big picture. We don't even have the thumb-nail sketch."
What sort of critter are you holding in the photo?
I used to have a job with a company that dealt with government contracts. I constantly argued with the powers that be about all the stupidness of the stupid red tape, and, of course, the fraud and waste.
The guys who dealt with it for years would just look at me and shake their heads. They were right.
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