Contents of this issue:
Bad publicity for MEA follows loss in court
Proposals would move up MEAP testing, ease standards
Class of 2006 will have to choose between SAT tests
No significant change in minority admissions after ruling
Detroit residents may be overridden on reform board vote
Ed Secretary Paige criticizes success gap during Detroit visit
Texas plan would overhaul school funding system
BAD PUBLICITY FOR MEA FOLLOWS LOSS IN COURT
MIDLAND, Mich. — Editorials in Michigan's largest newspapers are
criticizing the Michigan Education Association's failed lawsuit
against the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and MEA members
are questioning the union's use of their dues to sue the research
institute.
Last month the Michigan Court of Appeals threw out the union's
lawsuit in a 3-0 decision. The union had sued the Mackinac
Center for quoting the union's president after he told reporters,
"Frankly, I admire what they [the Mackinac Center] have done...."
The appeals court affirmed that the Mackinac Center's use of the
quote fell "squarely within the protection of the First
Amendment" and stated the union had produced "no such
circumstantial evidence" that the Mackinac Center intended to
mischaracterize MEA President Luigi Battaglieri's praise.
The union contends the Mackinac Center should have secured
Battaglieri's permission to use his name and quote, even though
the union president admitted in depositions that the union had
not obtained permission to use the names "Woods," "Palmer," and
"Nicklaus" to promote its own fundraising golf event.
Editorials in the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, Oakland
Press, Lansing State Journal, and Traverse City Record-Eagle have
roundly condemned the union's decision to sue, calling it an
"intimidation tactic," "questionable use of the union's
resources," "frivolous," and "frantic recklessness."
The course of the two-year lawsuit drew national attention to
free speech rights by syndicated columnists including George Will
of the Washington Post and Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe.
The Mackinac Center was defended free of charge by the Institute
for Justice, a Washington, D.C. law firm. MEA officials have not
disclosed how much they spent on the lawsuit, but have stated
they plan no appeal.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is the publisher of
Michigan Education Digest.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Public remarks," Mar. 26, 2004
https://www.freep.com/voices/editorials/emea26_20040326.htm
Detroit News, "MEA deserves thumping by appeals court,"
Apr. 14, 2004
https://www.detroitnews.com/2004/editorial/0404/14/a11-121942.htm
Detroit News, "State court shouldn't let feud trample free
speech," Feb. 7, 2004
https://www.detroitnews.com/2004/editorial/0402/07/d10-57532.htm
Oakland Press, "Suit against think tank leaves union looking
defensive, foolish," Apr. 19, 2004
https://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/041904/opi_20040419024.shtml
Lansing State Journal, "MEA wastes dues," Apr. 1, 2004
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/opinions/letters/040401_letters0401_12a.html
Lansing State Journal, "Appellate court got it right,"
Mar. 27, 2004
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/opinions/editorials/040327_point_8a.html
Traverse City Record-Eagle, "MEA suit gets the boot,"
April 6, 2004
http://www.record-eagle.com/2004/apr/040604.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Victory for free speech
against MEA lawsuit: Interview with Lawrence Reed and Joseph
Lehman," Apr. 8, 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6488
PROPOSALS WOULD MOVE UP MEAP TESTING, EASE STANDARDS
LANSING, Mich. — Two proposals introduced to the state Department
of Education last week would move up the scheduled dates for the
Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test and ease
stringency on MEAP scores to help schools meet federal standards.
State Superintendent Tom Watkins introduced the proposals to the
Board in response to criticisms of the MEAP by school officials.
The first proposal, starting in the 2005-06 school year, would
move the test date to October, so results could be returned and
used by schools in the same year. "It (the plan) allows us to
meet the deadlines to get out report cards in time," Martin
Ackley, Watkins' spokesman, told the Detroit News. "And it allows
schools to get the data before the end of the year."
The second proposal would introduce a two-student margin of error
to aggregate school MEAP scores. If a school falls within two
students of meeting the pass/fail mark according to federal
standards, that school would be granted passing status. "A test
score is an estimate of a student's performance," said David
Plank, co-director of the Education Policy Center at Michigan
State University. "There's always uncertainty surrounding a test
score."
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Plan moves up MEAP tests," Apr. 14, 2004
https://www.detroitnews.com/2004/schools/0404/14/b01-122394.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "How Does the MEAP Measure
Up?" December 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3919
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "POLICY BRIEF: Which
Educational Achievement Test is Best for Michigan?" May 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4382
Michigan Education Report, "No Child Left Behind law demands
'adequate yearly progress' and offers school choice options for
parents," Fall 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4846
Detroit News, "Test scores highlight school challenges, gains,"
Oct. 8, 2004
https://www.detroitnews.com/2003/editorial/0310/08/a11-291697.htm
CLASS OF 2006 WILL HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN SAT TESTS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Students in the graduating class of 2006 will
be affected by the transition to a newly revised version of the
SAT test, forcing them to decide whether to take the current
test, the new test, or both.
The College Board, the nonprofit organization that governs the
SAT, will introduce a new, revamped SAT test next March. The "new
SAT" will have tougher reading and math questions, and for the
first time, an essay question. The existing test, which will
become obsolete, was so controversial that University of
California leaders said they would no longer use it as an
admissions tool.
Waiting until spring could make comparisons between test scores
difficult for colleges. "We want to compare apples with apples
and oranges with oranges," John A. Blackburn, Dean of Admissions
at the University of Virginia, told the Washington Post.
SOURCE:
Washington Post, "First Test for College-Bound: Choosing an SAT,"
Apr. 20, 2004
https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A25539-2004Apr19
NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN MINORITY ADMISSIONS AFTER COURT RULING
DETROIT, Mich. — Three universities experienced only slight
declines in minority admissions last fall following a Supreme
Court decision requiring the removal of the point system
admissions policies for minorities.
The University of Michigan and Ohio State University reported
declines of one percent and two percent respectively, while the
University of Massachusetts reported no change in minority
admissions after the ruling.
The University of Michigan reported a 40 percent increase in the
cost of evaluating applicants after the ruling. "The changes in
our admissions process did not signal any change in our
commitment to having a diverse student body," Julie Peterson, a
University of Michigan spokeswoman, told the New York Times.
Curt Levey, a prosecuting lawyer in the case against University
of Michigan, said the results prove that the points system was
unfair. "If it's one school, I could say it's a coincidence. But
if it's all three schools, it's really suggestive that it's
deliberate engineering."
SOURCES:
New York Times, "After Ruling, 3 Universities Maintain Diversity
in Admissions," Apr. 13, 2004
https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/13/education/13COLL.html
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Less Government, Not More, Is
Key to Academic Achievement and Accountability," Oct. 3, 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3786
DETROIT RESIDENTS MAY BE OVERRIDDEN ON REFORM BOARD VOTE
DETROIT, Mich. — A vote to restore local control of the Detroit
school board may be delayed if the state Department of Education
chooses to retain control.
Former Gov. John Engler instituted state control of the Detroit
school district in 1999 after a series of financial and
management problems. When the state took over the district, it
gave Detroit voters the option of restoring local control five
years later, in the fall of 2004. However, the state may choose
to override that decision if the district fails to improve its
finances within the next several months.
District officials currently predict a $91 million budget
shortfall, but they are currently studying the state's definition
of a district in deficit while closely watching daily expenses.
The state announces the list of districts in deficit in November.
Michigan ties state funding to student enrollment, and the
Detroit district has lost 12,000 students since last spring.
State Superintendent Tom Watkins stated that he believes the
problems in the district can be resolved before resorting to
another state takeover. "It appears that [Detroit CEO Kenneth]
Burnley, his staff and the board are putting together a
thoughtful and reasonable plan to deal with the projected
deficit."
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Schools' control is at stake," Apr. 16, 2004
https://www.freep.com/news/education/dps16_20040416.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Detroit's Reform School Board
Would Be Wise to Privatize," June 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/1843
ED SECRETARY PAIGE CRITICIZES SUCCESS GAP DURING DETROIT VISIT
DETROIT, Mich. — U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige visited
Detroit last week to speak at a meeting of PATCH, a national
coalition of churches based in Detroit, about reducing the
performance gap between white and African-American students.
The group held a town hall-style meeting at the Tried Stone
Baptist Church that was attended by a crowd of over 400. Pointing
out 2003 national test averages, Paige said the achievement gap
is "a defacto apartheid system." Test results from that year show
that 41 percent of white students attained proficient scores in
reading, compared to 13 percent of African-American students.
"This is unacceptable," he said.
The "No Child Left Behind" Act aims to close the gap, but many
parents and school officials said their district is not utilizing
the full extent of the law to provide services to failing
students, such as free tutoring. Some critics also accused the
federal government of not enforcing penalties that the district
has incurred for its test scores. Enforcing the law is "really
difficult," said Paige. But, "we can become aggressive at the
appropriate time."
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "U.S. schools boss criticizes success gap,"
Apr. 16, 2004
https://www.detroitnews.com/2004/schools/0404/16/c01-124718.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Less Government, Not More, Is
Key to Academic Achievement and Accountability," Oct. 3, 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3786
TEXAS PLAN WOULD OVERHAUL SCHOOL FUNDING SYSTEM
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced last week that a
special legislative session will be held to look at alternatives
to Texas' current school funding system. The current system
relies heavily on revenue-sharing and property taxes.
Texas' current funding system is nicknamed the "Robin Hood"
system because it requires wealthy districts to share tax revenue
with poorer districts. But, many school officials say the system
leaves both wealthy and poorer districts short of money and
overburdens homeowners with high property taxes.
Perry's plan to switch the source of school funding would cut
property taxes by $6 billion and replace that source with taxes
on cigarettes, gambling and adult entertainment. Allowing video
gambling in Texas would require a constitutional amendment, which
would require a large majority of legislators to support the
plan.
SOURCES:
CNN, "Texas considers school finance overhaul," Apr. 13, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/04/13/texas.school.finance.ap/
index.html
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Finance Reform Lessons
from Michigan," Oct. 12, 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3802
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Funding: Lack of Money
or Lack of Money Management?" August 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3683
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "'Proposal A,' 10 Years
Later," February 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6112
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org), a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
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