Jerry Brown Borrows a Line from Randi Weingarten
On Friday, California governor Jerry Brown vetoed SB547, a bill that would have changed the state's school accountability law to encompass high school drop-out rates, graduation rates, participation in career and technical education programs, and student achievement data for subjects and grades that are currently un-tested, such as art, music, and physical education.
The bill would have likely led to the creation of additional standardized tests--but it also would have counted test scores for only 40 percent of a high school's accountability score, while the current system relies 100 percent on test scores. Nevertheless, Brown's veto statement, which is getting a lot of attention in the education blogosphere, argued that the collection of additional data would indicate the "siren song of school reform." He wrote:
Over the last 50 years, academic “experts” have subjected California to unceasing pedagogical change and