A judge in Douglas County, Colorado, recently ruled that their school board violated the state fair campaign practices law by hiring two "scholars" to write 2 papers praising the district’s privatization agenda. One biased paper was produced by Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute. Hess was paid $30,000 for his paper.
Hess' name should sound very familiar to Tennesseans. One of Hess' reports has been the single-most popular report for reformers to gloat about in our state since 2007. Hess, (with a nice paycheck from the Chamber of Commerce) wrote a report that gave our fair state a big, fat "F" for Truth in Advertising. (Ironic, isn't it?). But how many people have actually read that report and the fine print? These Moms did, and they saw some huge red-flags:
Hess' name should sound very familiar to Tennesseans. One of Hess' reports has been the single-most popular report for reformers to gloat about in our state since 2007. Hess, (with a nice paycheck from the Chamber of Commerce) wrote a report that gave our fair state a big, fat "F" for Truth in Advertising. (Ironic, isn't it?). But how many people have actually read that report and the fine print? These Moms did, and they saw some huge red-flags:
"The F sounds really bad, doesn't it??? But check out the actual report and you'll see a few things that SCORE doesn't want you to know about...
1. This disclaimer regarding the Truth in Advertising category: "This category does not evaluate state tests nor does it grade states on the performance of their students. Instead, the evaluation looks at how truthfully a state reports student proficiency." Get it? This was a problem with the STATE not reporting accurately, not with our students. Of course, SCORE doesn't publicize that Tennessee fared better in other categories of this report, they only point out that big, fat F and use it to further their agenda.
2. This fine-print disclaimer buried in the report: "The authors acknowledge that this is an imperfect measure of state transparency because there is some debate about using NAEP alone to benchmark state tests. However, this method is currently the only one available when comparing the transparency of reporting from one state to the next."
3. Manipulated letter grades: The results were rated on a pre-determined, weighted curve, so the differences between state scores are not as major as one thinks... This method of grading means there would be a pre-determined # of grades. (Only 5 states "earned" A's, 5 got B's, 20 received D's or F's, and the rest got C's).
It is true what our high school statistics teachers taught us, you really CAN manipulate data to show whatever you want. Momma Bears gives that report a big fat F minus for Truth in Advertising!"
(click HERE to read their entire article)
1. This disclaimer regarding the Truth in Advertising category: "This category does not evaluate state tests nor does it grade states on the performance of their students. Instead, the evaluation looks at how truthfully a state reports student proficiency." Get it? This was a problem with the STATE not reporting accurately, not with our students. Of course, SCORE doesn't publicize that Tennessee fared better in other categories of this report, they only point out that big, fat F and use it to further their agenda.
2. This fine-print disclaimer buried in the report: "The authors acknowledge that this is an imperfect measure of state transparency because there is some debate about using NAEP alone to benchmark state tests. However, this method is currently the only one available when comparing the transparency of reporting from one state to the next."
3. Manipulated letter grades: The results were rated on a pre-determined, weighted curve, so the differences between state scores are not as major as one thinks... This method of grading means there would be a pre-determined # of grades. (Only 5 states "earned" A's, 5 got B's, 20 received D's or F's, and the rest got C's).
It is true what our high school statistics teachers taught us, you really CAN manipulate data to show whatever you want. Momma Bears gives that report a big fat F minus for Truth in Advertising!"
(click HERE to read their entire article)
Tennessee Parents are questioning... Who is this Rick Hess, and why are people trusting his opinion? We found this description from a teacher:
"Rick Hess’ classroom experience? A grand total of two years as a social studies teacher in Louisiana, about 21 years ago, according to his official website. It must have been pretty tough, if he quit teaching so soon. I’m sure he’s making much, much more money now as a spokesman for the billionaires who have taken over our educational system, and he doesn't have to worry about teaching 150 students every single day and grading papers and filling out useless forms and memos until he can’t see straight at night, with no administrative support at all… Life’s pretty cool if you are a 40-something with a million-dollar portfolio schmoozing at conferences all over the place instead of actually teaching in the classroom any more… All it takes is the ability to show those with deep pockets that you are on their side and are an effective mouthpiece for them. You can be very rich and very powerful, very soon in your career."
Tennessee Parents hope our elected officials are not so gullible. We hope they dig deeper and question these reports for themselves.
"Rick Hess’ classroom experience? A grand total of two years as a social studies teacher in Louisiana, about 21 years ago, according to his official website. It must have been pretty tough, if he quit teaching so soon. I’m sure he’s making much, much more money now as a spokesman for the billionaires who have taken over our educational system, and he doesn't have to worry about teaching 150 students every single day and grading papers and filling out useless forms and memos until he can’t see straight at night, with no administrative support at all… Life’s pretty cool if you are a 40-something with a million-dollar portfolio schmoozing at conferences all over the place instead of actually teaching in the classroom any more… All it takes is the ability to show those with deep pockets that you are on their side and are an effective mouthpiece for them. You can be very rich and very powerful, very soon in your career."
Tennessee Parents hope our elected officials are not so gullible. We hope they dig deeper and question these reports for themselves.
If you'd like to put a picture with Hess' face, here is a very... um, interesting... video of him with Mike Petrilli (you have probably heard of Petrilli, too. He spoke in TN at the Senate Common Core hearings in September 2013 in favor of Common Core).
Description of video: Petrilli pretends to kidnap Hess to give him a "makeover" before an exclusive awards gala for education reformers. Apparently, Hess' wardrobe was not up to snuff for Petrilli and his friends, so Petrilli kidnaps Hess and takes him, via chauffeur by a fellow reformer, to Brooks Brothers where he tries on an assortment of outlandish clothing choices before finding an appropriate outfit to wear to the fancy event.
Tennessee parents can't help but notice that the wide gap between Brooks Brothers clothing store (which is un-affordable for most Tennesseans) and the students that Petrilli and Hess claim to advocate for.
Also worth noting: Petrilli's comments at 2:03 stating he has a 2:30 conference call with Gates that he doesn't want to miss. "Big money on the line, baby, big money!"
Tennessee parents can't help but notice that the wide gap between Brooks Brothers clothing store (which is un-affordable for most Tennesseans) and the students that Petrilli and Hess claim to advocate for.
Also worth noting: Petrilli's comments at 2:03 stating he has a 2:30 conference call with Gates that he doesn't want to miss. "Big money on the line, baby, big money!"
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