We all know by now, after several years, that our Oklahoma Legislature is trying to discredit our public schools by attaching an A - F school grade to each public school site in Oklahoma. Our Oklahoma Legislators (Senate and House corporate fascists only) have always stated "It's the federal government that requires us to post an A - F grade for every public school in our Great State". As of a couple months ago, though, the U.S. Department of Education decreed that public schools nationwide, no longer must post and be stigmatized by any A - F grading scale. Our "service minded legislators" (tongue in cheek), always believing in local control (tongue in cheek again), have emphatically stated that we will forge ahead with ex-superintendent Janet Barresi's A - F school grading scale, regardless of the federal government's new "hands off" approach to state government. It is also interesting to note that Joy Hofmeister also now supports an A - F grading scale for schools, although she advocated for its repeal before the U.S. Department of Education gave permission for its repeal. Many lawmakers blamed the feds for requiring an A - F system, but now, the same lawmakers do not have that excuse, but are still requiring it. Many public school experts have always known that the scientifically invalid and unreliable school A - F grading scale is a veiled attempt to illustrate to the public that our "public schools are failing", as dark money groups such as the American Federation for Children (AFC) believe the only way to confiscate local tax dollars is to discredit our public schools. The legislative AFC cronies are identified in this AFC press release.
As long as we're discussing the invalidated A - F school grading system that corporations and their like-minded state legislators (cronies) are using to discredit our public schools, lets use a validated A - F grading system for our state senators and representatives to reliably rate them. Last week, Education Week published its annual 2017 states' report cards in which an A - F grading scale illustrates the level of education each state provides its public school students. Oklahoma's grades may be found here. Most categories of grades can be slightly controlled somewhat by the schools and teachers of each state, but one subcategory, spending, is wholly controlled by each state's legislators. This is because the spending grade, A - F, identifies the level of emphasis that state legislators place on our public schools, as far as "put your money where your big legislator mouth is". So, the legislators in each state have been given a letter grade as to how important our public school students are to them. Just a quick glance at Oklahoma's letter grades tell us that our public schools are basically worthless to our state legislators. Oklahoma senators and representatives scored a whopping 43.4 (F-) or an emphasized F, down from a 44.2 (slightly less emphasized F) in 2015. What an honor! It broke their 2015 record by .8 points. This low funding record is akin to the world record long jump by Bob Beamon in the 1968 Olympic Games, 29' 2.5" - a record that stood for almost 30 years. With our self-proclaimed public school legislator friends, we don't need enemies.
Our Oklahoma Legislators have once again achieved a letter grade of 'F' from the validated and reliable A - F state legislator grading system. One may tend to believe it's a grading scheme to eventually choke our state legislators out of existence. I don't think so though, as this A - F system is both reliable and valid. I hope you've enjoyed this blog as it's partially fact and partially very dry humor...
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