Delegate Ken Plum’s Virginia E-News – July 12, 2006
COMMENTARY
Measuring for Excellence
Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum
I taped my ten-foot tape measure fully extended to a piece of electrical conduit to measure the height of the hollyhocks growing in my front yard. I encountered a problem in that the tallest hollyhock exceeded the length of my measuring device by at least a couple of inches. For the record I will say that my tallest hollyhock is 10 feet 2 inches tall even though I know it has grown even taller than when I measured it.
Just to see how exceptional my hollyhocks are, I am issuing a challenge to other gardeners: be the first to show me your hollyhock taller than mine, and I will give you a basket filled with Virginia products. From my personal experience, my hollyhocks seem quite exceptional. The hollyhocks I remember from my parents’ yard grew to only three or four feet. Most of the ones I have admired along the fence lines in rural areas I have visited seem seldom to exceed five or six feet in height. Last year my hollyhocks grew to about eight feet that I thought was quite spectacular. I have been cheering them on but have not given them any special fertilizer, only compost made from the leaves and clippings from my yard.
Legislators are great believers in measurements and accountability. Even the most skeptical of lawmakers would have to agree that my hollyhocks are exceptional. In so many others areas of accountability, the results are not so clear cut. Our expectations are fuzzy, our measurements are suspect, and our results are less than clear. The area in which this occurs most often is in public education.
The Standards of Learning (SOL) are intended to set the bar over which students must pass in order to advance through certain grade levels and graduation. The problem is that a single standard is established for all students. Many students bound over the bar as though it was not even there. Others struggle to succeed. Some require intense remediation and intervention to make it. A few fall along the wayside. Exceptions are made for special education and English as a second language students. Multiple takings of the tests are allowed until a student finally passes.
The SOLs seem to have quelled the public’s interest in educational accountability for the time being. Adjustments and exceptions have kept the failure rate to an acceptable political level. We have not been at this long enough for employers to tell us if graduates are any more knowledgeable or colleges to tell us if the freshmen do any better with college studies. There has been a terrific impact in public school classrooms as more time is spent on drilling for the Standards test and less time on problem solving and creative thinking.
Every student, regardless of how intelligent or with what special talents or interests, is measured with the same yardstick. More meaningful would be a system of accountability that established goals in the form of an individual educational plan for each student that measured progress against himself or herself. Such an approach would take into account individual differences and would require each student to excel and not simply to get to the minimum.
Please let me know if your hollyhocks are doing better than mine. And let me know if you or your children have experiences in being measured against the SOLs. Contact me at kenplum@aol.com.
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Delegate Ken Plum’s Weekly “Virginia Report”
on Reston Comcast Channel 28
Tonight – Wednesday, July 12 at 10:30 p.m. – Roberta Longworth, Fairfax County Public Library Foundation – “Making a Difference through Literacy Outreach and Reading Readiness”
Tuesday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, July 19 at 10:30 p.m. – Sandra O’Connell and Dr. Harry Butowsky – “A Discussion About the Book An American Family in World War II by Reston author Ralph Minker”
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Northern Virginia Regional Commission has published An Introductory Guide to Recreational Trails in Northern Virginia, a comprehensive reference featuring information on 24 trails, including 19 maps. Each separate, trail-by-trail map insert includes three primary types of information: A narrative description of the trail; a map; and a trail elevation profile. Cost is $9.95. See www.novaregion.org.
The Commission on Virginia Courts in the 21st Century: To Benefit All, To Exclude None will hold a public hearing on Monday, July 17, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center in the Board Auditorium. For information about the event, email tmdiggs@courts.state.va.us or call 804.225.3474.
Join Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Patrick Gottschalk, and the Governor’s Senior Advisor for Workforce, Daniel LeBlanc, for a meeting to develop the Governor’s Economic Development and workforce Development Strategic Plans. The meeting is Tuesday, July 18, 9:00 a.m. sharp until 12:30 p.m., Northern Virginia Community College (Annandale Campus), 8333 Little River Turnpike, in the Community Culture Center.
Attend the Ninth Annual Virginia Political History Project. This year’s conference, “Virginia Women & Politics,” will be held on Friday, July 21, at the Jefferson Hotel, 101 West Franklin Street, Richmond. The conference is sponsored by University of Virginia Center for Politics and the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. For more information, including a list of participants, visit www.centerforpolitics.org.
Equality Virginia’s Annual Statewide Meeting and Activists’ Conference will be held on Saturday, July 22, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Virginia Commonwealth University, Student Commons Building, in Richmond. Hear a report on Equality Virginia’s progress in 2006 and plans for 2007. Find out more about The Commonwealth Coalition Campaign. To register go to www.equalityvirginia.org/conference2006.
Attend the 4th Annual Multicultural Business Conference, “Access to Business Success – Training, Resources & Networking for Business Growth,” on Thursday, August 3, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at The Westin, 801 North Glebe Road, Arlington. Register for this event and more at www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com/atbs or call 703.538.7418.
Reston Interfaith and Kids R First need your help in collecting 4,000 new backpacks for children in need in the Reston/Herndon area. Please drop off new backpacks through August 12 at the Reston Interfaith offices at 11150 Sunset Hills Road, Suite 210 as follows: from July 24 to August 4 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; August 7 to August 11 from 9 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; and August 12 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. To learn more about donating backpacks, contact Meredith Young at 571.323.9566 or Meredith.young@restoninterfaith.org.
The Commonwealth Coalition has opened and staffed its office in Northern Virginia. Volunteer to help organize voters, businesses and community, faith and civic organizations united in their agreement to vote NO on November 7 on the so-called marriage amendment. Email Laura at lrobertson@voteNOva.org if you want to get involved in the effort in Northern Virginia.
Guidelines and rules for Virginia’s first sales tax holiday have been published by the Virginia Department of Taxation to provide information for both consumers and retailers. During the sales tax holiday, August 4 through 6 this year, retailers will not charge the 5 percent retail sales tax on purchases of school supplies costing $20 or less per item, or clothing, including footwear, priced at $100 or less per article. Included as part of the guidelines are an all-inclusive list of school supplies eligible for the sales tax exemption and a representative list of clothing eligible for the exemption. All retailers who sell the exempt items must participate in the “holiday.” The guidelines and FAQs are posted on the Department’s website at www.tax.virginia.gov/salestaxholiday.
Ride in the 24th Annual Reston Century Bicycle Tour on Sunday, August 27, rain or shine, starting and finishing at the Reston Town Center Pavilion. Riders can select from three routes of approximately 34, 65, and 102 miles. Registration is available online at www.restonbikeclub.org.
A Rain Garden Workshop for homeowners will be held at Meadowlark Gardens Regional Park, Vienna, on Saturday, September 16, 8:30 to noon. Attendees will receive useful information and observe the construction of a small (home-sized) rain garden.
Save the Date – Join Fairfax County Master Gardeners Association in celebrating its 30th anniversary on Tuesday, October 3, 6:00 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center. Contact Bridget R. Anderson for more information at banderson@culturalcommerce.com or call 703.759.4525.
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Authorized and paid for by Kenneth R. Plum.
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