Tom Horne

I have risen to the challenge to change careers and get my degree in Elementary Education. I am currently in the College of Education at ASU East. ASUE just announced last week that because of No Child Left Behind, the AZ Dept of Education has increased the number of Subject Area courses that I must take to get a state certification. In addition,they have redefined "Middle School" to mean grades 5-8, which increases the number of courses that I must take to teach 5th grade by the two middle school required courses. This has all happened very suddenly, and ASU East is warning all of their future teachers that NCLB may continue to affect their course load. If I want to stay on track and graduate by May, 2006, I will be forced to take 18 credit hrs. a semester in a very challenging program. Is there more changes on the horizon? Would the ADE consider a "phase in" period, so that our future teachers could get their certification, but have a year post-graduation to take any additional requirements that may be added? We would all appreciate your consideration in this area!

Mr. Horne,

Assuming your support of civics-type instruction wherein you might touch on the subject of the United States Constitution, I'm curious how you'd handle that pesky Fourth Amendment.

Given your support of suspicion-less, random drug testing for all students, would you simply redact the Fourth Amendment for instruction purposes or would you support its official removal?

(For extra safety, how about body cavity searches or drug dogs sniffing at students?)


Sincerely,
Paul Tranby
Phoenix

As a psychologist working with students at an alternative charter school, I am deeply concerned about students who will inevitably be left behind if No Child Left Behind is implemented as currently set up. With no accomodations, many students with genuine math, reading, and writing disabilities will not be able to pass portions of the AIMS test, no matter how gifted or how hard they study; nor how hard their teachers work to prepare them. Also, there is a group of students in the Borderline to Low Average intellectual range who would be better served moving through a vocational track. They might be more motivated to pursue a relevant vocational education that prepares them to use their gifts in appropriate work settings, a la the European system. If some form of accomodation is not made for these students, Arizona will simply be left with a group of students who can learn and work, but cannot graduate because they can't pass a portion of the AIMS test. Why is Arizona not addressing these issues?

Childhood Obesity is a nationwide epidemic - What kids eat is a factor but along with that is physical inactivity. The physical activity requirements in schools is not well regulated. Districts have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to PE requirements. Kids need DAILY physical activity - not 30 minutes 3 times a week or even less with older kids. Some High School children only take one semester of PE for 4 years. Kids need to learn about healthy lifestyle choices which includes eating right, daily physical activity, saying no to drugs and alcohol, stress reduction...Why can't ADE mandate daily physical activity for all children and wellness councils in all schools?

I have only a few very important questions for the State Superintendent.

1. Has Tom Horne, his staff and Arizona teachers taken the AIMS test. If so what is the pass rate?

2. Why would my 12th grader not be eligible for the proposed scholarships to Arizona universities. She exceeded the standards on all three tests? Hamilton High required all students take the test. Why should we struggle to pay for university? The class of 2006 has not worked harder.

3.What proceedures are in place to make sure that the various school districts are adhereing to the curriculum guidelines as set by the state. Higley Unified School District admits that they have not gotten through the set curriculum since the school started three years ago. Why is this allowed? Why are we surprized that these kids will fail the AIMS test?

Why is the Superintendent allowing school districts to go to a no textbook curriculum? Text books are used in high school and college. Why are they not needed in elementary and middle school? (According to Higley and Chandler School Districts, "textbooks are simply a money making scheme for the publishers".) How do children learn study skills, study for tests and have help with homework when all they have is a worksheet that once completed is handed back to the teacher?

Supt. Horne
I can see making the AIMS test a measure of what the students learned but to make it a requirement for graduation Is just ridiculous. I am 86 years of age, lived a productive and fruitful life and yet I could not pass the AIM's test. The emphasis of the test bears no relationship to what the student would need to learn, to get a job, get married, raise a family, manage his debts and savings, and invest wisely for the future. This test does more to discourage kids from obtaining an education than it does to create a better society.

Couldn't Arizona do something like the city of Houston and the state of Texas did to improve their test scores?

Question:
1: If a student has tested to the standard for HS graduation in Arizona in the first quarter of their Sophomore year, what is the point of the next 3 1/2 years?

2: I understand the push for monies for intervention, but back to the above question, what monies are available for those that have passed?

Thank you for being available
Cynthia Yolland

Back in late June, news reports indicated there was an ongoing investigation regarding possible cases of embezzlement at the Arizona Department of Education. Please provide an update on what the ADE is doing to prevent future accounting problems. Are changes being made to remove management staff still in place from the prior two administrations who were supposed to be responsible for finance and personnel quality?

An important element of high stakes testing that is not being discussed is that this type of testing diminishes higher order analytical thinking and dumbs-down the curriculum. For example, I assisted on preparing the AIMS Science exam this past summer. It was made very clear that the exam had to be multiple-choice, and therefore would focus on memorization skills. Students will not be able to develop a hypothesis and utilize the scientific method to test it. THESE are the skills students need to develop, not memorization.

Mr. Horne:

I would like to know what provisions are being made for students with learning disabailities. My son is a junior this year and he was diagnosed with a learning disability in the area of math (though reading is a bit of a problem also)three years ago. Though his I.Q is normal, he struggles tremendously with his schoolwork and I am very concerned that he will not be able to pass this test.

I agree with Dr. Horne's policies. Having been a teacher for 15 years in the West Valley region, I have observed the failed policies of social promotion since becoming a teacher at 40 years of age. The majority of teachers and parents have always been concerned about the quality and have voiced their opinions. One aspect many of the people involved are questioning is the numerous independent districts for elementary education. A very large percent of the allocated funds toward the student in the classroom is steered by the district leadership into consultants, programs, and staff meetings that take away precious time and resources for direct instruction. Perhaps consolidating these districts into a more coordinated effort would put the students, teachers, and schools on the same page. With the mobility factor of many of our students, this would alleviate many of the problems. The top heavy management salaries of these various districts sidetracks the placement of the funding directly to the students. Perhaps if the Social Studies/Civics standards had been promoted a few decades ago, our diplomatic policies could have defused some of the major problems in today's hotspots.

Cordially, Philip L. Boddy Jr. temporarily retired to get my master's and rekindle the fire in my belly with new ideas and morale building.

Reading all the complaints about the AIMS test I find it hard to understand how people think we will be able to maintain a level of standards in Arizona without some form of standardized testing. How do we compete with other states when our children achieve on a much lower scale academically? My children attend BASIS Scottsdale. This is an incredible school with high standards. The kids love working hard and being accountable for their learning. Why don't the public schools take a lead for a success story?

How can we focus so much on pushing our students to pass the Aims test when I don't hear anything that addresses personal development in the classrooms. There needs to be a mandatory specific elective credit class on personal development taught in all the schools. How can we expect Johnny to 'buckle down' and study for this test when Johnny doesn't feel the need to do it himself? Our students have a serious self-esteem and self-image problem and I don't see anyone addressing this formally. I heard Tom Horne on the radio and nothing re: this came out. I know there are programs like Character Counts out there for the teachers, but there are no mandatory classes for the students themselves. I'm sure there are some schools that have something along these lines but I bet the vast majority do not. Our kids come from a variety of dysfunctional homes without proper role models, without proper home training and lack of proper preparation for school or any worthwhile endeavor in the world. So knowing this it just seems to me that Tom Horne would address this crucial concern. There needs to be classes addressing personal development, optimisim, goal setting, co-dependency models, peer counseling, peer mediation, listening & communication skills and identifying & managing emotions. Without this kind of focus you will never accomplish your goals effectively of Aims, SAT or anything else like that. Let's put first things first.