Good News, Bad News:
There’s A Lot To Learn

By MICHAEL SCHENKLER

Good News

The NYS Court of Appeals, the State’s highest court, handed down a ruling late last month that may do more for New York City public schools than anything since the introduction of phonics.

In the case, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc. (CFE) sued New York State asserting that every public school student is entitled to the opportunity for a meaningful high school education. The CFE won the case in the lower courts, but Governor Pataki insisted on testing the limit in the Appellate Division. The move by the Governor was his most anti-NYC stance since signing onto the commuter tax repeal — Speaker Shelly Silver deserves the big credit for that one.

The Court of Appeals ordered the State to implement major education funding and accountability reforms to allow students in New York City schools to meet this constitutional standard, clearly signing onto the position that the State has shortchanged the kids of our City.

The 4-1 decision overturns a 2002 ruling that the State must only ensure that students receive an eighth grade education, a decision that caused a fury among parents, educators, and New Yorkers in every part of the state last summer. The decision reinstates State Supreme Court Justice Leland DeGrasse’s 2001 trial court ruling that all children are constitutionally entitled to the opportunity for a “sound basic education” that prepares them for capable citizenship, and that the State’s current funding system fails to meet these requirements.

Michael A. Rebell, the executive director of CFE and co-counsel in the case, said: “The Court has declared in no uncertain terms that New York’s children are more important than backroom politics. The Court joins the people of New York in agreeing that all children should have a true educational opportunity to succeed in the workplace and in life.”

The Court said the State has one year to undertake a study to “ascertain the actual cost of providing a sound basic education in New York City,” to reform the State’s funding formula to ensure necessary resources, and to implement a fair accountability system to ensure that students actually receive that opportunity. It defined a “sound basic education” as one that includes a meaningful high school education with the skills and knowledge to “function productively as civic participants” in 21st century society, including being capable and knowledgeable voters and jurors able to sustain employment.

Bad News

The same week as the landmark ruling in favor of the Campaign For Fiscal Equity and NYC school children, NYS Education Commissioner Richard Mills threw out the June Math A Regents Exam because of a very low passage rate on the part of New York students.

Mills said: “Children are our first concern. We express that concern by providing the very best education we can. Fair exams are part of that education. This exam doesn’t seem fair. I think we made some mistakes with this exam and it’s up to us to identify and correct them. This situation is unacceptable and we are taking action now to protect the children. That done, we will turn immediately to the most rigorous, independent, public accounting of the test itself.”

Mills, in tossing the test, relies heavily on the fact that the success rate on this exam was lower than the success rate on previous exams and acknowledges he had little empirical evidence to do a complete analysis.

He notes, “Finding that problem and fixing it will take time and study. Students cannot wait while we do that, and they must not be penalized.”

Freshmen and sophomores are required to take at least another year of math and they can take a Regents exam again after another year of study or they may have their test results adjusted after study of the current exam.

To his credit, Mills intends to assemble an independent panel of mathematicians, educators, testing experts and citizens to review all information on this exam to determine what happened and why. Their work will help prepare future Regents Math exams without the problems.

Sadly, our State and our society have become test crazy as a means of evaluating students, schools and educational programs.

We wonder if the fear of New York being viewed as a State with a poor educational program might have prompted a hasty decision for the commissioner to fall back and punt.

We wonder what is the message to the students who passed the June exam because of hard work and academic skills.

We wonder what is the message to those who failed the regents, were given a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card and continued on their merry educational way.

Me, I looked at the test and it doesn’t seem all that hard, but I wasn’t a bad high school math student. Certainly there was opportunity to norm or measure the test with some independent group before declaring it null and void.

We are not criticizing the decision but the haste with which it was made. A lot of students failed and we’d like to know why.

Passing or failing?

Now it doesn’t really matter.

It just doesn’t seem to add up.

Telemarketers, Do Not Call!

Good News

My home phone doesn’t ring at dinnertime anymore.

The endless barrage of evening, weekend, dinnertime and anytime phone calls of telemarketers has faded into history much like the dial telephone.

The explanation is simple.

Two-plus years ago I registered for the New York State Consumer Protection Board “Do Not Call” Telemarketing Sales Call Registry. And shortly thereafter, the annoying, almost harassing stockbrokers disappeared. So did most telemarketers.

Was it perfect?

“Well, not quite,” as I reported in this column on May 31, 2001. “Although, you are protected from most high-pressure sales calls, there are exceptions: charitable organizations, religious corporations, political parties and committees (of course those legislators would give themselves a free pass), companies with which you have a prior business relationship . . .”

There are, of course, the occasional violators, but the law offers a reporting mechanism and strict penalties.

So, some telemarketing organizations got smart and called from outside New York.

Well worry not — The National Do Not Call Registry is here.

New York will now adopt the National Do Not Call Registry and will share the numbers in its State list with the national registry. New Yorkers who have already registered with the State list do not need to re-register to have the protections of both federal and state law.

Effective this week, New Yorkers who have not registered with the State Do Not Call program can register with the new National Do Not Call Registry. Registration is free and applies to home and cell phones but not business numbers.

If you register before August 31 the government promises you “will notice a downturn in telemarketing calls starting Oct. 1, 2003.”

Like the old NYS system, the National Do Not Call Registry does not limit calls by political organizations, charities or telephone surveyors.

Violators of the National Do Not Call Registry are subject to a fine of up to $11,000 per violation.

To register log on to: www.donotcall.gov or call toll free 1–888-382-1222.

Enjoy a peaceful dinner!  

Bad News

What they can no longer do to your home phone — if you register — they are doing to your computer. And they are doing it in geometric proportions because sending email is free.

Spam has invaded our email boxes much worse than the annoying phone calls invaded our homes.

Spam (spâm) noun: Junk e-mail; unsolicited e-mail, often of a commercial nature, sent indiscriminately to multiple mailing lists, individuals, or newsgroups.

The endless barrage of e-mails — like discount mortgages, penis enlargers and Wendy’s collegiate web cam — can drive you crazy . . . well, two out of three might.

AOL (America Online), the nation’s largest internet service provider, reports it blocks 2.3 billion spammed e-mails a day or about 24,000 per member per year. The rate of blocked spam, according to AOL, is doubling every eight weeks. But they certainly don’t get them all, as any online junkie can attest.

Virginia is the first State in the nation to offer some serious relief. Two months ago, Virginia Governor Mark Warner signed an anti-spam bill into law. The law targets those responsible for sending the worst, most egregious and fraudulent kinds of spam. The kinds of actions that can now trigger penalties that include jail time, asset forfeiture, and fines, include: forging e-mail header and routing information; sending huge volumes of bulk e-mails; generating substantial monetary proceeds from spamming; and employing a minor to be an affiliate in the spamming process.

The war on spammers has just begun.

E-mail your legislators; tell them to do something about it.

E-mail them again . . .