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Kossor Education Newsletter.....Volume 1 Number 10
The Kossor Education Newsletter contains timely, useful information
for parents and others who are concerned about public education in
America and can be sent to you for one year for $15. Steven Kossor
is a Licensed Psychologist and Certified School Psychologist who is
in private practice in Pennsylvania. He has debated William Spady
and other top promoters of education "reform" and is available as a
speaker nationally. He can be reached at (610) 383-1432 anytime. A
bound collection of the first three volumes of The Kossor Education
Newsletter (200+ pps of analysis and evidence) is available for $35
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THE KOSSOR EDUCATION NEWSLETTER Volume 1 Number 10
Copyright 1994 S.A. Kossor All Rights Reserved
12+ issues annually NSP Box 105 Exton, PA 19341
Annual Subscription $15
The contents of The Kossor Education Newsletter are not to be
construed as offering legal advice. Readers seeking legal advice
should contact an attorney.
HIDDEN AGENDAS in Outcome Based Education (OBE) reform
1. Change the curriculum and the assessments at the same time.
New assessment methods can "make the data" necessary to prove
that the new curriculum works. By abandoning grades and
objective tests and using "portfolios" and other faddish,
subjective and poorly researched methods of "performance
assessment" to measure student progress, educational
bureaucrats can assure themselves continuous employment and
compensation.
2. Make education entertaining at all costs. Lack of concern for
quality in penmanship, spelling and grammar produces conflict
between conscientious parents and their children. Parents who
advocate higher quality standards become viewed as hostile,
hypercritical, negative influences. Teachers who accept
mediocre or poor performance in penmanship, spelling and
grammar become viewed as the advocates and supporters of
children. Traditional roles of parents and teachers are being
reversed -- to the absolute detriment of parents and children.
It has been shown (Hayes & Wolfer, Cornell University, 1993)
that public school reading assignments have been "simplified"
every year since 1947. We know that SAT scores and real
achievement have declined drastically. The extent of the
decline is actually much worse than one might guess, because
the effect of simplification is cumulative -- every time the
SAT is re-normed, it ALSO is made simpler, to adjust to the
lower reading ability of the normative sample. This means that
a person who scores 500 on a 1993 SAT would probably score
much lower on an older version of the SAT! We've known
that the quality of education has been declining, but we've all
been deceived about HOW MUCH.
3. Help children to see their teachers in a favorable light, no
matter what. Increasing numbers of teachers are striving to be
seen by their students as open, accepting and tolerant, purely
as a means of survival in the increasingly violent world of the
public school. Teachers who retain high standards may expose
themselves to more threats of violence from students, but more
often, they are the target of administrative disciplinary
action as well, for failing to implement OBE reforms and for
failing to lower academic standards to accommodate
lower-functioning students.
Teacher endorsements of reading matter depicting parents as
cruel, evil or incompetent influences creates subtle but