[SuperScout]

[From our dear friends in Taxachusetts - and we wonder why little Johnny can't read!!]

Schools chief fails must-pass test By Associated Press, 8/3/2003 20:01
LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) Superintendent of Schools Wilfredo T. Laboy, who recently put two dozen teachers on unpaid leave for failing a basic English proficiency test, has himself flunked a required literacy test three times, The Eagle-Tribune reported Sunday. Laboy, who called his failing scores ''frustrating'' and ''emotional,'' blamed a lack of preparation and concentration, and his lack of English skills. Spanish is his first language.

''It bothers me because I'm trying to understand the congruence of what I do here every day and this stupid test,'' said Laboy. ''That's what, emotionally, I'm so upset about.''

State Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll said he is aware of Laboy's troubles with the test, but would not say how many chances Laboy would be given to pass or what the consequences of another failure could be. He commended Laboy on an ''excellent job'' leading the district, but said ''he's going to have to pass. He told me he needs more time to prepare for the test. I told him, 'Fine.' ... The situation will only get serious if he goes much longer without passing,'' Driscoll said.

Since 1998, all educators from teachers to superintendents have had to pass the Communications and Literacy Skills Test, which measures basic reading and writing skills, including vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, spelling and capitalization.

Laboy barely passed the reading section on his second attempt, scoring the minimum required grade, he said this week. He also failed the writing portion three times, and a section requiring test-takers to transcribe a passage read over an audiotape, using proper punctuation and spelling. Candidates must pass all sections of the test in a single sitting, and may not appeal their scores, according to the state education department Web site.

''What brought me down was the rules of grammar and punctuation,'' Laboy said. ''English being a second language for me, I didn't do well in writing. If you're not an English teacher, you don't look at the rules on a regular basis.'' [Is there any requirement that he communicate in writing with his subordinates? Kinda think there is, so it makes one wonder how he was able, if he was able, to accomplish this?]

Laboy, who receives a 3 percent pay hike this month that will raise his salary to $156,560, recently put 24 teachers on unpaid administrative leave because they failed a basic English test, which has been required since voters passed a law last fall requiring English-only classrooms. Driscoll said he is willing to give Laboy more time to prepare for another retest. [But Driscoll didn't put Laboy on unpaid administrative leave, thus creating a double standard.]

''He's not a native language speaker, so a formal test is something he needs to prepare for,'' Driscoll said. ''It doesn't mean anything now. It will mean more as time goes on because there's an expectation that he'll pass.''

[This begs the question: how did this guy get his job in the first place? Could it have been political pressure or union pressure, say from the NEA? And perhaps this failure is why the NEA is against testing of teachers!!]