Benchmarks

The newest of the Iraq funding bills features a measurement tool known as "benchmarks." This is a tool to measure the progress of our troops as they turn over security responsibilities to the Iraqi police.

The thing that bothers me the most is that this idea of "benchmarks"* is also how we measure student progress mastering objectives before the TAKS tests. If we are running our wars like Texas runs its education systems we might be doomed from the start.

Do we get to declare our military Title I?
Does that mean the Marines will get free and reduced lunch?
How much suck money will Congress give to maintaining the Green Zone?
At what point will we reconstitute it all?

Support our troops.

*Since AVI linked to this page with a big fat "ouch" I thought I should explain exactly what "benchmarks" might mean in Texas education. There are two ways in which I've heard the term used:

1) I know elementary school teachers that give them to test if their students will do well on a particular objective on the TAKS test. TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) isn't that unlike an MCAS test, and very much the product of NCLB. Actually since Rob Paige (former secretary of Education under the Bush administration) WAS the Superintendent of HISD I think I could argue that the whole thing is his fault... anyway... benchmarks are just that an assessment before the assessment to predict success (and theoretically prescribe interventions).

2) Benchmarks are used in our Algebra I program. I'm not a math teacher but this is the jist: If you pass 70% of the benchmark tests you will earn credit for Algebra I. To pass you need a 70% on the test. You may take the test as many times as you want. So, to demonstrate mastery in Algebra I you need to get 49% of the problems right... eventually. Not all the tests are multiple choice, but I will remind you that a monkey with a pencil will get 25%. So my theory is if you care one iota any student should be able to earn an A in Algebra I... cause eventually the test bank will start repeating. If the cashiers at my McDonald's were only right 49% of the time I'd be upset.