Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 8, 1995 TAG: 9510090059
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Here's what the candidates had to say on the subject of the state's new Standards of Learning for math, science, English and social studies that were recently approved by the state Board of Education.
Do you believe that the Standards of Learning should be mandatory for schools - and should be part of the assessment process to evaluate schools?
Bedford County
District 1:
Russell "Butch" Wright: "When the SOLs address specific needs, they can be used as a tool to evaluate the success of the schools."
Wesley Gordon Jr. : Did not respond.
District 5:
Eugene Erb: "Local boards should not be mandated. They should, however, give priority to implementation of the standards recommended by the state. To be successful, schools will need guidelines to evaluate schools and measure progress of the students."
Betty Earle: Did not respond.
District 6:
Hunter Hale Jr.: "The School Board annually implements the Standards of Learning and does not need the state to mandate the obvious. Let the school board do its job."
Shirley McCabe: Did not respond.
District 7:
Stanley Butler: "If the schools are to receive funding, there must be some controls. The SOLs should represent the minimum requirements. There needs to be some means to measure - SOLs seem to be an appropriate choice."
Benny Shrader: "No. Local boards are more capable of adopting standards to fit the needs of the children in their system. Mandatory standards are not necessary."
Botetourt County
Valley District:
Michael Beahm: "I believe the Standards of Learning should be mandatory for schools. Mandatory is not a popular word, but how can all students be evaluated on the same scale without the same minimum expectations? Many students achieve only what is expected of them. If we are serious that all students are to have the same opportunity, then we must expect a relatively same standard."
Fincastle District:
Sally Eads: "A great deal depends on which standards are adopted. The student population would have to be much more homogeneous to use the SOL as absolute measurements. Considering the disparity funding issues that have previously been discussed, the different economic strata found across the state, an additional usage of the SOLs would be to measure student progress in a year, or use the SOLs to help localities to improve. I question using them to punish local systems."
David Emeigh: "No."
L. W. "Jack" Leffel Jr.: "Yes. You must have some measure of success and you must have some procedure for accountability."
Blue Ridge District:
James Ruhland: Did not respond.
Craig County:
Alleghany District:
James Cady: Did not respond.
Simmonsville District:
Bonnie Hutchison: Did not respond.
Rodney Williams: Did not respond.
New Castle District:
Thomas Zimmerman: Did not respond.
Two at-large seats:
Patrick Myers: Did not respond.
Brenda Allen: Did not respond.
Robert Knepp: "No comment."
Hettie Farley: Did not respond.
Floyd County
District A:
Clay Link: Did not respond.
District B:
David Sulzen: "No. I believe they should be used as guidelines, but that they do not take into consideration the different learning abilities of individual students, and do not adequately address the development of student learning skills. Use of the Standards of Learning as an assessment tool would deprive the schools of the flexibility necessary for each student's best progress."
Cheryl Whitlock-Allen: Did not respond.
District C:
Howard Cundiff Jr.: Did not respond.
District D:
Marie Mathis: "Yes."
Margaret Hubbard: Did not respond.
District E:
Douglas Phillips: Did not respond.
Louellen Sharp: Did not respond.
Franklin County
Blackwater District:
Shirley Jamison: Did not respond.
Van Flora: "Yes."
Boone District:
Guy Buford: Did not respond.
Snow Creek District:
Terry Lovell: "Yes."
G.B. Washburn Jr.: "Yes. As goals. I do not feel that evaluations should be done based on these criteria unless it is determined that no disparities exist in basic education."
Union Hall District:
Perry D. Hambrick: "No. All schools are not equipped with the same technology and the best teachers, thus they cannot be judged on the same scale."
Rocky Mount District:
Steve Flora: Did not respond.
Gills Creek District:
Jack Newbill: Did not respond.
At-large (one seat):
Amanda Davis: "Yes."
William Helm Jr.: Did not respond.
Giles County:
Western District:
J. Lewis Webb: Did not respond.
Central District:
Joseph Gollehon: Did not respond.
Carolyn Linkous: Did not respond.
Mary-Paul "Widget" Shannon: "Yes."
Eastern District:
Jeffrey Wiegand: "I do believe the Standards of Learning are proficiency objectives and help focus attention on the overall curriculum and the students' expectations. However, I do not believe the standards should be mandatory, but guidelines to determine curriculum and select instructional strategies."
Ronald Whitehead: Did not respond.
At large (two seats):
J. B. Buckland: Did not respond.
John Billos: Did not respond.
Phillip Morris: Did not respond.
Montgomery County
District B:
Robert Anderson: "Yes, at least they are the basic learning skills."
Bernard Jortner: "In general, yes, as long as the state adequately funds resources to implement their teaching. However, I do need to review the revised standards ... before fully answering this question."
Oscar Williams: Did not respond.
District E:
Jack LeDoux: "Yes. They are after all only minimums."
Victor Sheppard: Did not respond.
Michael Smith: Did not respond.
District F:
Richard Edwards: "Yes. Absolutely. Further, certain standards should be at the national level, some imposed locally. Standards are a given for any education system."
James Klagge: "Students are individuals. Teachers and school systems should not be responsible for ensuring that they all come out alike. If teachers are assessed primarily according to the results of their students, then there will be unhealthy controversy over who gets which students. There is also danger of teaching to the test, rather than conveying a love of learning."
District G:
Peggy Arrington: "I believe that school divisions and states need standards. I see nothing wrong with setting standards [mandatory goals] so that we know what to expect from a student at a given grade level. The difficulty comes when you realize that not only do you have students of differing abilities, learning styles, learning difficulties, interests and home environments, but also of differing motivational levels to succeed in school."
Wat Hopkins: "I am not opposed to minimum standards, though I do not support the current Standards of Learning. I am greatly concerned about an assessment process that treats children like products that can easily be compared. Montgomery County is committed to educating all students and to helping each student achieve that student's potential. An assessment process that punishes this commitment is a failing of the process rather than a failing of the system."
Pulaski County
Ingles District:
Ronald Chaffin: "I have not seen all of the new standards developed by the state, so I cannot comment."
Barbara Chrisley: "No, but some kind of assessment has to be in place."
Robinson District:
Sybil Atkinson: "Yes. If we are dedicated to setting high academic standards for the children of Virginia, then we must be certain that all systems are working toward elevating our educational standards."
Rhea Saltz: Did not respond.
Massie District:
Jeff Bain: "For the most part, no, because typically they represent the minimum acceptable levels and because I sense the beginnings of some social engineering in the manner in which material is presented in the schools through these Standards of Learning. However, I do believe that these Standards could be used in part to help evaluate schools. State and national "standards" are reasonable expectations from each system, but one size does not fit all within the commonwealth or this country."
Nathan Tuck: "Minimum standards [are] necessary, but I prefer that guidelines be given and the local board would set its standards. The standards should be a part of any assessment process, but weighted with other factors."
Draper District:
Lewis Pratt: Did not respond.
Cloyd District:
Beth Nelson: "For a state that objects so strongly to mandates from the federal government, it is unseemly for that state to impose mandates on localities, especially mandates that will be costly to implement. Adapting to curricular changes that require new texts and materials to move topics of study from one grade level to another will be expensive. In the interest of my locality I urge autonomy in this matter."
Carolyn Brown: "I support higher standards of education, but I have not seen all of the revised standards to comment any further."
Roanoke County
Catawba District:
William "Bill" Brown: "I support standards of learning for public schools and feel they should be evaluated on how well they meet these standards."
John Reed: "In a few years, tests will be given and the results will tell if our teachers are doing a good job or not. This means teachers will be teaching for a state examination and ignoring the real-life needs of the students. The graduates will know how to multiply ... but can't make change for a dollar or figure the interest on a used car."
Marion Roark: Did not respond.
Cave Spring District:
William Irvin, III: "I have not thoroughly reviewed the Standards of Learning. I think some standards should be adopted and be a part of the assessment process for schools."
Carol White: "No. The Standards of Learning should remain as guidelines, not become regulations. We need freedom from regulations, not more."
Vern Jordahl: "There is no doubt that there should be standards of learning. The content of the standards is another question. Eight unadvertised [except to educators] hearings throughout the state on one evening is not enough. There should be wider discussion and deeper thought given to the curricula taught to our children. Parents were a distinct minority at these hearings and that is a defect of the process. Yes, we need standards of learning. They are the competency tests for schools."
by CNB