WHAT STANDARDS?

Tests and other oversight for voucher students will be less stringent than rules for public school students, officials predicted Monday. 

...officials familiar with the issue said they are not expecting White to recommend voucher policies that mirror those governing public schools, including letter grades and high-stakes tests for fourth- and eighth-graders. 

The rules requirement stems from a bill pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, and approved by the Legislature in April, that expands Louisiana’s voucher program statewide, not just in New Orleans. 

Students who have attended schools rated C, D and F by the state, and who meet income requirements, can apply for state-funded vouchers to offset most costs to attend private and parochial schools. 

So.  If your child attended a public school rated C, D, or F by the state, and you meet the income requirements, Louisiana will pay your child's tuition in a private school, which will not be held to the same standards as public schools and will not be graded by letter grades.

Michael Falk, president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, has met with White in small groups of superintendents to discuss the issue.

He said Monday he does not expect White to require voucher students to face high-stakes tests, which means they have to pass them to move to the next grade.

Under current rules, fourth- and eighth-graders at public schools have to pass a skills test called LEAP to move to the next grade.

I have my reservations about the LEAP tests, which so often result in teaching to the tests, but how will we know if the private schools do a better job of educating students?  With our state money going to private schools, it would seem only fair to hold the schools to the same standards as public schools, whose already depleted coffers are being emptied further by funds going to private schools.

Last month U. S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said private and parochial schools that accept voucher students should get letter grades from the state.

The senator is right.

Critics contend that any such grade would be distorted, mostly because voucher students will make up a small percentage of any school’s population.

I'm afraid I have to call BS on that excuse.

All too often, the Louisiana Legislature and the governor, especially this governor, seem not to have thoroughly thought through to the consequences of the legislation they passed and signed into law.  And the full effects of lower standards will not be seen until far in the future, when the damage to the students may have already been done.

I wonder how much governing Jindal can do from afar, since he spends a good part of his time traveling around the country campaigning, supposedly for Republican candidates.  Or is he campaigning for the position as Romney's vice-presidential candidate?   Or for a major position in the Romney administration?  What makes Bobby run? One sure thing, if Romney is looking for someone with even less charisma than himself, so as not to outshine him in the personality contest, then Jindal is his man.