provides $250k to run ads
October 18, 2006
An organization has the right to endorse any candidate it so votes. Also, it can vote to supply funds to assist. However, a little known 527 (from the federal tax code of this number) called the Patriot Majority Fund has been running ads critical of Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey. And, with $250k in teacher dues from the MTA, lots of ads can run. Over the past few months, the Massachusetts Teachers Association has provided $250,000 to this group - top donor for the most recent period.
The following two statements are from the MTA website (www.massteacher.org). The MTA endorses Patrick and has problems with the MCAS. What a surprise that is. Endorse a candidate who is very short on specifics (ok, has he actually said anything SPECIFIC?) but speaks in grand visions for the future, and then the MTA criticizes MCAS as possibly inappropriately used. What exactly does the MTA want -- perhaps just to have teachers say they are all doing a great job and let things stay as is, and by the way can teachers get another raise?
--from Resolutions of the MTA
The Massachusetts Teachers Association is recommending Deval Patrick and Tim Murray for governor and lieutenant governor.
"The choice could not be more clear," said MTA President Anne Wass. "Deval Patrick is a man who understands that public education is the underpinning of our knowledge-based economy and has pledged to make strengthening our schools and colleges a priority of his administration."
MCAS and High-Stakes Testing
The Massachusetts Teachers Association believes that the primary purpose of standardized tests should be to improve the quality of education and instruction for students. Standardized tests are most useful when selected or developed by educational professionals closest to the classroom and integrated with assessment information specific to district programs.
The MTA urges locals to advocate developmentally appropriate assessment techniques that are bias-free, reliable and valid.
The MTA also believes when a test is mandated at the state or national levels it should only be used to evaluate programs toward meeting state or national standards and/or goals. The MTA opposes any use of standardized tests when scores are:
used as criteria for the reduction or withholding of any educational funding;
used inappropriately to compare students, educators, programs, schools and communities;
used as a single criterion for high-stakes decision-making;
used inappropriately to evaluate teachers;
used to design programs for "teaching to the test" rather than to the content measured by the test.
The MTA further believes the administration of a standardized test includes the responsibility to educate the stakeholders in the purpose of the test, the meaning of test results and the accurate interpretation of conclusions, while providing the protection of the privacy rights of the students and educators.
I look forward to reading more from the MTA, and some specifics. Quick quiz for the MTA:
(a) Without comparing groups and schools, how does one learn of possible problem areas?
(b) Is there a standardized test that you favor, or endorse?
(c) How does the MTA propose making decisions?
(d) How does the MTA want to evaluate teachers?
Sure, the MTA has a purpose - to make sure its employees are well-compensated. Everything else from the MTA is just window-dressing to make it appear that they are concerned with children and education. Eliminate standards, remove accountability, and weaken education. Once you realize what the MTA is all about, it is easy to understand why they would support Deval.
Check Deval's website for a list of endorsements - including the MTA. So, he acknowledges their endorsement.
If elected, and boy does that scare me, wonder how long it will take him to become their favorite friend by weakening MCAS standards - and lose the gains made over the past years by the children of the State?
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