Deliberate Dumbing Down of America Public Education

355 Before hiring a student, even for part-time work, review each student’s work portfolio; the portfolio should contain vital information as to the student’s school attendance record, achievement and assessment, sample writings, letter of recommendation, etc.... …Two-year degree programs in regional Vocational/Technical Centers for public high school graduates.... Courses would be based on an assessment of the work needs of the region. The particular courses would “sunset” once the needs of the area were fulfilled and new courses for the associate degree would be offered to fulfill new assessed needs for the area. [Ed. Note: The last two sentences regarding “assessment of the work needs of the region” and courses “sunsetting” once the needs of the area were fulfilled show that Maine has adopted the same system described by Professor Eugene Boyce when he said in communist countries education is “directly tied to jobs…. They do not educate people for jobs that do not exist. No such direct controlled relationships between education and jobs exists in democratic coun tries” (see 1983 Eugene Boyce entry). Suppose your child wants to take a course that has “sunsetted”? Will he/she have to leave the state in search of such a course, or be deprived of the opportunity?] H.R. 1617 OR T HE CAREERS A CT (C ONSOLIDATED AND R EFORMED E DUCATION , E MPLOY ment , and Rehabilitation Systems Act) passed the U.S. House of Representatives in September of 1995. The law calls for four consolidated job training programs to replace formerly existing programs: youth development and career preparation; adult training; adult education and literacy; and vocational rehabilitation. This legislation was based on school-to-work legislation passed in 1994. Four block grants for job training were tied together at state and local levels to form one cohesive system organized around a single plan submitted to the federal government. Under this plan states would develop one-stop delivery systems, business-led unelected local workforce boards, and voucher programs to allow them to maintain “top-notch state of-the-art job training programs.” State legislatures would be bypassed and money would be driven to states and communities (in most cases 80% funding is spent locally). H.R. 1617 gave enormous power to state governors and removed the power of local school boards to determine what is best for their students. Labor market information systems, funded by the federal government to increase availability of information provided to those who need addi tional job training, would be strengthened. To promote accountability, The CAREERS Act set up a system of goals and performance indicators to ensure that states, communities, service providers, and “clients” are all focused on results . The Act consolidated or eliminated more than 150 program authorities. This legis lation fulfilled requirements outlined in Marc Tucker’s letter to Hillary Clinton following the November 1992 election. H.R. 1617 represented a radical change in America’s free economic system. (See Appendix XV.) I N 1995 REPORTS OF OUTCOME - BASED EDUCATION FAILURES CONTINUED TO SURFACE : C HI cago, Il linois; Johnson City, New York; Utah OBE Project; Kentucky; Pasco, Washington; California; Rochester, New York (Carnegie National Alliance for Education and Economy—Marc Tucker/ David Hornbeck pilots); Cottage Grove, Oregon (first high school in nation to issue the Certificate of Initial Mastery, which originated and is copyrighted by Marc Tucker’s Center for Education The Noxious Nineties : c. 1995