Secretary Rod Paige

U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-0498

5 August 2003

Dear Secretary Rod Paige,

On January 8^th, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind policy.  As you know, the legislation is intended to improve the educational system in the United States with several initiatives, one of which is holding schools accountable through standardized testing.  The President’s policy leaves the form of testing up to the individual states, but I would like to show my support for the policy by suggesting how the United States might improve the educational system by expanding standardized testing.  If implemented, I am certain that it will be proven that national standardized testing will reveal that the United States educational system is grossly unfair, unjust, and directly contradicting what the Constitution declares that “All Men are Created Equal”.

Standardized testing has been a complex and controversial issue for some time.  Many people have argued such tests are biased against the poor, minorities, and women.  Granted, when initially created most tests are biased but eventually the differences are worked out by removing misleading or unfair questions.  Another common complaint is that standardized tests exert influence on school curriculum, and some teachers might be encouraged to “teach to the test”.  I would not disagree with these allegations, but rather offer a different solution than simply avoiding creating a national standardized test. 

Instead of creating high-stakes tests that determine advancement to the next grade, standardized tests should be used to determine which schools require additional assistance.  It is unfair to place the blame for failure on a student, or even a teacher, when the entire educational system has been designed unfairly so the poorer neighborhoods receive inadequate funds.  Standardized testing should not be used to determine which schools are failing, but which schools the Untied States are failing to help. 

By creating a national standardized testing system for every grade level, the Department of Education will be able to gather enough evidence to prove that the educational system is designed unjustly and illegally according to the United States Constitution.  I firmly believe that national standardized testing will prove that those school districts that receive the least amount of funds will have the lowest scores, whereas the opposite will be true for the richest school districts.  If standardized testing does not prove this to be true, the statistical evidence may lead to other solutions.  However, I believe, as do many other people, that public education greatly needs assistance from the United States government.

The majority of school districts in the United States determine school funding based on property taxes.  This appears to be a system based on medieval principles aligned with such foreign societies as the Indian caste system or Communist China, where economic class and success is determined by the State and totally without the individual’s involvement.  For example, a child born into a family that lives below the poverty level has a very high chance of attending a school that receives a bare minimum amount of funding by the state.  That child will receive a poor education to match his poor quality of living, thus entering a cycle that leads to generations of poverty-stricken people.  It doesn’t matter if that child is gifted or talented that he might use to better society.  If a child in poverty does not receive an education equal to his peers across the United States, his potential contribution is overlooked not because of his own failure, but because of his parent’s.  In other words, children born into poverty are not born equal because they will, from the beginning, not receive equal care from the United States.

Adversaries of equality have suggested greater funding for poorer school would not improve the results of education.  But it cannot be argued that funding directly affects such important aspects of education as class size, extra-curricular activities, resources and even school security.  If school funding does not directly affect student achievement, why do some school districts spend so much money?

Why is there such opposition to changing the way the system is designed?  The answer is simply that the powerful protect their own children, leaving the poor to be trapped in poverty.  Adversaries of equality argue that if a child born into poverty is talented or gifted, he or she will naturally rise to the occasion and succeed.  Some even argue genetics are to blame.  But these are only speculations.  No one knows the answer because American society has been arranged from the beginning to allow advantages for the wealthy and disadvantages for the poor.  If we want to seek definitive answers as to how to serve our citizens equally and fairly, we must implement two procedures.

The first is national standardized testing that will prove funding directly affects student achievement.  Next, equalize the funding amongst schools so no matter where a child is born, whether it is rural, suburban or urban, educational opportunities will remain fair.  Contradicting the 1983 White House report, Bruce Biddle and David Berliner used statistical analysis and scientific research and determined the two most important indicators for educational failure are child poverty and low school funding.  Expecting the government to solve child poverty is asking too much.  But asking the government to treat innocent children fairly and equitably is not.  It might be seen as a great social experiment, but our leaders need to stand up and defend what the Untied States has claimed to symbolize since the beginning, which is equality and freedom to succeed.  Please take down the barriers preventing talented children born into poverty from succeeding.

Sincerely yours,

Michael Beyer