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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 1980)
Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Wednesday November 5, 1980 Slouch By Jim Earle “Now that we have selected a president through the constitutional process, we should rally behind him with our full support, for better or worse, for at least a couple of days before we get on his back. ’ Standardized tests By PATRICIA McCORMACK United Press International The National Education Association and some other groups want to erase standardized tests from the school scene to protect “the kids.” Kids would be the last to reject the idea, it’s safe to say. But there is another side to the coin. And experts examining it at a national conference said life without tests would be chaotic. That’s not what foes of tests say. They qlaim standardized tests discriminate and are, there fore, unfair. Tests, say they, put lifelong labels on kids — bright, dull, high achiever, low achiever, mediocre, average. The standardized test most often at the cen ter of the attack is the Standardized Achieve ment Test — SAT — widely used for college admissions and administered by Educational Testing Service in Princeton, N.J. One expert said: “The social consequences of not using tests would be disastrous.’’ He is Dr. Robert L. Ebel, professor of educa tion, Michigan State University. “In schools and colleges, in business and gov ernment, the information tests describe is vir tually indispensible,” he said. “These institu tions suffer not from too much testing but from too little good testing. “Critics of testing have chosen the wrong thing to attack. It is not testing, per se, that is harmful. It is the frequent use of poor tests. ” Ebel took on two major opponents of testing — the NEA and the NAACP, National Associa tion for the Advancement of Colored People. “The leadership of the National Education Association (1.8 million member teacher union) suggests that shortcomings exist in order to protect their members, not to encourage indi viduals to excel. Thus the opposition of the NEA to testing makes sense in the short run. It does not make sense in the long run. For teachers and teaching to prosper in the long run education must prosper. “It has not been prospering lately in part for want of sufficient concern for excellence in learning. Tests have much to contribute in the pursuit of excellence.” As for “leadership of the NAACP” opposing testing, Ebel said this serves their “immediate and narrowly special interests.” Reagan’s election may sting, but bureaucracy will survivi When John Hill lost the governorship in 1978 I felt rather like this: How could it happen? How could semi-intelligent people elect the person they did? Then, of course, Governor Bill took office and he’s turned out to be not as bad as ex pected. That’s what we can hope for Governor Reagan, now President-elect Reagan. In Cali fornia, we hear, he was somewhat able to sur round himself with qualified administrators. Perhaps he can do the same in Washington. He certainly has some of the most dynamic people in Congress on his side, such as Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N. Y.). And throughout the campaign he fine-tuned his election pitch to meet more moderate, more realistic stands. His great tax cuts, he now says, are aimed for 1983 or 1984, not 1981. Soon he will realize — as all those newly elected to Washington find out — that he not only “does not know where the bathroom is,” but he does not know how Washington really works. He will learn compromise is important. Inside/outlook partment of Energy will have the: telling the new Reagan guys — the t now “run” it — the same things. By Liz Newlin the new guys, will only be able to cornel same conclusions the Carter guys camel The only exception is that the guysj Pentagon will get a raise, and more life to play with, like bombs and airplanes. He will learn he cannot dismantle the GOV- ERNMENT BUEAUCRACY in four short years. That bureaucracy is entrenched in the five-story buildings that line Pennsylvania Ave nue. And it’s not moving soon. The civil service laws take care of that. Reagan has said he would cut the budget by elminating “waste and fraud” in the govern ment. Remember, that’s what Carter said four years ago. And see how far he’s gotten? Like we said, Reagan has a lot to learn. In the meantime, we suspect, things will go on about as usual. The “E” for Education that was taken out of HEW will not be extinguished. The De- The people who supported Reag Bush, hoping for the 20-year curse him into office — are celebrating tod fought off an underdog’s surge at the won against an incumbent. They dohai thing to be proud of. But they should realize the goverm and the mixed economy, semi-welfaresti shake B created — was not built in a day. And! iRudder Reagan, no matter whose majority isi se ll-Dan side, will not be able to dismantle it inai wa s spoi in four years. ... - Governor Bill has been trying siira And he hasn’t gotten very far either. “They see tests as barriers facing poorly edu cated minorities, barriers to opportunities for further education and employment. They do not see tests as unprejudiced assessors of com petence, as powerful arguments for equality of educational opportunity. “The low scores that minorities often receive on tests seldom if ever can be attributed to bias in the tests. Almost always they reflect the dam age inflicted by inadequate education.” Ebel cited ways in which not testing in schools and colleges would have harmful social consequences. He said it would: — Handicap communities seeking excell ence in schools. Tests can reveal how much has been learned of what was set out to be learned. They can indicate how effectively the pupils have been taught, and how successfully they have studied. — Handicap minorities. It would deny them the help of objective evidence in their struggle for equal access to opportunities for education and employment. Tests are color blind. They are essentially unbiased. Low scores on a test for any group do not show that the test is biased against them — simply that for whatever reason — including lack of opportunity to learn — they have not learned the information being tested. — Handicap students seeking to learn. Pur poseful efforts to learn require definite goals for learning and definite indications of success in achieving those goals. Good tests help to define goals and provide indications of success. — Handicap schools in their attempts to select and retain competent teachers. To be a good teacher one must know thoroughly what is to be taught and how to teach it. The ability of tests to measure the amount of relevant know ledge a teacher possesses is not likely to be quesfioned by those who are well informed and reasonable. Enemies of testing are not the mainstream. Ebel said: “Elimination of testing is advocated by rela tively small numbers of people, some of whom have relatively loud voices. it’s Off-C arbara S er/resid( College Stat km, said th ided the 0 iple com: ures that enants with Brs or apa !'“Young pt Ky sign th WAS THAT MASKED It’s your turn Coaches need time to build programs “It is not advocated by the public generally, as a Gallup poll has shown. “Within the enterprise there are a few lead- Editor: With all the talk pertaining to our football season and particularly Coach Wilson, I wish to submit some facts: Since 1947 Texas A&M has had nine head coaches. This works out to 3.6 years per coach. First-year wins of these coaches is interesting: 1934 Homer Norton (2-7-2) He later led A&M to the National Champion ship in 1939 and four bowl games: 1940 Sugar Bowl (also National Championship) 1941 Cotton Bowl 1942 Cotton Bowl 1944 Orange Bowl 1948 Harry Stiteler 0-9-1 1951 Ray George 5-3-2 1954 Bear Bryant 1-9-0 Look at his record since 1954! 1958 Jim Meyers 4-6-0 Now Assistant Dallas Cowboy Coach 1962 Hank Foldberg 3-7-0 1965 Gene Stallings 3-7-0 Now Assistant Dallas Cowboy Coach — he was last coach to win SWC, beating Alabama (Bear Bryant) in Cotton Bowl in 1968. 1972 Emory Bellard 3-8-0 His record since then needs no explanation. Darrell Royal, considered by many to be the most outstanding coach the Southwest Confer ence ever had, won six, lost three, tied one his first year in 1957. Frank Broyles had a 4-6-0 in 1958, his first year at Arkansas. Ron Meyers at SMU had a 3-8-0 record his first year there in 1976. Grant Teaff had a first year at Baylor of 5-6-0 in 1972; then a 2-9-0 in 1973. It takes time for a coach to get his program underway. How can we expect Tom Wilson to tinually second guess and criticize his en deavors. It is sad that a coach’s average tenure at Texas A&M is less than four years. Coach Wilson must have time to build a winning program at Texas A&M. Barney Welch ’45 Soccer team has problems Editor: We would like to commend Richard Oliver on the fine job he’s doing as sports editor. In the past, sports other than varsity were given minimal coverage; however, under Oliver’s direction, all sports, and in particular soccer, have been given fair time and space in The Battalion. The Oct. 28 Reflections column was a fresh attitude we wish more people would take. The soccer team deserves the same coverage as any varsity sport, especially when you note their 5-3-2 record. However, there are several problems facing the soccer team and other Texas A&M teams as well. It is our feeling that it’s high time the University addresses these problems and starts providing solutions. First, the soccer team is recognized as a club, not as a varsity sport. What does it take for a team to acquire varsity status? The soccer team petition deavor I lead or iding pul has the dedication, talent, and direction of its players, assistant coach David Ffen read t! and newly acquired coach Telmo Franco P ne - w ho record reflects their ability to represeiP. University in a winning fashion. SfemberTl Without varsity recognition, the soccei| earer ^ is faced with several problems. Oneistki tion of facilities on which to practice and: They have been “removed” from the Pen! complex by the Intramural Department tramural football. Also, since it’s recognizf®re of tin club, it receives minimal funding. ThisbMLwever them from traveling to games and oftflPP tenant players wind up shelling out the money»fr ir a P ai should be provided by the University can onlv ', Soccer is an exciting sport that’s attention in the Bryan-College StationP[ n ot h er Until the SMU game, the soccer teamkd&airman I supported only by loyal fans consisting of|ortation t( ly, friends, and children from the soccer interested the team held this summer. Team iw™ 1 in the were involved in camps locally and state 1 ®™ I>r() K r The players’ involvement helps make if 4 . j tween 6:15 name for the team and the University. It seems a shame that players can after four years of the same rigorous practice, and playing schedule as other sports and not be recognized. We feel its the University recognizes the soccer varsity sport — it’s well-deserved. Paula Hillf uncan fie PIS ers and many followers who oppose testing out devote his undivided attention to the football of a misguided egalitarian philosophy. team when some students and some exes con Warped By Scott McCullar The Battalion U S P S 045 560 MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Questions or comments concerning any editorial # £ should be directed to the editor. Editor Dillard Stone Managing Editor Rhonda Watters Asst. Managing Editor Scott Haring City Editor Becky Swanson Asst. City Editor Angelique Copeland Sports Editor Richard Oliver Asst. Sports Editor Ritchie Priddy Focus Editor Scot K. Meyer Asst. Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff News Editors Lynn Blanco, Gwen Ham, Todd Woodard Staff Writers Jennifer Afflerbach, Kurt Allen, Nancy Andersen, Marcy Boyce, Jane G. Brust Mike Burrichter, Pat Davidson, Jon Heidtke, Uschi Michel-Howell, Debbie Nelson, Liz Newlin, Rick Stolle Cartoonist Scott McCullar Photo Editor Pat O’Malley Photographers George Dolan, Jeff Kerber EDITORIAL POLICY The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper op erated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or the author, and do not necessarily repre sent the opinions of Texas A&M University administrators or faculty members, or of the Board of Regents, LETTERS POLICY 1 Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in U £ and are subject to being cut if they are longer. The edilori^ reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, V' make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. I must also be signed, show the address and phone numferP writer. Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, and# 1 subject to the same length constraints as letters. Addtt*' inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, The Battali* * £ Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College StM 77843. The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M’ii* _ spring semesters, except for holiday and examination p(^ Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25pers^' £ year and $35 per full year. Advertising rates bmished*' quest. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald BiiiW t: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. United Press International is entitled exclusively to k 1 for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it, reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX W