The Battalion
MONDAY
line 3, 1996
OPINION
Page 7
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Aggies have many
reasons to feel proud
H
owdy! I
hope
that
everyone’s
summer is go
ing great. For
all returning
Aggies, I hope
you did well on
your finals. To
all new Aggies
who are begin
ning your so
journ at Texas
A&M, I bid you a warm Aggie
welcome and good luck.
Between semesters we hope
fully had the opportunity to step
back in our own lives and gear up
for a great summer. In this time
of reflection, let’s look at A&M to
remember why we came here and
why we are so proud to be Aggies.
Since 1876 this University has
been a special place, delivering
excellence in both academic and
social spheres. Academically,
A&M is ranked fourth in the na
tion for the number of new Na
tional Merit scholars. We are
ranked fifth in total research ex
penditures, competing with
schools like MIT and Stanford.
For schools with permanent en
dowments, A&M is ranked sixth
nationally. Texas A&M has two
Nobel Prize-winning professors
and is one of the few college cam
puses lucky enough to have a
presidential library.
What makes A&M special and
sets our institution above other
colleges is, in addition to academ
ic excellence, we have traditions
that bind and unite students.
Does any other school have an
organization for moms totaling
7,000 members with 107 loca
tions across Texas? A&M does —
it is called Aggie Moms. Also, I
doubt any other school cares so
much about current and former
students to take the time to hon
or those who have passed away
during the past year. We do —
in a ceremony called Aggie
Muster. Texas A&M also con
structs the world’s largest bon
fire each fall and has the na
tion’s largest student-run volun
teer program — Big Event each
spring. A&M historically com
missions more military officers
than any institution (outside the '
service academies) through the
Corps of Cadets.
These Eire just a few examples }
of what sets A&M apart from
other schools across the nation.
We are truly lucky to be able to
attend a university such as A&M.
However, I know our school is not ;
perfect, and we are working to
improve A&M for its students. It
is necessary from time to time to
step back and look at all the posi-'
tive aspects of Aggieland. I hope
that everyone has a fun summer
and does well in summer school.
Welcome back!
Student Body President Carl
Baggett is a Class of’96
accounting major
Bush fails in diagnosis
of Texas literacy crisis
B
lood
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MARCUS
GOODYEAR
Columnist
■i—^ sure
machines
don’t ever
seem to
work. The
nurse can al
ways tell
that I’m not
is cold and
as the
iinstrumcnt
results sug
gest, though.
They know that a faulty
reading is the result of a
faulty testing instrument.
These nurses need to have
a little chat with our Gov.
Bush. Last year Bush declared
literacy crisis in Texas.
The basis for Bush’s an
nouncement seems legitimate.
He has called it “a catastrophe
one in four of the school
thildren who took the TAAS
reading test last year failed.”
The TAAS is administered
to third graders and attempts
to assess literacy, mostly
through reading comprehen
sion questions.
However, Dr. John C.
Stansell, an
music at
form on
He used
a us.”
ineering
he Aggie
ered him
i an out-
to track reading versus TV
hours.
Bush’s fears have produced
positive results without harm
ing anyone — except the one in
four third graders who are now
considered illiterate because
they scored poorly on one test,
on one day, under one set of
emotional circumstances, with
one set of motivations.
Ironically, this isn’t even
the worst news. In addition to
the help of Boy Scouts and
small town newspapers, Bush
has enlisted one more tool to
confront the literacy crisis.
If the students at a school
have high reading test scores
(reflecting high literacy by the
governor’s standards) com
pared with the performance of
students in similar schools,
then the principal of the
school will receive up to a
$5,000 bonus per year.
The principal receives this
bonus.
Not the English or reading
department. Not the grossly
underpaid teachers. And for
goodness sakes not those dirty
awful schools where the kids
scored poorly.
read
ing professor,
commented
that he did
n’t know
the Cow what basis
Throwing money at education will always
improve it, but the government needs to
throw it where it is most needed.
the governor “could have to
make that statement with any
confidence.”
The TAAS is certainly not
sufficient to determine literacy.
Stansell agrees that the
TAAS is a well-constructed
test. Just as the blood pres-
ith was a sure machine is well-con
structed. But both are subject
day, May jto error, and unfortunately,
xeir outfit theTAAS results aren’t nearly
mony. as reliable,
lis border Stansell explains that “no
aeck said, test really captures everything
that a curriculum might do.” A
student might score well on a
test but be unable to perform
in the classroom.
_ Or, if the student lacks the
u, 95 terminology to answer ques-
airtims tions, if he or she reads per-
leauirnri W6 ^ ^ laS n °^ y e t
•TlTll ^ ^ een introduced to concepts
thesis and conclusion,
then the student’s wrong an
swers will make him or her
appear illiterate.
Really, the TAAS has done
Ho harm, though. Bush and
the Texas Board of Education
Perceived a literacy crisis and
have been acting to promote
fading since April.
Boy Scouts are volunteering
to teach their peers to read.
The Abf/ene Reporter-News
Published a chart for parents
Opinion page provides forum for ideas
I
JASON
BROWN
Opinion Editor
t’s amaz
ing how a
trip back
to the public
schools will
make you
appreciate
how nice we
have it here
at A&M.
Over the
break, I
worked as an
overpaid
babysitter, substitute teaching
at high schools back home. Al
though I would occasionally
try to teach a little, I was con
sistently thwarted by uncar
ing, uninterested students
who worked harder to resist
learning than it would take to
further their knowledge the
least bit.
Fortunately, A&M, as a
quality institution of higher
learning, is a place where peo
ple of all walks of life volun
tarily come to pursue intellec
tual interests for the benefit of
themselves and others. A
product of these pursuits is
lively debate on a wide range
of issues, and it is character
ized best right here on The
Battalion Opinion page.
The Opinion page is not a
sinister publication, pushing
forth a secret agenda to un
dermine all that is good at the
University. In fact, it show
cases what is best about Texas
A&M: the ability of Aggies to
rationally discuss important
issues of the day and educate
others about them.
Here’s a quick lesson on
what we do and how we do it
(please indulge me; this lets
me do more teaching than I
did in the whole two weeks at
Fort Bend ISD).
First, columns compose the
majority of the page. The opin
ions they express are not nec
essarily anyone else’s but the
columnists’.
Editorials reflect the view of
the Editorials Board. They can
be seen as the viewpoint of The
Battalion, which doesn’t neces
sarily mean the viewpoint of
each staff member.
As always, there’s Mail
Call, which is the most impor
tant part of the page. It gives
everyone at A&M a chance to
be heard on any issue.
Whether the letter is an as
sault on a columnist’s mis
guided opinion or a response
to a campus event, it’s wel
come on the Opinion page. No
one at the Batt claims to be
above criticism, so we enjoy
responses to anything we’ve
written. As a matter of fact,
we’re interested in hearing
what others think of just
about anything.
To make Mail Call most ef
fective, we have to play by a
few rules. First, letters should
be less than 300 words; the
shorter it is, the more likely it
will run. Also, we treat all ma
terial on the page equally
when it comes to editing. We
work with limited space, we
observe stylistic rules, and we
want arguments expressed as
clearly as possible. So, we re
serve the right to edit for
length, style, grammar, con
tent and accuracy. This means
that we might make minor
changes in a column, editorial
or letter — nothing more.
If you have a letter, bring it
by 013 Reed McDonald or E-mail
us at Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu.
Make sure it includes your Social
Security number, class and
phone number.
Some issues, though, will
not fit in the confines of a let
ter. That’s what guest
columns are for. We welcome
these, too, but it’s a good idea
to call me at 845-3314 to dis
cuss the idea before writing it
so that it will be appropriate
for the page.
Those of us working at the
Batt appreciate the role the
newspaper has here on cam
pus. It’s the most feasible way
a person can reach thousands
of others at once. Further
more, it enables a large com
munity of intellectuals to dis
cuss practically any issue.
After spending two weeks
with kids who were at times
too lazy to say “here” during
roll call, I am more motivated
than ever to oversee a discus
sion of people interested in
the world in which they live. I
promise to take advantage of
this opportunity and respect
all the voices of the campus.
I hope everyone else will, too.
Jason Brown is a
Class of ’96 economics major
MAR&MJES
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,96-1974-
June 5 111
Bush hopes to defeat the
literacy crisis by throwing
money at the schools that are
not having a crisis, as if the
students were sales employees
who had exceeded their quota.
The schools with low scores
could use that money to help
bring their scores up.
Of course, our nurse from
the blood pressure machine
might take this opportunity to
explain test reliability and va
lidity to our governor.
Not that I would deny any
money the government wishes
to bestow on education.
Throwing money at educa
tion will always improve it, but
the government needs to throw
it where it is most needed.
The principals’ pockets are
not the right target.
Offering principals mone
tary incentives to raise their
students’ test scores will have
little effect on the children’s
literacy — especially since the
test being used is at best a
poor assessment of literacy.
Instead of taking radical
steps to improve the educa
tional system, Bush should
have learned a lesson in poli
cymaking first.
Marcus Goodyear is a
Class of ’97 English major