No Child Left Behind’s systematic takeover of education...

2-year degree required for paraprofessionals

By Susan Ohanian

[Editor’s note: The following article and many others are available on Susan Ohanian’s website, updated regularly: www.susanohanian.org.]

Here are jobs typically performed by paraprofessionals in the Roswell, NM schools:

• help individual students using materials prepared by teacher;
• read books to students;
• perform clerical duties such as photocopying materials;
• prepare art work for bulletin boards;
• fulfill lunch, bus, playground duties;
• clean desks, tables, toys, computers;
• put materials out and take them up;
• If paraprofessionals speak Spanish, they are called on to translate for Spanish-speaking students and parents.

The job title in Roswell is “Educational Assistant.” It pays $8.28 an hour. With 60 semester hours or an associate’s degree, a Roswell Educational Assistant makes $9.00 an hour.

Here’s what Lucy Haab, longtime kindergarten teacher in California, says her aide offers to children:

“ My aide does not have an AA degree nor does she need one. She is fabulous and works in many ways. She works with individual children as I direct her. She is available for help as needed when requested by the children. She works with small groups, mixes paints, helps with art and cooking activities (never to direct but just to be available as needed or to run electrical appliances). She gets materials for the children which are not readily available, he reads to the children or is read to by the children, answers questions, helps prepare the room environment so the children can work as independently as possible, sets out the snack, etc. On one occasion I had a child in a wheel chair and whenever we did creative dance, she picked her up in her arms and they both became falling snowflakes, whirling leaves or whatever else we were being at the time.”

Quite an image that: An aide in your class to help every child become a falling snowflake. Does anybody on the planet think that the No Child Left Behind spinmeisters might grasp this concept?

Yetta Goodman, Arizona educator par excellence observes,

“There are many paraprofessionals in Tucson in classes where many kids speak Spanish. There are also similar folks in classes in schools on different native American reservations. Many of these people have taught for years interacting with kids and becoming important support personnel for teachers, administrators and especially for kids. Some of these folks never graduated high school but have become part of the culture of the school. Now these people have to get AA degrees or they will be let go.”

Here’s another important concept: “becoming important support personnel for teachers, administrators, and especially for kids.” It’s not the degree, stupid, it’s the heart, the training, the commitment, and the ties to the community.

The Federal Government has decided that someone who performs the above functions, which are highly valued in a school, must hold a two-year college degree in order to continue in the position. The job pays anywhere from minimum wage to $10 an hour, and we should be counting our blessings that community people are able to help us out this way, not piling on superfluous degree requirements.

This provision of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requiring school paraprofessionals to have an AA degree has received little press attention. Most paraprofessionals start out at minimum wage. Experienced paraprofessionals earn, if they’re lucky, $10 an hour. William Mathis, a Vermont superintendent of schools, points out that “In many rural and inner city areas, these predominately female-held jobs are a necessary part of income. In some regards, it is a form of ‘workfare’ for many. Paraprofessionals in the schools serve a social good and employ local citizens. The jobs tie people to the community and to the school.”

Mathis continues, “Besides driving needy people out of jobs, the workforce market decreed by No Child Left Behind cannot fill the jobs at the current wages. The solution with ‘degreed’ paraprofessionals would then be to drive up schooling costs even more as demand outraces supply. As any economist would argue, attracting people to inner cities or remote locations may cause the costs to double.”

The U.S. Department of Education hasn’t even tried to make a case that the jobs performed by paraprofessionals require two years of college. As with all facets of the No Child Left Behind law, they just issue rules — with no thought as to how a community is harmed by these rules.

Although some paraprofessionals do tutor children, research does not support this use of aides as instructors. If, as more likely, these aides are assigned to monitor the lunchroom, playground, halls, and to do routine tasks, then two years of college are excessive schooling for a job requiring no more than ‘on the job’ training.

So now we will have another whole category of people, judged successful at what they do by the people in the communities in which they live, declared failures by the federal government.

On March 10, 2003, the U. S. Department of Education announced a multi-million dollar grant to Western Governors University (WGU), an online degree program for people hoping to enter teaching through a non-traditional program and for paraprofessionals.

Tuition for an AA degree from WGU runs $1,790 a term (6 months) plus enrollment application and library fees.

WGU was launched by 11 governors in Western states in 1996 — to provide competency-based degrees and certificates to distance learners. They said the launch of WGU was inspired by their finding that “the quality of learning in traditional institutions uneven and unreliable, while these institutions were too often uninterested in and unresponsive to state educational needs.” WGU’s advisory board now includes 19 governors and 24 corporations and foundations.

The U.S. Department of Education is systematically dismanteling the autonomy of teacher colleges of education and shoving in a deficit model of reading.

Here are a couple of questions college of education personnel might ask their Congresspersons:

1. Why is this online university getting federal monies?
2. Why are students attending this university getting federal aid?

Then people at colleges of education might ask David B. Imig, the president of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education why he issued this mealy-mouthed statement to describe WGU: “It’s an interesting variation that reshapes the way we prepare teachers. It will be watched very closely.”

Yes, lacking a fiddle, stand and watch closely while Rome burns.

Disclaimer: I am not, nor have I ever been, affiliated with a college of education. I didn’t even get into teaching through the traditional college of education route. So I sit here wondering why I’m so upset by all of this while colleges of education watch closely while Rome burns.

Surprise, surprise. The WGU Program Coordinator for Reading and Elementary Education is Melissa Hayden, who received a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Oregon. “Her areas of professional specialization include: teacher training in research-based approaches, implementing Direct Instruction in public schools, instructional design, instructional technology, and academic interventions for mildly impaired students.”

Anyone who examines the backgrounds of the 73 Federally-declared “reading experts” who serve on the NCLB Reading First panel will see that the special ed and University of Oregon/Direct Instruction connections are essential. The U. S. Department of Education insists that every child in the land must be taught reading with a deficit model of reading.

Many of the courses at WGU are “delivered” by Rio Salado College in Tempe, Arizona. Rio describes itself as “a recognized leader in forging successful long-term alliances with corporations, government agencies and community organizations.”

Sylvan Learning Systems, which just sold off its student tutoring operation in order to concentrate on delivering cyber university courses, is affiliated with WGU. Another player in course delivery to Western Governors University is McGraw-Hill Elearning. McGraw-Hill needs no introduction to anyone familiar with other aspects of No Child Left Behind.

Take a look at “the range of skills and concepts” a paraprofessional must demonstrate in the Quantitative Literacy Skills Domain of WGU’s Associate of Arts degree to become “qualified” in the eyes of the Feds. Keep in mind that “Quantitative Literacy Skills” are just one part of the AA degree requirements. There are also “Language and Communication Skills,” “Distribution Requirements,” and “Collegiate Reasoning and Problem-Solving Skills” to be mastered.

As you read this list, think about how many of the Congresspeople who voted for the No Child Left Behind bill could pass the Quantitative Literacy Skills Domain test. Then ask them why they are shoving hardworking and valued paraprofessionals out of jobs.

Ask your Congressperson why people who perform clerical chores for teachers need to be able to use a graphing calculator.

Ask your Congressperson why people who watch over children waiting for the school bus need to be able to describe the concept of invertibility of a function.

Ask your Congressperson about lots of things on the list below. Ask your Congressperson why the federal government finds it necessary to declare a group of people who are both useful to and valued by their communities “not qualified.”

Numeric and Calculation Skills

These skills concern basic numeracy and calculation abilities that underlie higher-level quantitative skills.

• recognize basic number patterns and predict subsequent terms in sequences.
• represent numbers in decimal, fraction, percentage and scientific notation forms.
• describe and use the properties of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, powers and roots in basic calculations.
• describe and use a variety of number systems including natural, integer, rational, real and binary.
• describe and use mathematical operations including opposites, reciprocals, absolute values, exponents and logarithms.
• accurately compute quantities using arithmetic and simple algebraic operations on whole and real numbers.
• apply principles of proportionality and scaling to solve problems.
• determine the best economic value among several alternatives using, for example, unit cost.
• set up and manipulate ratios and proportions containing mixed units requiring conversion.
• carry out complex multi-step calculations that may involve ratios, proportions and percentages.
• calculate percentage change in constant rate situations.
• approximate answers in simple and complex calculations.
• recognize errors in multi-step calculations and procedures.

Function and Algebra Skills

These skills address basic knowledge of equations, solving equations, constructing equations to solve real problems, and the basic properties of functions.

• recognize, evaluate and graph basic functions in one unknown. These include linear, quadratic, other polynomial, exponential/logarithmic, power/radical and rational functions.
• symbolically and graphically solve linear and quadratic equations in one unknown, and simple equations involving exponential/logarithmic, power/radical and rational functions.
• describe basic properties and mechanics of functions including increasing and decreasing, maxima and minima, and asymptotes. Use graphical methods to determine approximate regions where a function has these properties.
• describe the concept of invertibility of a function; determine whether a function is invertible in a particular region; and solve for the inverse of basic functions.
• represent or model real-world situations using basic functions such as linear, quadratic and exponential functions. Generate solutions to the real-world problems using the properties of the basic functions.
• recognize and solve systems of linear equations in several unknowns.
• recognize unreasonable answers and correct errors in reasoning, calculation and symbolic manipulation.

Geometry and Measurement Skills

These competencies are associated with the application of basic geometric, trigonometric and measurement skills to problems in a variety of disciplines.

• graph numbers on a number line or co-ordinate plane and derive numbers from graphic or co-ordinate representations.
• represent geometric curves and graphs of functions in commonly used co-ordinate systems.
• use and convert among standard measurement systems for quantities such as length, time and mass, including derived units requiring ratios and unit conversions.
• solve problems that involve proportional reasoning, such as expansions and contractions, for shapes, objects, maps and figures.
• deduce and describe properties of geometric figures.
• use geometric reasoning to derive formulae for area, surface area and volume for various geometric figures.
• explain the concepts of congruence and similarity, and use these concepts to solve geometric problems.
• use geometric models to represent real situations, processes or number patterns.
• use geometric methods to solve real-world problems.
• identify and correct in proposed solutions to problems that use geometric reasoning or representations.

Collegiate Probability and Statistics Skills

Statistics is the science of collecting and analyzing data; probability is the mathematical formulation of uncertainty and randomness. Students completing this set of competencies will be better able to understand, interpret and critique quantitative information. The material is also foundational for virtually any area of study that has a quantitative component.

• distinguish between designed experiments and other kinds of studies (observational studies).
• Explain the important elements of experiments: randomization, replication, comparison and control. Design an experiment.
• graphically and numerically summarize data on a single numeric variable (i.e., characteristic) using histograms, stem-and-leaf plots, bar charts, tables, averages (means), medians, standard deviations and percentiles.
• summarize the relationship between two numeric variables using scatter plots, correlation and regression.
• characterize relationships in categorical data. Explain Simpson’s Paradox and what it tells us about aggregated data.
• identify and avoid common misconceptions in statistics. Explain the difference between association and causation; describe the regression effect; explain what is wrong with computing correlations on averages (often called ecological correlations).
• calculate probabilities using, for example, the idea of equally likely outcomes and relative frequencies.
• explain the rules (i.e., axioms) probabilities satisfy.
• use the ideas of complementary events, independence and
• explain the long-run (i.e., frequentist) theory of probability.
• explain what the Law of Averages (also known as the Law of Large Numbers) really says.
• distinguish between random and nonrandom samples (such as voluntary, convenience and quota samples), and explain why random samples are preferred.
• describe and explain the advantages and limitations of commonly used sampling techniques such as simple random, stratified, cluster and multi-stage sampling.
• describe sampling distributions and the normal approximation for sums, averages and proportions.
• characterize the error in estimates of population quantities using measures such as standard errors and confidence intervals.
• construct and carry out simple hypothesis tests (one or two-sample) for means and proportions.
• identify the assumptions of simple inferential statistical procedures and make judgments as to their correctness.
• These procedures include hypothesis tests and confidence intervals.
• evaluate the validity of arguments involving one or more statistical
• analyses and evaluate the impact of incorrect analyses on the conclusions of the argument.

Quantitative Problem-Solving Skills

These competencies cover specific aspects of quantitative reasoning, quantitative interpretation and the construction of quantitative arguments that are essential to successful performance in many disciplines at the collegiate level.

• distinguish between issues that are provable in a mathematical sense and those which are not. in axiomatic settings, differentiate clearly between giving examples that support a conjecture and actually proving a conjecture.
• use multiple forms of reasoning including deductive and inductive reasoning, formulating and testing hypotheses, using counter examples, and indirect proof.
• use informal (rule-of-thumb) methods and obvious constraints to solve simple problems and to detect mistakes in proposed solutions to problems.
• identify and apply standard problem-solving heuristics such as analogy, working backwards and problem restatement, and identify the kinds of situations in which these methods might be helpful.
• extract solvable quantitative problems that are embedded in a situation that is not inherently quantitative.
• formulate a quantitative problem by extracting relevant information from the situation in which it occurs.
• select and use relevant quantitative problem-solving strategies and techniques to solve multi-step problems.
• evaluate proposed solutions to problems by summarizing and explaining the results, by checking the implementation, and by assessing the plausibility of the results.
• identify risks and potential consequences of questionable assumptions made in quantitative solutions to problems.

Quantitative Communication Skills

These competencies address one’s ability to interpret documents and materials containing quantitative information and one’s ability to effectively communicate mathematical arguments and quantitative results.

• demonstrate knowledge of basic mathematical vocabulary, terminology, standard notation, symbols and common conventions for graphing and data presentation.
• demonstrate knowledge of basic quantitative and mathematical representations, models and arguments.
• describe quantitative and mathematical procedures clearly and correctly.
• translate information presented in one form (such as a function, table, graph, data array or number sequence) into one or more other representations.
• communicate mathematical reasoning, mathematical equations, and calculated results orally and in writing, explaining why a formula, conclusion or inference makes sense and why the mathematical reasoning is valid.
• explain the implications of quantitative results or procedures clearly to others who are not familiar with these results or procedures, and who may be having difficulty understanding them.

Quantitative Technology Skills

Technology is changing the practice of all quantitative subjects. This subdomain specifies skills or competencies pertaining to the use of computation, graphical, and informational technology to solve problems in a wide range of areas. Technologies change over time. Technologies that may be described as current at the time of writing these competencies include regular and graphing calculators, spreadsheet and other computational and graphical programs, databases, data depository Web sites and statistical analysis programs.

• select and use tools to carry out arithmetic and algebraic operations on rational numbers.
• select and use appropriate technological tools to represent quantitative information and relationships in the form of formulae, tables and graphs, and to transform information presented in one format into another format.
• use appropriate technological tools to represent data, model situations or perform calculations related to a posed problem or situation.
• use flow charts, logic diagrams and other systematic methods to solve quantitative and mathematical problems.
• select and use appropriate technological tools and problem solving strategies to solve nonroutine and multi-step problems.