White states: "Our state's educators, families, and children have accepted the great challenge of raising expectations for learning in our schools. Louisiana's children are just as smart and capable as any in America, and together we have committed to educating them to a standard as high as anywhere in our country."
Translation: "I don't really care if many families have not accepted the challenge of raising expectations for learning, but I intend to hold local educators responsible if the students do not all perform to the level I have dictated. Furthermore, I have no idea whether or not Louisiana's children are just as smart and capable as any in America, but by stating this assumption, it allows me to blame educators if our students do not perform as well as students in other states."
White states: "As you know, the state has long committed that Louisiana will not unfairly humiliate educators, denigrate schools, or punish students as we make this transition. You can find a summary of the state's transition policies here, including policies regarding 4th grade promotion and the Transitional 9th grade, an important opportunity to address immediately the learning needs of struggling students."
Translation: "As I have demonstrated many times before, it is my policy to humiliate impoverished school communities by imposing an unfair school grading policy that only tells us the level of poverty of the children attending a particular school and nothing about the heroic efforts of the teachers and administrators at a school to help students succeed in life. I fully intend to continue punishing teachers and administrators who do not spend every moment possible in rehearsing kids for these stupid standardized tests we have imposed upon our educational system. I really don't care if all the joy of teaching and learning is destroyed in the process. Also, now you will be expected to promote all students from 4th to 5th grade and from 8th to 9th grade even though they have learned almost nothing, and your teachers will still be expected to "make" them achieve at average or above grade level."
White states: "In recent years, the Department has released these results May 17 or 18. This year you will be able to access individual student results in the secure LEAP Web portal Tuesday evening, May 20. Instructions will be in Tuesday's weekly newsletter.
Translation: "My staff has not yet finished tinkering with the results of the testing to achieve the result I directed them to get, so it will be a few more days before you get our doctored results of the testing."
With a little practice we can all learn to translate "White speak".
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