We need new leadership on the DISD Board in District 2 and Nancy Rodriguez
is the clear choice.
Nancy is the only candidate who, as a district parent, personally understands the
failures of DISD's standardized test focused policies.
Current trustee Dustin Marshall* boasts,
"Dallas ISD has seen strong and consistent gains for our students, with a
14-percentage point increase in [STAAR] achievement during my tenure on the
Board of Trustees."
While Mr. Marshall's tenure has focused on ensuring STAAR gains (a test not well
thought of by many including Texas educators), DISD has been flat to declining in
student outcomes on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, widely viewed
as the gold standard for evaluating educational progress.
To give every student the quality education they deserve, we need a trustee setting
policies that are based on sound academic research, not on unproven hypotheses
focused on STAAR standardized test score gains.
Nancy is also the only candidate AGAINST paying our teachers for
standardized test scores. DISD's current merit pay system, named the Teacher
Excellence Initiative (TEI), is based on state STAAR standardized test scores.
Dustin Marshall* says,
"I am a strong believer in data. As a management consultant at Bain & Company,
I developed a strong appreciation for research and analysis."
"With TEI Dallas ISD knows exactly which teachers are most effective in the
classroom."
Yet, a peer-reviewed report including Dallas ISD's TEI data found "weak to nonexistent
relationships" between TEI and the quality of teachers' instruction. Researcher
Dr. Polikoff said, "Our findings show that they are not picking up the things we think of
as being good teaching.....Given the growing extent to which states are using these
measures for a wide array of decisions, our findings are troubling.”
Nancy as trustee will do more than speak of appreciating data, she will actually read the
research and ensure the policies implemented meet the standard for best practice.
As Nancy has said, "These are our schools." We deserve a trustee who will fight for our
students' best interests instead of one's own political agenda. That trustee is Nancy!
*dustinmarshall.com/priorities 9.14.20
