Dear Commons Community,

The Democrats have this predilection to shoot themselves in the foot whenever they have the upper hand in American political arenas.  Here in New York, for the first time in twenty years, there is a Democratic mayor (Bill de Blasio) and a Democratic governor (Andrew Cuomo) and the two cannot get along. It actually appears that Governor Cuomo is doing everything possible to stymie de Blasio’s initatives.  This issue is the subject of a New York Times article today which describes the relationship as follows:

“In his first two months in office, Mayor Bill de Blasio has found himself repeatedly at odds with New York’s governor, Andrew M. Cuomo. And at every turn, Governor Cuomo has not only stymied the mayor, but also seized the moment for his own gain.

As the mayor has pushed for a tax increase on New York City’s wealthiest residents, the governor has turned the tables and talked up his desire to cut taxes. When the mayor proposed raising the minimum wage in the city, the governor derided the idea as illogical.

Even the mundane municipal matter of snow removal became fodder for a Cuomo tweak; at one point, the governor seemed to imply that Mr. de Blasio had not stocked up on enough salt to respond to a recent blizzard.

Mr. Cuomo took advantage again this week, styling himself as a champion of charter schools just as Mr. de Blasio took steps to curb their expansion. On Tuesday, he displayed an unusual verve in whipping up a crowd of thousands of charter school parents and students who gathered for a rally outside the Capitol.”

We are a little more than two months into de Blasio’s term as mayor.  Governor Cuomo should be supporting his Democratic colleague not looking to undercut his initiatives.  They both need to compromise and find common ground to benefit the people of New York.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

David Coleman’s announced changes to the College Board’s SATs earlier this week reverberated throughout the country yesterday.  Besides describing the changes to the tests:  Coleman was quoted as saying that:

“It is time to admit that the SAT and ACT have become disconnected from the work of our high schools,” he said. “Too many feel that the prevalence of test prep and expensive coaching reinforces privilege rather than merit.

“It is time for the College Board to say in a clear voice that the culture and practice of costly test preparation … drives the perception of inequality and injustice in our country,” Coleman said. “It may not be our fault but it is our problem.”

The Huffington Post in an article this morning provides a graph derived from a 2013 College Board report which illustrates the high correlation of SAT scores to family income.  For example, the data show 130 points difference in the mean scores in critical reading; 124 points in mathematics; and 144 points in writing between students at the lowest income levels versus those in the highest income levels.  The article comments:

“It’s no wonder the College Board felt a need to do so [change the SAT]. According to data provided last year by the College Board itself, the real secret to higher SAT scores is richer parents.

That stark correlation between family income level and SAT score underscores one of the major criticisms of the test: that as previously constructed, it gave wealthy parents the ability to pay for expensive test preparation courses in order to better prepare their children for the test, an advantage unavailable to many low-income youths.’

While this is a step in the right direction for the College Board, it is naïve to think that parents of means will not figure out a way to give their children an advantage with the newly designed test.

Tony