New Testing Czar

It troubled me to read that Maridyth McBee will be vacating her post as testing czar for the state of Oklahoma on March 14th.  This is the Friday before many districts in the state will leave for spring break.  So with just three weeks left before the testing window opens, there will be a new interim chief (assistant superintendent) of assessment and accountability.

Filling in for her until a new person can be found for the job is Wes Bruce.  Wes has been working as a "consultant" for some time with the state.  I have a few questions that I would like answered in regards to this situation.

1. Why do we have someone as a consultant and now interim assistant superintendent of assessment and accountability that was associated with scandal in Florida and their A-F grading system?
2. Why do we have an interim assistant superintendent that does not live in Oklahoma?
3. Why do we have an interim assistant superintendent that was on the PARCC board, an initiative that we "pulled out of?"
4. Why do we need an "expert" that does not know our students, our teachers and our needs to be responsible for the assessment of our students?
5. Why do we continue to shuffle around the leaders of the reform movement from state to state when they continue to be unsuccessful?  
6. If they didn't succeed in Indiana or Florida what makes you think they will have success here?

When I read the Tulsa World article, all these questions immediately rushed to my mind.  Maybe the answers will come soon, but I hope it isn't at the expense of our students.  I hope we don't continue to pass around these friends of reformation when they clearly have a failing record.