Unscientific candor

Lawsuit against the state involving dismal test scores offers revealing remarks

Remember those surprising failure rates in the state's science and social studies tests? The depositions in the lawsuit against the state brought by rural schools offer some insights into those awful results.

In their lawsuit, rural schools contend that the state isn't giving them enough money to provide the "adequate" education required under law. At the heart of the complex case is the definition of what constitutes "adequate." Attorneys for the state and those for the Consortium for Adequate School Funding in Georgia have already deposed 43 witnesses and amassed 437,773 pages of documents.

Even though the depositions of state education officials contain mostly equivocations and evasions, a candid opinion emerges now and then. Here are a few such moments from the deposition of state Department of Education director of accountability Joanne Leonard. These comments appear in pages 53 through 59 of the 210-page deposition.

Attorney: Is science part of an adequate education?

Leonard: Not as required under No Child Left Behind.

Attorney: That is not really my question, ma'am. My question is, do you think science is part of an adequate education?

Leonard: You're asking my personal opinion?

Attorney: Yes, I am.

Leonard: Not the department's opinion?

Attorney: Correct.

Leonard: Yes, I think you can do without science.

Attorney: You think you can have an adequate education without any science education whatsoever?

Leonard: My opinion is that I can - I personally can live without science.

Attorney: My question is, do you believe that social studies is necessary for an adequate education in Georgia?

Leonard: Are you asking for my personal opinion?

Attorney: Yes, ma'am.

Leonard: Yes, I think you can fail social studies and get an adequate education.

Attorney: And, in fact, you believe that you can get an adequate education even if social studies isn't provided, right?

Leonard: I would want children exposed to social studies.

Attorney: Now, you would want them exposed, but you don't think it's necessary?

Leonard: I would want them exposed to social studies, but I think they can succeed in the world without social studies, and that is my opinion, my personal opinion.