1. We firmly believe that New York State's NEW COMPACT FOR LEARNING is the vehicle for delivering the highly questionable goals, mandates and outcomes of Goals 2000, HR6, and Outcome-Based Education [OBE] into New York State.
2. Parents are rightly concerned that the changes resulting from the NEW COMPACT FOR LEARNING could be an educational disaster since Goals 2000 and HR6 originated and evolved at the hands of professional politicians.
3. New York State legislators are not fully aware of the implications contained in the documents behind the New Compact and the extent to which they support the basic tenets of OBE.
4. The basic danger inherent in the New Compact/OBE is the unproven premise that students learn by proceeding from concepts to facts rather than the time proven method of facts to concepts.
5. The "bottom-up" principle enunciated in the New Compact is seriously flawed because it makes no provision for extensive publicity nor does it specify how parents are to be identified for committee service. Placing responsibility exclusively on local district officials simply assures a political approach.
6. Defining outcomes has become the new educational game which will inevitably be won by professional educators and politicians. These professionals are so articulate and skilled in their presentations that parents are intimidated and manipulated to the point where they feel they are not qualified to give input.
7. There is no question that the stress placed on the development of correct attitudes toward learning and social problems by students will lead to the modification of values and behaviors which will undermine the basic pillars of the traditional American family.
8. Most parents have serious doubts about the value of electronic portfolios, lack of comparison-grading, and the vague objective of performance outcomes.