JORDAN D.

BROWN
English 219
Mrs. Benedict

FINAL PORTFOLIO
University of New Mexico

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu
Reflective Course Outcome Letter
The reflective course outcomes are something that each English class I have taken at
UNM gear their curriculum towards. You are able to see them clearly in assignments and actively
improve your skills in those areas. Below is my analyzation of each outcome featured this
semester in technical and professional writing.
Analyzing rhetorical situation requires a thorough evaluation of subject, purpose,
audience, and constraints to determine what genre to write the document in. I believe this
learning outcome was achieved in every assignment we did in class this semester. In retrospect,
the proposal is the most memorable example of this for myself. Because we worked on it in
groups and had to meticulously plot out our design beforehand, there was a lot of discussion
compared to assignments I work on by myself. It is important to be able to analyze rhetorical
situation because that is the difference in whether or not your paper will be effective. I will
definitely be utilizing this skill in my future writing career and for the rest of my academics at
the university.
Finding and evaluating information is the collection of data from professional, academic
and governmental sources. Further, it requires evaluation of validity and quality. All of this in the
context of rhetorical situation. I have been practicing this skill for about as long as I can
remember. In this class MWA3, the recommendation report, is the best example of this. It was a
very research heavy assignment and it had to be valid, reliable research that we used. If your
research is questionable, it makes your whole paper invalid and shaky. I am sure that I will be
doing further research papers in my next six years of academics that will make this a useful
lesson.
Composing documents is the ability to generate content and organize that content in a
logical manner that would best suit their audience. All of this while considering ethical
influences and being able to work with others. I would have to say that this learning outcome
was the most stressed in the course for me. Every assignment we did had a unique organization
and way to write it that were very specific. After doing them all I can say that I am a more
confident writer in the professional realm versus previous courses being a little more creative.
Whether it was memos, recommendation reports, or proposals, I think I learned something from
each assignment regarding organization that I was previously unaware of. Future career path
opportunities will be a lot more manageable now.
Presenting documents requires editing and revising of documents to provide
unambiguous meaning and coherent structure. Incorporations of visualizations and clear thoughts
will be implemented to increase readability and show professionalism. Revisions with feedback
are a part of this final portfolio for English 219. It is important to be able to improve your work
when given the opportunity and learn from previous mistakes. Revisions based on peer review
were done throughout the semester and provided some unique insight on my writing style. This
is something that I will consciously attempt to improve in my future because I do not prefer
working with others or having them read my work right now.

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu

TO: Mrs. Benedict

FROM: Jordan Brown
CC:
DATE: 12/11/2015

For my proposal revisions, I decided to stick to the comments and feedback I received
when coming up with modifications. Since my group members and I received an eighty-seven on
the assignment, the need for improvement in organization was substantial. The introduction was
very lengthy and when I read back over it, wasnt effective as an introduction for a proposal. I
opted to cut some sentences that I did not feel were benefiting this part of the document to reduce
the page length. After the length was a little more manageable for an introduction I summarized
the purpose of the paper and the current issue we would address. The same went for the problem
section where a reduction of word length was needed to make it more readable. I went over the
solution section and made it more step-by-step as per suggestion. I think after reading over the
comments I could see where our organization was lacking and this is why I chose to improve
these portions. After the revisions the proposal is more professional and easy to read.
My recommendation report needed quite a few more revisions than I would have liked.
There were a few organization errors in terms of a misplaced abstract and the summary being
part of the intro. I combined the summary with the introduction and moved the abstract to the
table of contents page like was suggested in the comments. I think after doing so it makes more
sense to have these parts combined because you get the background information right up front.
The research methods were not crystal clear so I went in and wrote them in a step-by-step
fashion more suited to a research paper. After doing so it is clear and professional in my opinion.
I originally included a graphic in the paper that I had not created because I thought the

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu
information was useful, but the feedback was not good for it so in the revision I removed the
graph from my paper. The last revisions I made were clarifying my research methods. The
comments suggested that I was confused on this portion of the assignment and I think I may have
been. I added some sentences analyzing the information I collected to suit the nature of this
portion of the report.
By doing revisions on previous assignments I am able to identify on areas of weakness
and work on them for future growth in writing.

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Server/hostess

June 2015- present

Chili Hills Edgewood- Moriarty

Deborah Goss (505) 220-6263
Childcare (several families)

July 2009 2012

Maggie Griego: 505-289-9109

Volunteer Fire Fighter

December 2013 July 2014

EDUCATION

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque,

August 2014 - 2018

NM
Degree: Biology
Eastern New Mexico University, Roswell

January 2014 May 2014

NM
Degree: Emergency Medical Technician
Estancia High School, Estancia

August 2012 May 2014

NM
High School Diploma
SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS
CPR certified
strategies

Develops

Completed helicopter landing zone course

directions

Follows

Completed Emergency Medical Technician Course

Thinks critically

Cooperates and works well with

others
Effective communicator
RECOMMENDATIONS
Martin Rivera: 505-999-8460, 505-705-4047
JoAnna Phillips:505-315-4689

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as well as the No Child Left Behind Act have been
implemented in the state of New Mexico since 2011. Since then, graduation rates have gone up and
students have been doing better in the classroom. However, with CCSS and The No Child Left Behind
Act, there are standardized tests. With each passing school year, more and more are being implemented
into public schools each year and these tests are beginning to become a huge issue. Students now have to
take the ACCESS test, several End of Course Exams, the High School Interim Assessment, the NCSC, the
NMAPA, PARCC tests, PSAT, PACT, SAT, ACT, and the SBA test. Not to mention whatever AP tests
high school students take, in class tests, and final exams. Plus most of these tests are not taken one time
these tests do nothing but make teachers lose their creativity in their teaching, make poor schools lose
even more money, and teach students that school is based on tests.
Secretary of the public education department, Hanna Skandera and Governor, Susana Martinez
personally believe these tests are a measure of proficiency of the students, teachers, and the schools.
There are many reasons, however, that prove that these standardized tests are not an accurate measure of
proficiency, especially in the state of New Mexicogiven its demographics compared to Californias.
With the estimated $1.7 billion a year that goes into standardized testing, these tests should be doing more
good than bad, and that is not the case.
Future teachers living in the state of New Mexico are terrified of their future, because they do not
want to teach from a book for a test, they want to implement their own creativity. Future parents are
planning moving before they have children, purely because they do not want their children to believe they
are defined by test scores, year after year. The schools in the state of New Mexico are slowly becoming
robotic, almost, all because Skandera and Martinez refuse to believe that all of these standardized tests are

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu
not necessary. Neither of which, however, have ever worked as an educator, or in the school setting at all
for the matter. School used to be about getting an education, now, its about passing test after test. When
will it end? We stand for kids. We stand for teachers. We stand for bringing the fun back into New Mexico
public schools. In this document, you will find a detailed outline of issues arising in Albuquerque Public
Schools die to over-testing, as well as our feedback to alleviate the problem. We will discuss in greater
detail why we think cutting testing and hours will promote academic profiency in the City.

Its no secret that testing has been a huge issue in Albuquerque Public Schools for several
years now. APS now requires seven different standardized tests, all of which are taken multiple
times. These tests include; the ACCESS test (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in
English State-to-State for English Language Learners), this is given to English language learners in
grades K-12th to measure ELLs proficiency in learning the English language. The End of Course Exams,
which are given at the end of each semester for all grades for several different subjects. These tests are
used to assess what the student should be learning for each subject. The High School Interim Assessment,
given to students in grades 3-8, and possibly in grades 9-12 (if necessary), is a supplement test to the End
of Course Exams. Teachers use these tests to assess whether students are staying on track in their course.
The NCSC (National Center and State Collaborative) is a test given to students with cognitive disabilities
to assess whether they are able to leave high school or not. The NMAPA (New Mexico Alternative
Placement Assessment) are tests given several times during the year to assess students placement in
classes. The PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) tests, which are
newly implemented, are a measure of whether students are on the right track to go to college.

A good majority of class time is being used in order to train children to pass these slew
of standardized tests that are used to rank schools and award money to those that do well. If you
are a local to the area then you have probably seen segments on the news, articles in the paper, or
angry moms and teachers ranting on Facebook about the quality and unfairness of these tests to

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu
the students, teachers, and schools alike. The issue here is that students are no longer able to
learn and teachers have no creative rights to their curriculum since these tests have taken over.
Since Hanna Skandera became the Secretary of Education for New Mexico, she has tried to
counter the high dropout rates and get APS up to date with the No Child Left Behind Act, by
enforcing strict graduation requirements and rigorous testing. This method has not only made it
harder for students who have all their credits to graduate, but restricted their learning processes
considerably. Teachers, parents, and others on the school board across the city are just as
unhappy as the students who have to take the tests. The State is using these tests to record a letter
grade for their teaching style. Teachers who were otherwise held in high esteem in the academic
community now cannot get jobs elsewhere because of a bad grade received from the State. The
other problem with using these tests as a baseline are obvious factors such as; not everyone tests
well, the material does not always match the curriculum, those with certain disabilities still have
to take it, cultural and wealth variations, and general issues with content of the test (i.e. wording
and misprints.)
This problem resulted from the No Child Left Behind Act and New Mexico schools
ranking in the new standards of education. The State of New Mexico was most recently ranked
52nd in the nation for proficiency on the NMSBA. Our graduation rate is much higher at about
68% and rising despite these facts. The pressure from the new National Standard has pushed our
already poor state to try and keep up with other states who are far more qualified to meet these
expectations. We are now seeing an increasing number of teachers who dont have degrees
teaching our children because there is a shortage of qualified teachers who want to teach in APS.
Students who might have graduated before our left behind because they might not test well and
that is now one of the requirements for our state.

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu
If we were continue on the track we are now with APS, we are going to continue to see
schools who cannot keep up with the status quo fail and lose money, teachers, and bring negative
media to our state. We will have children graduating high school with sub-par knowledge of the
courses they will take in college, and a higher dropout rate due to failing tests their senior year in
high school. As one of the poorest states in the nation we cannot afford to bring in new members
of society without an education. We should be doing everything in our power to help the children
in Albuquerque schools succeed and build a brighter future for our city.
To counter all the negative effects that testing has had in Albuquerque Public schools, we
propose a slightly altered version of the policy in place. To start we must get the attention of the
public by awareness campaigns. Next, nullifying the graduation requirements for these
assessment based tests, we can still assess each childs growth toward a collegiate level while
easing the dropout rate in Albuquerque considerably. The NMSBA will be tested once a year for
assessment purposes. With that being said, not everyone should have to take the same test if they
are not able to perform at the level required to be successful. Those with disabilities severe
enough should have the option to opt out or take an alternative assessment. We will no longer be
supporting a universal curriculum, so that teachers can exercise their rights to teach. Being that
we already assess the ability of the teacher to perform their job we will use the school
administration, workshops, and assessments in class to determine ability. If the teacher
themselves is deemed able, then they will be the deciding factor on whether the student is
learning to the desired level to progress grade levels. If a student does not score in the proficient
range on the NMSBA some other measures will be taken to ensure they are ready to perform at a
college level.

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu

Over The Course of an Average Kindergarten-12th Grade Student

Actual Class Time

Percentage of Class Time Used for Testing

We suggest adding college readiness classes to their individual curriculum to make sure
they receive the attention they need before entering college. Additional tutoring should also be
made available to strengthen the core courses the child is not doing well in. We do not agree with
holding any student back based on a test score if they are doing well in their required courses.
With this new policy, we are placing the responsibility of teaching back in the hands of the
teachers and the school.
We are college students that represent FairTest. At FairTest, we are fully aware of the
testings affect on our state. In order to achieve more money for schools and improve the
education in New Mexico, we need to implement a new measure that does not strain the state
financially. Our organization is distinctive and capable of handling this task due to having
personnel that has experience with these test first hand. This experience varies from individuals
who once took these tests to educators who are on the school board. Our personnel can provide
effective and insightful methods on using tests that will help improve education in the long run.

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu

Our Staff Members

Monty Neill, our Executive Director, has headed many reforms on test for schools since 1987.
After he achieved a doctorate at Harvard University, he then moved on to be a teacher and
administrator for pre-school, high school, and college. Years later, he became one of the chairs of
Forum on Educational Accountability and Exectutive Director for FairTest. He has led FairtTest
to work jointly with other nationwide organization on reforming test. These joint operations have
lead to many accomplishments and the most recent one is the suspension of graduation test in
California.

Robert Schaeffer, Public Education Director and a member of FairTests Board of Directors, has
been involved in efforts of reforming the assessment of students with FairTest since 1985. He
used to be Editorial Writer for NBC, Research Director for Joint Committee on Human Services
and Elder Affairs in Massachusetts, and a research associate for MIT. With his various skills on
many fields, he is able to provide an insightful perspective on testing. His perspective enhances
our reforms in being able to fulfill students, teachers, and schools educational needs

Our organization also consists of many skilled members who has or had experience in the
educational field. We have recruited individuals who share the passion of advancing the quality
of education and promoting equal opportunity. Our members are located in various states, so we
are able to receive unique information about how testing works in other locations. With many

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu
perspectives, we are able to find the ideal way to test and have been working on spreading it to
many locations nationwide.
About FairTest and Our History
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) has been the leading group for
educational reform from the day the organization was created. Under Monty Neills guidance, the
organization has made sure to work for and follow a common goal, which is to work towards
better education and equal chances for everyone. Along with our pursuit for better education, we
have worked to end redundant and unaccountable test.

Our organization receives support from Open Society Foundations, Bay and Paul Foundations,
Schott Foundation, New World Foundation, Wiener Educational Foundation, and National
Education Association. With great support, we were able to create reforms that advanced
education through the removal of faulty tests and disclosure of tests flaws to the public. We
achieved many accomplishments throughout the decade and they can be found on our website,
fairtest.org. Our most prominent accomplishment is producing a letter that opposed President
Bushs plan to enforce NCLB testing for high schools. This letter was influential and lead to the
rejection of the plan.

FairTest is growing steadily through the initiation of many other coalitions who seek the same
desire of achieving better education for all individuals. With individual who desire a better
community through education, we are well prepared for the many uphill battles in the field of
education.
FairTest, An Organization that You Can Rely On

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu
Our personnel and experience qualifies us to provide the school board with an innovative
method of testing that will increase graduation rates, decrease drop-out rates, and improve the
education of students in New Mexico immensely. FairTest puts major emphasis on innovation,
efficiency, and open-mindedness in providing educational benefits for the community.
To conclude, let us summarize the cost and benefits of what we are proposing. As
previously mentioned, New Mexico has hired many, many teachers that do not have teaching
degrees. A small cost of eliminating the several standardized tests that New Mexico has
implemented is to fire the teachers that are not qualified, and hire new teachers that are able to
teach the material that students must know in order to succeed. The benefits outweigh the costs
by a long shot. By removing most of the standardized tests, New Mexico public schools will be
saving almost $1.7 billion, and they will actually be saving money for books, desks, computers,
and other educational materials to help contribute to the success in our public schools. The future
of New Mexico public schools is very bright if we implement what we are proposing. There will
be good, qualified, and passionate teachers in schools to help students succeed, there will no
longer be books and desks falling apart, there will be newer and more advanced technology in
schools, creativity in teaching will come back, and students will enjoy learning again. School
should be about helping student discoverhelping students discover new things, their passions,
their interests, and their dreams. Help us make school a good thing again, and not a burden that is
placed on the future generations. Stand for kids. Stand for teachers. Stand for bringing the fun back
into New Mexico public schools.

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu

Recommendation Report:
Accessible Pedestrian pathways

Danni Brown

University of New Mexico

November 25, 2015

Table of Contents

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu

Introduction..pg. 2
Abstractpg. 1
Summary..pg. 2
Methods/ Procedurespg. 3
Results...pg. 3
Discussion of Resultspg. 4
Conclusion.pg. 4
Recommendation ..pg. 6
Resourcespg. 7
Abstract
Pedestrian walkways surrounding UNM are limiting traffic of locals in the area with
special needs. The purpose of this report is to resolve poor walkway conditions in the UNM
surrounding area in order to accommodate to a diverse populous. Research collected on the
internet and through methods of observation lend an insight for long-term applications possibly
not considered. Concrete must be repaired and redone over the course of a few decades before
finally being replaced. It was found that traditional concrete being used now is not only costineffective, but unappealing to its environment when compared to permeable concrete. After
factoring in storm water systems the cost per square foot is also more expensive than permeable.
Permeable concrete should be used to replace the faulty paths in order to accommodate to the
community.

Introduction:

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu
Currently, the University of New Mexico has somewhere around thirty-thousand students
and staff members attending the main campus in Albuquerque. The university is home to many
different types of people with many different needs, and it is outwardly accommodating to the
vast majority of those needs. On a stroll through campus you would notice that there are ample
automated doors, wheelchair ramps, and clean paving to make it as accessible as possible for
those who may have difficulty. This is all nice and dandy while youre on campus but what if
you needed to leave? In the community, parking is a bit of a hassle as is to be expected with so
many residents. Because of convenience locals in the area rely heavily on foot-traffic to traverse
the division, yet conditions making this possible are poor at best. Along with being a huge
liability issue, the less than functional pedestrian paths also hinder business to the local business
vacating space there. The concept of universal design is one that incorporates ease of access or
use, to all parties alike regardless of ability. In this research report, I will be focusing on the
accessibility of the pedestrian pathways around the UNM area that are not as accessible or even
hazardous to those who might need to use them. In this document you will find a detailed
solution to the issue at hand, as well as other important information related to resolving it.

Methods/ Procedures
The first and most obvious approach, required a visit to the problem. To get a detailed
account of all the hindrances involved, it was necessary to experience first-hand across a long
span of the pathways. In order to gain a frame of reference, other functional pathways in town
were analyzed as a mode of comparison. I went to the locations in question and analyzed the
pavements condition. I then sat outside for a while and watched people go by to find anyone
having difficulty. After the initial investigation into the issue, data could be compiled through
internet research to find possible solutions. I visited concrete sites to find costs, methods, and
usability. I found some useful information on the citys page about regulation and lifespan of
concrete. Some of the most useful came from a UNM students paper on environment in New
Mexico. Several factors were also considered in the research including, cost-effectiveness, safety,
accessibility, physical appeal, environmental factors, and maintenance life-cycle.

Results
A quick jog across central on Yale revealed narrow and cluttered pathways that had been
poorly maintained. Some sections seemed impossible for individuals in wheelchairs to maneuver
and may even put able bodied individuals at risk for injury. Several of the businesses located just
across campus have amenities for outdoor entertainment, which clutter the street with even more
obstacles to move about. Perhaps the most pressing matter, was the exposed aggregate lying
jagged that made use of the area difficult. I found that concrete lasts about fifteen years at best
before it is horrible condition but it wont be replaced for another ten due to budgeting by the
city.
Below is a graph estimating the cost of repair using traditional concrete and methods.

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu

The city of Albuquerque spends about thirteen percent of their efforts on maintenance of
sidewalks compared to rehabilitation in the upper thirty percent. This is because the quality of
concrete tends to drop off considerably at the seven to nine year mark, and begins hitting
irreversible repair ranges at eighteen years.

Discussion of results
The stone and concrete pedway by the University, though hardy, is resistant to outside
pressures that are relentless. In addition to general wear and tear, damage occurs from water
erosion, movement of the earth, extremely heavy objects/ machinery, and the life-cycle decline
of the current material. The City allocates a specific number (changes annually) in expenditures
and distance of repair to maintain a budget. Although concrete paths reach an official state of
poor at around thirteen years, they typically are not replaced until the twenty-five year mark
when overlay techniques have been exhausted.
Conclusions
After research it was found that re-pavement of the existing pathways would be
necessary. The partial concrete and aggregated pathway existing there, had and will continue to
sustain far too much damage from its environment to be patched up and remain cost effective.
Although efforts have increased with the years to maintain and repair sidewalks, it still isnt
enough to prevent these issues in the first place.
Recommendations
In order to keep locals happy, safe, and returning to the area, the pavement currently there
must be repaved and maintained. In addition to the new pavement installation, it would be
beneficial to the city to consider a pavement method with a cost, labor, and environmentally
friendly approach. Porous concrete has a life-span more than doubled of solid concrete. As part

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu
of a long-term solution and economic investment, paving the existing paths with permeable
concrete would be a more desirable approach and subsequently better for the environment as
well. The permeable concrete allows rainwater to seep into the ground addressing groundwater
issue in areas with huge amounts of concrete, and not enough rain. This also reduces pollution
substantially and the likelihood of dangerous arroyo floods. Additionally, with permeable
concrete the water erosion factor and cost of building storm water management systems is now
obsolete. The lighter color of this design allows for less convection resulting in cleaner and
cooler air in hot months making it more appealing to the outdoorsy local life. The cost to
maintain and the lifecycle of the new install would ultimately save money in the long run, give
back to the environment, and provide easy access to everyone looking to tramp the area.

Porous (permeable) concrete

$5-$6.50 sq/ft
Roughly 25-40 yr lifespan

Traditional
$2-$5 sq/ft ($9.50-$11.00 w/ stormwater
management system factored in)
15 yrs

Resources

"EPA." National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Web. 11

Dec. 2015.

http://www.unm.edu/~chandra/pdf/bales_ce547_project.pdf
"EPA." National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
"EPA." National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
file:///C:/Users/The%20Real%20MVP/Downloads/SMART%20for%20District
%208%20Coalition.pdf

Jordan (Danni) Brown

Email: jbrown21@unm.edu
https://www.google.com/url?
sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=http
%3A%2F%2Fwww.crampavements.com%2Fcategory%2Fcaltrans
%2F&psig=AFQjCNE1TqWAF7wU3Lg1qW7Q2scPW_yBgg&ust=1448581345816284

"Pervious Concrete Pavements." - Enviromental Concrete. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.