Copyright 1999 The Christian Science Publishing Society
The Christian Science Monitor
February 2, 1999, Tuesday
SECTION: FEATURES; LEARNING; K-12; Pg. 20
LENGTH: 821 words
HEADLINE:
Hands-on politicians are up to their elbows in education
BYLINE: Gail Russell Chaddock, Staff writer of The
Christian Science Monitor
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
If you read through this
year's state of the state addresses, you'll find a breathtaking array of
concerns, from too many chickens in Delaware to too few highway lanes in
Colorado. But on one issue, many of these speeches might have been penned by the
same hand - righting what's wrong with public education.
It's the
rare governor who does not insist that all children should read by the end of
third grade, that teachers should be held to higher standards, and that failing
schools should be fixed or shut down.
"When an NFL coach has one
losing season after another, he gets replaced. Period. End of subject. I say we
should be just as decisive when our children's future is at stake," said
California Gov. Gray Davis (D) in his Jan. 6 address.
This new
hands-on-the-schools approach knows no party label. Both Democratic and
Republican governors are proposing options such as report cards for schools,
higher standards for students and teachers, and contracts that commit parents to
more involvement in their children's schooling. Many are building national
reputations on what they are able to accomplish in improving public schools.
"We must never leave any child behind by pushing him forward,"
said Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R) in his Jan. 19 inaugural address. "I refuse
to give up on any child, and that is why I argue so passionately against social
promotion."
Back of the speeches, a major shift isunder way in
American education, and policymakers are just beginning to come to terms with
its implications.
Education in the United States has long been a
local function, but statehouses are taking an ever-stronger hand in setting
standards for what is to be taught and for what counts as success. At the same
time, President Clinton is staking out a stronger role for the federal
government.
In his State of the Union address on Jan. 19, the
president promised to send to Congress a plan that for the first time holds
states and school districts accountable for progress and rewards them for
results. He proposes using the $ 15 billion that Washington now sends to schools
to leverage key state and local reforms.
At one time, it was
enough for schools to show that federal dollars were being spent for their
designated purpose. But to qualify for federal funds in the future, school
districts must commit to specific reforms such as ending social promotion, the
practice of allowing students to advance to the next grade before meeting the
requirements of the last.
Districts must also publish report
cards on every school, shut down or fix failing schools, require new teachers to
pass performance exams, adopt discipline policies, and promote more choice for
parents and students in the public system.
Many states have
already adopted some of these policies. Nearly half of the states have policies
to intervene in low-performing schools; 26 now require tests for student
promotion or graduation; and 36 mandate report cards on every school.
But even states that have embraced some version of these standards are wary
of federal intrusion. Federal funds account for less than 8 percent of what the
nation spends on its public schools, and critics argue that that's not enough to
call the shots on local policy.
"If Clinton passes most of the
decisionmaking to the states, we'll be right with him and this will go through
the Congress in a quick, bipartisan fashion," says Jay Diskey, spokesman for
Rep. Bill Goodling (R), chairman of the House Education & Workforce
Committee. "But if the president chooses to have the Department of Education set
the criteria for teacher performance standards or write the criteria for banning
social promotion, you'll see huge fights."
These issues will be
engaged when Congress takes up reauthorization of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) this spring. The act, which targets aid
to special-needs children, has been the cornerstone of federal policy since
1965, and faces accountability issues of its own.
A 1997 study
commissioned by the Department of Education failed to find any measurable
benefits from this program. Researchers found that the $ 7 billion Chapter I
(now Title I) program added only an average of 10 minutes of extra instructional
time per day, and that little was done to hold schools accountable for raising
the performance of students.
Some Republicans want to end such
programs and pass the savings on to states or school districts as block grants,
to spend on their own priorities, or to be used as vouchers. This month, the
American Federation of Teachers urged members to send in Title I "success
stories," as the No. 2 teacher's union prepares for what its lobbyists are
calling "a tough, tough battle" to persuade lawmakers that the ESEA should not
be overhauled.
*Send e-mail to chaddockg@csps.com
GRAPHIC: PHOTO: WE DID IT: Jessica Cobian and
Biranna Marihall shake hands after reading practice at Roosevelt
Elementary School in Houston. The school receives $118,000 in
Title I funds. BY ROBERT HARBISON - STAFF
LOAD-DATE:
February 01, 1999