Copyright 1999 The Washington Post
The Washington
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February 27, 1999, Saturday, Final Edition
SECTION: OP-ED; Pg. A20; LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
LENGTH: 388 words
HEADLINE:
Partnerships for School Success
BODY:
In
the Feb. 7 editorial "School Aid Dispute," The Post suggests that efforts to
increase state flexibility in the use of federal education dollars in exchange
for greater accountability should take a back seat to reauthorizing the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). We disagree.
Early passage of a bipartisan bill will make the task of reauthorizing ESEA
easier.
In the aftermath of the State of the Union speech, a quiet
consensus has emerged in Congress that it is time for common-sense reform in
public schools. At the federal level, there is a willingness to provide
increased resources in return for greater accountability on student achievement.
At the local level, there is the fear of mindless federal mandates in 16,000
school districts and 87,000 public schools.
If Congress were to revert
to form, Democrats and Republicans would move quickly to exploit their
respective differences. But a little-known demonstration program called
"ed-flex" offers us a way. In 12 states, federal, state and local officials have
fashioned partnerships: Freed from the heavy hand of federal regulation but held
accountable for the first time, states and federal education officials are
experiencing unexpected success.
A November 1998 GAO report states that
the Department of Education believes that the 12 states using ed-flex under the
pilot program "have used their waiver authority carefully and judiciously." In
Howard County, Phelps Luck Elementary School has used the
waiver to provide one-on-one tutoring for reading students. Ed-flex also allowed
the school to lower the student/teacher ratio in mathematics and reading from 25
to 12 students per teacher.
In Texas, after only two years, statewide
results on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test show that districts with
waivers outperformed the others. At Westlawn Elementary School
in Lamarque, African American students' math scores improved by 23 percent.
Moreover, 82 percent of the students passed the test, in contrast to a statewide
average of 64 percent.
We have introduced legislation to expand ed-flex
to all 50 states. Surrendering turf in return for a commitment to excellence
represents the best way to advance educational reform.
BILL FRIST
U.S. Senator (R-Tenn.)
RON WYDEN
U.S. Senator (D-Ore.)
Washington
LOAD-DATE: February 27, 1999
