Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 8, 1993                   TAG: 9403090025
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

RADFORD SCORES

Radford sixth-graders significantly outperform those in most other Virginia school divisions in the percentage who pass the Literary Passport tests. The city's pass-rate of 85 percent in 1992 and 90.4 percent this year are way above the state average, significantly higher than surrounding jurisdictions, and better than some larger and much wealthier school divisions in Northern Virginia.

The city is lucky in that its school population (about 1,500) is, like the bed Goldilocks finally settled on, just about right - not too big (and unmanageable), not too small (and unable to offer a full curriculum).

As luck would also have it, Radford is a university town. Many of its public-school students hail from well-educated families with ties to Radford University. Perhaps it's not surprising that 85 percent of Radford High graduates continue their formal education, one of the highest rates in Virginia.

But it's not just luck.

Parental involvement is good. The schools focus on the oft-touted "basics" of learning, and on giving special attention to students who appear on the verge of falling behind. The community, says Superintendent Michael Wright, puts a premium on "education, perseverance [and] hard work" by students and teachers alike.

The city keeps class sizes small - the average is about 20 students - which means more individual attention from teachers. Radford also pays its teachers a living wage. Average teacher pay is $32,500 - not princely, but decent. Faculty turnover is low; Radford has many seasoned veterans at the top of the pay scale. (This is a factor in boosting the salary average.)

For the past several years, in the face of state cutbacks, Radford has steadily increased the local share of its school budget. This year, the schools will get $101,000 less from the state than last year.

One of several school divisions suing the state for more equitable distribution of state funds, more than half of Radford's school budget is now paid from local taxes. Yet its $4,900-per-pupil spending is still about $200 below the state average - and far below the $6,700-per-pupil spent in Fairfax County and $8,600-per-pupil spent in Arlington.

Acknowledging Radford's pace-setting performance on the Literacy Passport Test, the Arlington Journal - in a June editorial entitled "Those darn yokels" - said: "Maybe we high-falutin' Northern Virginians can learn something from downstaters, after all."

Right. And maybe state and local officials can also learn something.

Radford's luck - its demographic advantages - can't be duplicated statewide. But smaller class sizes, individual attention and pay scales that keep good teachers on the job, Radford's example suggests, can make a remarkable difference in students' academic performance.

To make such a difference statewide takes money. Luck has little to do with it.