Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 28, 1995 TAG: 9504280065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JON GLASS LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: STAUNTON LENGTH: Medium
"Whatever the cause may be," Bosher told members of the state Board of Education, "that is not where we want to be. So we continue to have our work cut out for us."
Bosher broke the news as members debated overhauling the state's "standards of learning," the guideposts that public schools use to teach math, science, English and social studies.
Virginia was the only state in which reading scores dropped significantly, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the federal agency that administers the test. Fourteen states had declines of 1 to 4 percentage points, while the others improved slightly or had no change.
Only slightly more than 3 percent of fourth-graders in Virginia, representing 150 schools, were tested, but state officials said the results remain disturbing.
Of the 2,719 Virginia students involved in the 1994 testing, 23 percent were reading on a level considered at or above proficiency, a drop of 5 percentage points since 1992, the results show. The national average for proficiency was 24 percent last year.
Rob Jones, president of the Virginia Education Association, said students may be hampered by large class sizes in elementary schools. Despite increased state funding, ``the class sizes are actually increasing in many school divisions,'' Jones said.
The test of fourth-, eighth- and 12th-graders in 40 states was designed to show how well students understand and analyze what they read. Students were judged to be at the advanced, proficient or basic reading levels, or below.
About one-third of seniors and 28 percent of eighth-graders were rated proficient readers.
Only the fourth-grade scores were broken down by state. The Education Department plans to include more detailed results in its ``Reading Report Card'' in September.
The test result "clearly indicates a need for rigorous, jargon-free expectations in reading and language arts," Bosher said.
The difficulty, board members said, is to come up with standards that have broad support, a situation made even tougher because of the politically charged environment surrounding the debate.
Draft proposals of the revised standards bear the imprint of appointees of conservative Republican Gov. George Allen, whose "back-to-basics" approach has run into criticism from many educators and parents as being too fact-based and creating unrealistic expectations for younger students.
As the board wrapped up an exhaustive two-day retreat to debate revising the standards, members said they think consensus exists to adopt updated math and science standards.
While differences over English standards now seem bridgeable, members said, a gaping philosophical gulf over what children need to know about social studies and when it should be taught remains and may not be resolved soon.
To keep the effort from falling apart, the board voted unanimously to form an advisory committee to help resolve disagreements over social studies. The board set an ambitious goal of June for the committee to report back to the board.
Board President James Jones has said he hopes to adopt updated standards by July, when Allen will appoint two new members and will gain a majority on the nine-member panel.
Member Malcolm McDonald said formation of the task force, which will include parents and educators, is recognition of the political realities driving the debate.
Even if board members can agree on what the standards will be, they will fail if teachers, legislators and the state's education establishment are not happy with them, he said. Because of the widespread public dissent, lawmakers already have stepped into the fray and scheduled a meeting Monday to hear out critics.
"If we take an approach that puts us in significant opposition to the major players, it may well elevate the politics of this and end up taking it out of the board's hands," McDonald said.
Under current law, the board is charged with developing state standards. But the legislature could take away that power.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
by CNB