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

DATE: MONDAY, July 31, 1995                   TAG: 9507310047
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LITERACY PASSPORT

VIRGINIA sixth-graders' Literacy Passport Test results may not be as bad as first appeared: Officials say a change in test procedure could account for part of a decline in scores. That's hardly cause for celebration, however. The results still are worrisome.

It's not that sixth-graders are worse at mastering basic skills than they were five years ago. It's that they aren't appreciably better. When these tests in reading, writing and math first were given in 1990, 65 percent passed. Of the sixth-graders taking the test last spring, 65.6 percent passed.

Whatever the procedural changes, that still means that 34 percent failed to pass all three tests. State education officials are understandably glum. With all the emphasis on improving student achievement and accountability, the figures indicate there's been a whole lot of standing still going on.

The results are leavened only a little by the fact that Virginia students overall remain ahead of the national average on standardized tests. The national average is clearly inadequate.

As depressing as anything are the predictable reactions from teachers' representatives and state education officials. Yes, it's worth celebrating that the Virginia Board of Education recently approved tougher academic standards. This could make a difference in future results.

But do we have to hear, from the usual sources, that scores haven't risen because teachers' pay in Virginia has fallen below the national average? That wouldn't explain why, in Southwest Virginia, some districts have better results than wealthier districts in other parts of the state.

Surely all can agree that the quality of teaching is of utmost importance. Virginia should at least match average teacher pay nationwide if it expects to attract good teachers - and the pay should be better, not worse, in the toughest districts. But people work for more than money. Good teachers are likely to covet jobs, above all, in schools where faculty has a say in management, where students come ready to learn, and where parents and community are supportive.

This sort of learning environment would help test scores. So would a longer school year. Kids who have a harder time learning need more time.

by CNB