Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 24, 1995 TAG: 9509260012
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: D3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES P. JONES
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Why has this happened and what does it mean for the future of our schools?
The sixth-grade test results, if anything, are more troubling than the SAT scores. Virginia has one of the highest SAT participation rates in the country, and it makes sense that with more young people taking the test - 65 percent of all high school graduates in Virginia, by the latest count - Virginia might not do as well as those states where only a small, select number take the test.
On the other hand, it's harder to find excuses for the sixth-grade scores. The sixth-grade test - called the Literacy Testing Program or LTP - was a chief recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Excellence in Education in 1986. The idea was to establish a test in reading, writing and arithmetic for all sixth-grade students and award a "Literacy Passport" to those who passed.
The test was first given in 1990. Each year since then, about 80,000 sixth-graders in Virginia's public schools have taken the test. The results for 1995 show that only 65.6 percent of sixth-graders passed - essentially unchanged since the first test year - and a drop of 5 percent over last year. This means, of course, that 34.4 percent - more than one-third of our sixth-graders - did not pass and cannot read, write or calculate at a minimum level.
Not only is the statewide percentage of students passing the LTP unacceptably low, but there is a wide disparity across the state. In a few school divisions, the pass rate is over 80 percent, in others, less than half of the sixth-graders made an acceptable score.
Since there is also a wide variation in financial support for schools across the state, it has been suggested by many people that the reason that test scores have not increased is that we have not sufficiently funded schools in the less affluent areas of the state, such as Southwest Virginia.
Nevertheless, the fact is that scores on the LTP cannot be strictly correlated with per-student spending. In other words, in some counties and cities of our state, there are relatively high amounts spent per student on education, but the literacy test scores are low. In others, there are smaller amounts of dollars spent, but the test scores are higher. Certainly, poorer localities tend to have proportionally more parents with less formal education themselves, and their children may come to school less prepared to read than others.
What are the consequences of having one-third of our children who cannot adequately read, write or compute? Unfortunately, they are considerable - and all bad. In the past, even those with low academic skills might be able to find well-paying jobs in our economy, but that era is rapidly disappearing. In this age of technological change, there are simply not enough jobs for those who do not have basic literacy skills. Unless we change the way that we are doing things, we are condemning large numbers of our children to permanent residency in an underclass of low-paying, dead-end jobs and welfare dependency.
As might be expected, there are no easy answers. The good news is that there are many schools in Virginia where the LTP scores have gone up and where real efforts are being made to increase academic achievement. Are there some general principles we can use to help find solutions to our falling test scores? Here are some suggestions:
We need to work together. There are no "enemies" in our efforts to solve our educational problems, and there should be no scapegoats. All of us want to do what is best for our children. It should not be a situation of teachers versus parents, or otherwise dividing the world into "them" and "us."
An example in Virginia where people of different points of view were able to work together to improve education is the recent adoption of tougher learning standards by the State Board of Education. It looked for a while as if that effort would be shipwrecked by contentious disagreement, particularly involving English and history standards. However, teachers, parents and board members were able to work together to finally produce a successful result.
There were certainly compromises, and not all things about the standards pleased all people - but in the end, common sense and good will prevailed. We can do the same in other areas of education reform.
Focus on results, not on regulation. In the past, we have attempted to improve public education by imposing more regulations on local schools and teachers. Of course, some state regulation is necessary to make sure that we protect the health and safety of our children, but in most cases, local folks are as well qualified to decide how their schools ought to be run as anyone at the central office level.
Instead, we ought to concentrate on holding schools accountable for the ultimate result - how well they teach our children. It surprises many people, for example, to learn that while the State Board of Education accredits every public school, obtaining that accreditation has more to do with physical plant matters - does the roof leak, are the bathrooms of a particular size, etc. - than how well the children do in academic achievement.
One important change would be to start accrediting our public schools based primarily on their improvement rate in educating students. For example, perhaps an elementary school ought to be accredited on the basis of whether it shows improvement in the pass rate of sixth-graders on the literacy test. A school that showed no improvement over several years might have its accreditation removed, or at least be put on warning status.
That would send a powerful message to everyone concerned about the effectiveness of local schools and would go a long way toward focusing the efforts of schools toward academic achievement.
Let's stand up for the public schools. It's no secret that many in our society have become discouraged with our public schools. The fact is, however, that it is likely our public schools are going to remain as the primary vehicle for education in our society. For that reason, we ought to unequivocally express our support for our public schools.
In particular, we should not use lower test scores as an excuse to abandon the public-school system. Our public schools have been the backbone of America's rising prosperity over the last century, and they can do it again. In fact, renewal of our institutions is an American tradition. Most large American business institutions are engaging in the process of restructuring, and so far it has generally proved very successful. Our public schools can also learn to do things differently and by doing so, increase their effectiveness. That change needs to be coupled with a renewed commitment to the public schools by all of us.
James P. Jones, of Abingdon, is a former state senator and is president of the State Board of Education.
by CNB