THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 28, 1994 TAG: 9409280454
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
Elizabeth City-Pasquotank schools and five other pilot sites are behind schedule in a multimillion-dollar project to re-examine learning standards for students, a state audit says.
Local school officials agree their Outcome Based Education efforts aren't keeping pace with the five-year legislative timetable for the project but they say they aren't dragging their feet.
The process, they say, is too important to make mistakes by rushing.
``You can't do what they're asking us to do in that little bit of time,'' Superintendent Joseph Peel said. ``People have to understand why you want to change. That's been a basic conflict since the start of this thing.''
The Outcome Based Education project is an ambitious effort to determine what students need to learn in an evolving society and the methods that will best teach them. Peel earlier defined the process as ``an attempt to realign schooling with real-world needs.''
The philosophy has spawned a variety of innovations at Elizabeth City-Pasquotank schools, many of which have been singled out for their creativity and effectiveness.
North Carolina has allotted $3 million a year, including about $186,000 for Elizabeth City-Pasquotank, for a five-year period ending in 1996-97. The funds are to help the six pilot sites, comprising nine school systems, pay for the equipment and training necessary to move ahead.
But a study prepared by the Office of the State Auditor says none of the programs is moving ahead as quickly as the law lays out. The report cites lags at both the state and local levels in recommending high school graduation skills, addressing specific parts of the project and reporting progress to the community.
Because plans are not completely in place, the audit suggests that ``a key purpose of the pilot project'' - determining its effects - may not be possible at the end of the five years.
But school officials said they are moving as quickly as possible. As part of a ``research and development'' project, they say learning how long the process takes is part of their job. The audit itself acknowledges that the law's expectations were ``perhaps unrealistic.''
``I don't think it's fair,'' said C.E. ``Mack'' McCary, assistant superintendent for instructional services in the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank schools. ``I think the people whodid the audit don't really know anything about educational change. . . They met the letter, but not the spirit, of the law.
``Given where we stand and what we were asked to do, I don't think we're behind on anything at all,'' McCary said.
Peel said the project might have been more realistically planned over seven years or longer. But he congratulated the legislators' commitment to a long-term process.
``This is an unusual endeavor for the General Assembly,'' Peel said.
He said local schools, which are becoming more customer-oriented, results-oriented and data-driven, are meeting the law's goals, if not its timetable.
McCary cited budding initiatives, such as multi-age classrooms, cooperative discipline programs, special technology projects and a variety of new performance measures, that are reshaping the education process in the district. He said this is a ``dissemination year'' that will focus on increasing awareness about the project.
Officials in the Department of Public Instruction say the district is a leader among the pilot sites.
``I think Elizabeth City-Pasquotank is one that's been more specific,'' said Carolyn Cobb, director of the department's Division for Innovation and Development Services. ``They seem to have some fairly exciting things going.
But all these projects have required the involvement of parents, teachers and principals - a time-consuming and demanding process, officials said.
``There's a lot of wisdom in taking your time, in doing this very thoughtfully,'' Peel said. ``We're the ones taking the risk, not the General Assembly.
``There's so many new things that we know,'' he said. But without the time and money to pass that on to teachers, ``we're not ever going to be able to get better.
``We've really asked teachers to take on another job. If we didn't have this money, we wouldn't be anywhere near where we are today.''
KEYWORDS: AUDIT OUTCOME BASED EDUCATION EDUCATION TESTING by CNB