THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9506230504
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
In a move that will bring sweeping change to Virginia's schools and 1 million schoolchildren, the state Board of Education on Thursday approved tough new academic standards that will hold educators and students to higher expectations.
The reform effort, pushed by Gov. George F. Allen, has been in the works for more than a year, and the state board took its first key step Thursday by unanimously approving overhauled ``standards of learning'' in math, science and English.
William C. Bosher Jr., state superintendent of schools, said the revised standards, which detail what students should be taught at each grade level, are ``the most rigorous Virginia has ever known.''
And for the first time, he said, schools and students will be held accountable for failing to meet the standards. Among the ``consequences'' under discussion is the loss of accreditation for schools. Students could be denied driver's licenses or required to go to summer school if they didn't pass muster.
``There is a mind-set of `Let's expect more of children,' and really, that's the attitude we should have,'' Bosher said. ``We are not providing a day care.''
Such consequences, Bosher said, would be designed to spur kids to do better.
``The key is how to motivate young people to do well,'' Bosher said.
Under the new standards, high school students for the first time have to pass algebra to graduate, Bosher said - they can't get by with ``general math.'' Students also are required to take two lab courses in high school science.
Elementary students will be introduced at an earlier age to more complex math and science concepts. And in English, more emphasis has been placed on reading, writing, research and speaking skills. In the lower grades, the standards also require students to master specific phonics techniques, which are designed to teach kids to learn letters and words by sounding them out.
Board President James P. Jones, acknowledging that the move to upgrade standards had turned the state into an education battlefield the past several months, added: ``We are together on the fundamental idea that Virginia's school children can do better and are going to do better to meet the demands of the 21st century.''
The board delayed until next week action on social studies standards, the most contentious subject, to allow time to review the latest revisions patched together by a committee appointed to work out disagreements.
There was a sense of elation and accomplishment Thursday. After the board adopted the first set of standards, for science, the audience broke into applause - and again after the adoption of math and English standards.
``I hope you have some champagne,'' Jones joked with members of the science writing team from Prince William County, one of four teams in the state that helped draft guidelines. Fairfax County directed the revision of math standards, while Virginia Beach handled English and Newport News worked with social studies.
But with the new standards in place, a whole host of issues will have to be faced as the plan moves from paper into classrooms. Cost will be a huge issue - for textbooks, teacher training, materials and technology that the revised standards will require.
In addition to adopting the academic standards, the board also approved a list of computer and technology skills that students must master by the fifth and eighth grades. For poor districts with few computers, that could translate into a major expense.
``The bottom line is, I don't think we're going to have this reform without additional funds,'' said Robley Jones, president of the Virginia Education Association, based in Richmond. ``The question is, is this going to be one more unfunded mandate for localities to deal with or is the state going to step up to help?''
Bosher said the state Department of Education still is working on an estimate of the cost. The VEA, Jones said, has put the cost at up to $30 million, while the social studies committee has said it might cost $40 million on that subject alone.
Although schools are expected to begin following the standards immediately, Bosher said that spring 1997 would be the earliest that students' performance against the new standards would be tested. And any consequences probably would not be imposed for at least two years beyond that, Bosher said.
Bosher and the board said in a joint statement issued Thursday that local school boards will have flexibility to design their own curricula to meet the expectations of what students should know.
``We ought to say that this is not going to be coming at them like a freight train,'' board member Alan L. Wurtzel said.
Despite the challenges ahead, many local school officials said they agree that schools should expect more from kids and that there should be a higher level of accountability placed on teachers, children and their parents.
``The public will forgive us if we fail to teach a kid to play a musical instrument or to paint watercolors, but the public will never forgive us if we fail to teach them to read or to do basic math calculations,'' Norfolk schools Superintendent Roy D. Nichols Jr. said. by CNB