DATE: Thursday, September 11, 1997          TAG: 9709110013

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial

                                            LENGTH:  124 lines

SCHOOL STANDARDS MAKING THEM WORK

The die is cast. Virginians have embarked on an era in which standards for both students and schools will be tougher and will be measured by performance tests.

This is uncharted territory. As with any new endeavor, there is substantial risk. It is possible that some school officials will be embarrassed by the results and that some youth who would have graduated under the old system will not under the new.

But fear of the unknown is not a sufficient reason to avoid change. While there is a possibility of failure, there also is potential - and, we believe, this is the greater likelihood - for improvement.

It is difficult to make things better without first identifying what is wrong. The series of standardized tests that children will be taking in the third, fifth and eighth grades, and at the end of various high school courses, will give administrators and parents a greater awareness of which schools and which students need improvement.

But the new standards would be a sham if policy-makers stopped there.

The Allen administration deserves praise as the driving force behind the changes. However, the governor should be clearer about the responsibility of state government to help lift up those who fail.

Members of the state Board of Education argue that schools which perform poorly will be driven to improve by their communities, and there is merit in that belief. Parents, rich or poor, are not going to quietly stand by as their schools are stripped of accreditation.

But community pressure is not enough. It does not take an Einstein to predict where most of the failure will come. It will be concentrated in those communities where poverty abounds. The disparity in funding for such schools is a long-neglected issue in Virginia, and the results of the new standardized tests are likely to raise a resounding call for change.

Legislators and the next governor should stand ready to meet it when it comes.

Meanwhile, it is unfortunate that the Board of Education opted to remove the mandate for sex education and elementary school guidance counselors in public schools. Despite a letter-writing campaign by the Family Foundation, there is no public mandate for such change.

Our prediction is that few local education boards will opt out of the provisions. However, to the extent that time is wasted in emotional debate on the matter, schoolchildren will be the losers.

There is ample rationale for both sex education and counselors in public schools. So long as parents can decline either - which they can now - there is no need for concern.

Instead of rehashing old wars, Virginians need to look forward, concentrating energy and resources on making sure that all children and all schools succeed in a new era of accountability.

Gubernatorial candidates Donald S. Beyer Jr. and Jim S. Gilmore III both intend to make education a target of major investment during the next four years, though some of their directions differ. Beyer's focus on expanding preschool help for targeted children, for achieving a 1:15 teacher-student ratio in grades K-3 and for coupling the new tests with remedial education for those who fail are all designed to elevate those at the bottom of the rung.

Gilmore would hire 4,000 new teachers, many of whom could be dispatched to schools where the greatest needs exist. He also supports Allen's recently announced $32 million commitment to remedial education for those who fail.

In choosing the risky path - raising standards and holding schools accountable for success - the state is also putting its own credibility on the line.

The question - How much failure are you willing to accept among our youth? - is about to have new relevancy for Virginians and their pocketbooks.

T he die is cast. Virginians have embarked on an era in which standards for both students and schools will be tougher and will be measured by performance tests.

This is uncharted territory. As with any new endeavor, there is substantial risk. It is possible that some school officials will be embarrassed by the results and that some youths who would have graduated under the old system will not under the new.

But fear of the unknown is not a sufficient reason to avoid change. While there is a possibility of failure, there also is potential - and, we believe, this is the greater likelihood - for improvement.

It is difficult to make things better without first identifying what is wrong. The series of standardized tests that children will be taking in the third, fifth and eighth grades, and at the end of various high school courses, will give administrators and parents a greater awareness of which schools and which students need improvement.

But the new standards would be a sham if policy-makers stopped there.

The Allen administration deserves praise as the driving force behind the changes. However, the governor should be clearer about the responsibility of state government to help lift up those who fail.

Members of the state Board of Education argue that schools which perform poorly will be driven to improve by their communities, and there is merit in that belief. Parents, rich or poor, are not going to quietly stand by as their schools are stripped of accreditation.

But community pressure is not enough. It does not take an Einstein to predict where most of the failure will come. It will be concentrated in those communities where poverty abounds. The disparity in funding for such schools is a long-neglected issue in Virginia, and the results of the new standardized tests are likely to raise a resounding call for change.

Legislators and the next governor should stand ready to meet it when it comes.

Meanwhile, it is unfortunate that the Board of Education opted to remove the mandate for sex education and elementary school guidance counselors in public schools. Despite a letter-writing campaign by the Family Foundation, there is no public mandate for such change.

Our prediction is that few local education boards will opt out of the provisions. However, to the extent that time is wasted in emotional debate on the matter, schoolchildren will be the losers.

There is ample rationale for both sex education and counselors in public schools. So long as parents can decline either - which they can now - there is no need for concern.

Instead of rehashing old wars, Virginians need to look forward, concentrating energy and resources on making sure that all children and all schools succeed in a new era of accountability.

Gubernatorial candidates Donald S. Beyer Jr. and Jim S. Gilmore III both intend to make education a target of major investment during the next four years, though their emphasis differs. Beyer's focus on expanding preschool help for targeted children, for achieving a 1:15 teacher-student ratio in grades K-3 and for coupling the new tests with remedial education for those who fail are all designed to elevate those at the bottom of the ladder.

Gilmore would hire 4,000 new teachers, many of whom could be dispatched to schools where the greatest needs exist. He also supports Allen's recently announced $32 million commitment to remedial education for those who fail.

But even those investments may prove insufficient. In choosing the risky path - raising standards and holding schools accountable for success - the state is also putting its own credibility on the line.

The question - How much failure are you willing to accept among our youth? - is about to have new relevancy for Virginians and their pocketbooks.

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