March 30, 2011
MARCH MADNESS - Ed Reform Style
By Larry Grau, DFER Indiana's State Director
How are your brackets doing? It's a common question asked this time of year during the NCAA basketball tournament. Yet, we seem to have another type of "March Madness" occurring in education reform these days, and much like the basketball tournament, it's often hard to distinguish the contenders from the pretenders when it comes to how things appear on paper. It isn't until the action starts that it becomes apparent which teams are the top performers. In education, while the scoring system is more complicated, the highest "performing" schools stand above the rest, while the lowest performers are left behind.
Unfortunately, many of the individuals and organizations supporting the current school system seem to either be unaware of what the score is or believe if you ignore the flaws in performance, you're always #1. That view has become increasingly clear in Indiana where several professional associations have made shortsighted statements in defense of the status quo on the heels of Indiana House Democrats walking out of the legislative session well over a month ago in part due to education reform efforts. Take into consideration the following statements:
•"This legislation turns hundreds of schools over to be run by private for-profit companies instead of local school boards. Indiana parents and teachers know what is best for Indiana kids, not a corporate school CEO in New York or Washington, D.C." (In reference to a school "turnaround" bill intended to address chronically low performing schools.
•"This is about protecting all working Hoosier families, and our universal open-access public education system." (Referring to protests occurring at the statehouse and the House Dem caucus walking out of session).
•"The (education reform) bills being passed are destroying our public education system."
•"Whatever the price, we will continue the fight for the quality of education our children get in Indiana public schools. We'll continue to fight back because our children are worth it."
•We are fighting (the education reform legislation) to make sure Hoosier kids get a world-class education to be competitive for the jobs of the 21st Century."
These types of statements do an effective job of playing into the romanticized version of what our public schools once were. But how can this be defensible today, especially for children who are simply not being educated as well as they should be?
True, there are some great, traditional public schools in Indiana and throughout the nation. We're also fortunate that a vast majority of our educators excel at their jobs and are dedicated to doing whatever it takes to help students succeed. However, that doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye to what ISN'T working. Case in point? The following diagram displays how all 5th grade classes in the span of a year in one central Indiana school district are doing on a set of state Language Arts student academic standards. Because 5th grade classes in Indiana are only taught by one teacher, the dots can be translated to display how well the students of individual teachers are doing.
Now, ask yourself this: In which dot or class would you want your child? And, imagine if your child were in the bottom performing classroom for not one but MULTIPLE years. In spite of lofty claims made by those who defend the current system, refusal to offer constructive alternatives to rectify charts such as the one above represents the sad state of education dialogue in America today.
Is there any hope of having an honest discussion about our current education system, or will education reform obstructionists continue to engage in a rhetoric-filled, Pleasantville portrayal of where education is today? An all-or-nothing approach clearly isn't the answer.
To acknowledge there are children who are far from receiving the educational opportunities they deserve is not a wholesale condemnation of public education; rather, it is a reality that needs to be addressed and tackled by ALL. Education reform is not about demeaning teachers or dismantling public education. It's about doing what's right for those who are continually wronged. And, it's about taking pride in a collective effort to recognize our shortcomings and work even harder to fix them.
Nostalgia for how things "used to be" has no place in a day and age when way too many children are falling behind. Change is never easy; it's not supposed to be. But to fight change simply because political forces say you should, or because "this is the way it's always been done," is not only unfortunate, it's shameful.
For those of us advocating for major reforms in our education system--and yes, this includes public school teachers, school board members (like myself), public school parents and others--our agenda is fairly simple: To make sure every child, regardless of life circumstance or zip code, has the opportunity to receive a quality education. Period. Kids are counting on us to end this madness now.
Larry joined the DFER team at the end of 2010. He has over twenty years of experience in research, policy development and analysis, and evaluation, primarily in the areas of education and youth development. He was formerly the chief education policy advisor to Governor Frank O'Bannon, and served as the Education Finance Analyst for the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee prior to that. Read more about Larry here.