New Democrat Update - December 2005
PLAYING POLITICS WITH EDUCATION
Some Colorado Republicans, led by State Rep. Joe Stengel (R-Littleton), are pushing a flawed, cookie-cutter, public education ballot proposal that has nothing to do with raising student achievement and everything to do with politics. The measure requires that local school districts spend at least 65 percent of their budgets “in the classroom.”
As Andrew Rotherham of the think tank, Education Sector, recently blogged on Eduwonk.com, the proposal “sounds sensible enough if you don't know much or care much about school finance which explains its allure for Republican activists in most states.” In a comprehensive report that includes an analysis of Colorado, Standard and Poor’s - no mouthpiece for the Democratic Party - concludes that the so-called “65 percent solution” will not boost achievement and could even be counterproductive.
Districts could actually be forced to reduce resources to purposes - libraries, school lunches, counselors, etc. - that have positive impacts on achievement. In fact, as Standard and Poor’s indicates, “precisely how the money is spent in the classroom is as important as what percentage is being spent on instruction.”
The report goes on to cite three such examples of how a district might increase instructional funding - (1) paying teachers more, (2) hiring more teachers and (3) purchasing more classroom computers:
“In the first case, unless the higher salaries attract better teachers, or motivate existing teachers to improve, there may be no resulting improvement in student achievement. Likewise, reducing class sizes may not improve student achievement if it is achieved through hiring less effective teachers from a limited employment pool. Finally, unless computers can be integrated constructively into the instructional program, they may not have a positive impact on achievement. By contrast, allocating money toward Instructional Staff Support Services (which would not be included as part of the ‘65 percent’) might be a way to re-train existing teachers to make them more effective at improving student learning. Similar arguments can be made for certain other non-‘classroom’ spending decisions.”
The measure’s top-down, one-size-fits-all nature also makes it impractical. Those districts, with high numbers of economically disadvantaged children, provide breakfast and lunch (considered non-instructional). Smaller districts, especially those in rural Colorado, have high fixed non-classroom costs like transportation. An arbitrary minimum in these cases simply does not make sense.
Unfortunately, the true motivation behind the proposal is, not surprisingly, politics. Superficially, “65 percent” sounds reasonable. Thus, regardless of the policy consequences, the proponents will have a simple, common-sense-sounding message to sell to voters (The progressive counter-message should be that it has nothing to do with student achievement and is costly, arbitrary, counterproductive, unwieldy, and impractical).
However, there is even more behind-the-scenes shenanigans involved. According to a confidential memo prepared for Republican state lawmakers around the country, supporters plan to use it as a political weapon in the 2006 elections, creating "tremendous tension" by pitting administrators against teachers and diverting the spending on other political goals by the "education establishment."
With Colorado’s future economic and social prosperity on the line, education reform should only be about raising student achievement, not playing politics.
A PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION REFORM AGENDA
With that in mind, Democrats should not just be about defeating misguided ideas or merely defending the status quo. Just as important, we should not fall into an irrelevant and politically counterproductive debate with Republicans. Democrats are right when they argue schools need more money. However, when we make that our only focus, we lose the debate on the policy substance, as well as support of the public.
In other words, too many arguments over public education get caught between the need for more investment and more reform. That is a false choice. Investment without accountability is a waste of money. Accountability without investment is doomed to fail. Colorado needs both because reform requires more resources.
Modernizing and improving public education requires setting high standards, offering parents and students more public school choices, providing adequate resources and demanding real accountability. In the case of abysmal, chronically low-performing schools, more intervention may be required, including new leadership and staff.
Despite the clear need for change and many commendable efforts at reform, the bottom line is that the kind of systemic overhaul necessary to offer all students a high-quality public education is not taking place. That's why the time has come for a whole new look at public education - not just inching ahead with incremental reforms, but a total transformation of how we educate our children.
First, every school should be required to sign a performance contract that sets clear goals for student achievement. Using all the carrots and sticks we have at our disposal, schools should be impelled to reach these goals. Those that fail would have their licenses revoked and be shut down. In diverse neighborhoods all over America, there are examples of schools that work and provide their students with a real education. We should not tolerate anything less.
Second, we must push schools toward a 12/12 schedule. In an Information Age with 24/7 cash flows and business cycles, our antiquated public school calendar is still based on the pace and seasons of farm life. Schools should examine ways to operate year-round, giving children more instruction time and minimizing the learning they lose over the long summer vacation when working parents must scramble for day care.
In addition, public schools should no longer observe "school day" hours. Instead, their doors should be open longer. These extra hours should be used to give children more time to learn and to keep them off the streets while their parents are at work. Schools should also be centers for lifelong learning and community activities.
Third, Colorado must provide full-day kindergarten and move toward universal access to preschool. Numerous studies have concluded that the early years of a child's development play a disproportionate role in shaping his or her future cognitive abilities. At a time when parents are trying harder than ever to juggle work and family, an investment in universal pre-kindergarten is both timely and urgent. In the end, it will save taxpayer money.
Fourth, the state should encourage districts to follow the Denver Public Schools’ lead and pay teachers more, based on the improvement they bring to their students. At the core of education is the relationship between teacher and student. Both intuition and research show that good teachers are critical.
Teachers who add value to the classroom by bringing measurable improvements to their students over the course of the school year should receive bonuses commensurate with the increase in their students' achievements. A performance-reward pay scale, along the lines of Denver’s new teacher compensation system, would add a material incentive to an educator’s professional and personal dedication to do well by his or her students. It would also be society's concrete statement of the value of a teacher's very important work.
Simply put, teachers should be treated as professionals. The state, in partnership with districts, should invest in professional development programs that deepen content knowledge and help engage all children, as well as their families, in learning.
Of course, there is much more beyond implementing these four big ideas. Look for more in future New Democrat Updates.