of The Center For Education Reform
No. 26 May 1996
School Choice
Charter Update
Surveys
From the Trenches
Dear Friends:
Happy Mother's Day, a few days late, to you heroines of civilization, and a Happy Father's Day, a few days early, to the irreplaceable fathers in our lives. Some chapters this month close for the better, and others open to the unknown. Forthwith (rather Shakespearean, don't you think?) are the current happenings that make for exciting times, and some previews of more yet to come.
If you want a real insight into the issue that made Milwaukee famous - school choice - or have simply wondered what the controversy is all about, you should read Dan McGroarty's Break These Chains, The Battle for School Choice. Dan has been following the people and scenes in Milwaukee since 1991, when the legislature enacted the modest school choice pilot project which has since been expanded and is now tied up in court. You'll get an insider's view of the issue as well as be touched by the many lasting stories of real people and their concerns for their schools.
Support for school choice that would permit underprivileged children to make private as well as public choices continues to grow, according to many state and national surveys.
Meanwhile, California Gov. Pete Wilson has decided to fast-track his proposal to allow students in schools that score cumulatively in the bottom 5% to select a new school. The measure passed the Assembly Education Committee 8-2 on April 10. Speaker Curt Pringle, who carried the bill for the Governor, reminded reporters that state and federal governments already provide tuition assistance for college and pre-school students to attend any variety of private - including religious - institutions. Still, the Senate will be a tougher nut to crack. That bulwark of democracy, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (who seemingly oppose anything they didn't think of first), told the Orange County Register that "Californians don't want their tax money going to discriminatory private schools." I guess with extremist views like this, we can be assured that all AUSCS officials have their kids enrolled in public schools, right? (Any wagers to the contrary?)
Speaking of extreme, we could hardly wait to transmit the following. Produced by the Arizona Education Association, The Primer on The Extremist Attacks on Public Education is an interesting glimpse into the mind of a union leader. While no one questions the existence of extremists, you may be surprised to learn that the following are among the "issues and buzz-words used by extremists": anti-public education, anti-union, lobbying, decency, vouchers/school choice, moral decency, privatization, and excellence in education. (Which must mean the unions themselves are extreme, given their propensity for using these terms to denigrate the motives of reformers.) The AEA also offers a list of sample questions for school board candidates, "designed to help you uncover candidates from the Extreme Right." One of more pernicious questions: What organizations, specifically religious groups, do you belong to?
Finally, listed as resources to help you combat the extreme right (once you've uncovered them), are: the National Education Association, American Association of University Women, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and Planned Parenthood of Arizona. Funny, but we don't recall ever seeing substantial work done on the parts of these groups on what makes for sound academic practices.
Even with the lawsuit pending against the Cleveland, Ohio Scholarship and Tutoring program, local and state officials are busy matching parents with participating schools. 1,500 children are slated to participate, in 52 existing and 5 new schools. "Most schools are reporting vacancies based on next year's enrollment projections and current staffing levels. But a few schools plan to expand by September - they account for 354 openings. Others indicate a willingness to follow suit if they attract enough new students. But hiring additional staff [to prepare] is tricky because of two lawsuits that threaten to block the voucher program." (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 4/28/96) Still, parents are undeterred. One new school that plans to open to help fill the need has already enrolled "a dozen new families" who live near the school but do not have vouchers. And parents are willing to try out new schools. Eleven percent of those applying for the program listed one of the new schools among their six choices.
Bend Community School in Oregon will continue, for now, thanks to a circuit court judge who says school boards can fund private programs. Bend is Linda Louk's charter-like school that was authorized last fall, by State Superintendent Norma Paulus, despite her opposition to a statewide charter law. Linda's idea was to create a middle school that would engage students in non-traditional methods and allow parents who believed in the philosophy to make that choice. But as soon as the school began operating, union officials sued the board and the Oregon Department of Education for helping them put the school together.
It is uncertain whether opponents will appeal, or call on the legislature to draft a law prohibiting alternative schools. Whether they do or not, there is some strong likelihood that Oregon lawmakers will consider charter school legislation next year.
Make that 24! ... Charter laws, that is. Some good news, and some ho-hum news from the nation's three newest charter laws. DC was the first of the bunch - a congressional plan tucked into the government appropriations signed into law early last month. It allows existing public schools that have two-thirds of parents and teachers in agreement to convert, independent schools to convert, and new schools to be started by parents, educators, government agencies, museums and other cultural institutions. Florida finally sealed a deal, thanks to a bi-partisan coalition that commissioner Frank Brogan managed. Falling somewhere in the middle of the strong-weak continuum, Florida will permit 478 schools, authorized by local school boards. 100 groups have already expressed interest. Finally, there's Connecticut, which barely makes it past most weak laws, allowing for only 24 schools - 12 conversion, bound by labor contracts and 12 new "state" charters, which may only enroll 1,000 children in all. Needless to say, the CEA is taking full credit for such a "strong" bill. (And we thought the NEA was finally coming around!)
It's Jeopardy Time, and the answer is: It's a Sign of the times....The NEA and charter schools, Happy Together...Heck, Any Good PR Program costs at least that much. And the question: What is the NEA's $1.5 Million Charter Schools Initiative?
The auto companies are getting into the act. Chrysler was involved in the start-up of the Michigan Automotive Academy serving 36 high-schoolers, and now Ford is planning to open the Henry Ford Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1997, for 100 ninth graders. If Ford's trade school success is any indicator, this one's sure to succeed.
Horizon Instructional Systems in the West Placer district won a long battle with the California Education Department which had tried to put Horizon out of business, requiring that it provide nothing that other districts do not offer. Because the school has nearly 800 students who are in independent study, cooperative and home learning environments, bureaucrats balked, despite approval from the district to operate as a charter. Those same officials have now conceded that Horizon can continue to operate under California's charter and independent study laws. It's just too bad that they had to expend precious taxpayer money to end up accepting the State Attorney's opinion.
Speaking of surveys, Arizona charter-goers are not the 'cream' detractors say. Rather, more than 69% of the 6,000 charter-school students attended public schools last year, versus 16% who were at private schools; 9% had either not begun school, dropped out, or been expelled; and 6% had been home schooled. The Goldwater Institute-sponsored survey also found charter students entered at 5 percentage points lower on the Iowa test than statewide averages. 10th graders were 10% lower when they entered, which is in part due to the fact that 35% of the existing 46 charters are targeted to at-risk kids, who, incidentally, have made substantial academic gains since switching schools. For a copy, call (602) 256-7018.
Showing that charter schools can, in fact, be accountable for performance and tax dollars, the state board in Arizona put two charter schools - Citizen 2000 and Valley Academy - on notice that they had until June to straighten out financial problems, and a previous auditor's report had also given the schools 90 days to correct the problems. The schools had initially made good progress toward rectifying some of their problems, and will have to fish or cut bait if they are to remain open.
Charter Saga of the Month: This was to be an announcement for an opening for headmaster in the Ft. Collins, Colorado Core Knowledge Charter School, expecting to open this fall. At press time, this communique from one of its founders came in:
"Unless there is a minor miracle, the school will not be opening in the fall. The local Ft. Collins school district and school board have found an ingenious way in which to violate the spirit of the Colorado Charter School Act, and effectively kill the school for now. The local district filed suit again the Colorado State Board of Education and against the charter school's five member board of directors. This suit was filed the day before the state board heard the second and final appeal by the charter school applicants. The suit effectively intimidated the state board into denying the charter school's appeal. The most alarming part of this story is that two years after the law was enacted, local school districts have now found an effective way to circumvent the intent of the law and to stop charters from opening."
Of course, friends in Colorado have told us repeatedly that the board is very supportive of charter schools, so much so, that we are scolded for these occasional "horror" stories from the Rocky Mountain state. So, how 'bout it, state board - are you going to stand for these nuisance suits, or are you going to give the educators and parents a chance to help improve the delivery and content of public education?
Lots of surveys have been done recently, assessing the public's viewpoints towards education. As always, the surveys vary in how people view their schools and how well they believe they are doing. Boasting the most comprehensive, detailed survey to date is USA Today (CNN/Gallop), which on May 13 reported finding overwhelming support for business-as-usual. According to the survey of 1,200 students and 1,500 of their parents, 73% of respondents said they are happy with their schools' academic standards, 91% gave their teachers an A or B, and 90% said their schools "provide a safe environment for their children." Less satisfactory grades were given to how responsive schools are to concerns, and how much input parents feel they have. Meanwhile, despite being given high marks for standards, 47% of kids said they "should be doing an hour-or-more of homework nightly," while only 31% currently do. Found in few polls was the dichotomy between elementary school and high or middle school satisfaction, which USA Today did a good job of probing, finding that a large majority feel the higher grades too big and impersonal. There, parents felt less responsiveness, and were less satisfied overall. Nearly half told USA Today that they'd send their children to a private school if they could afford to.
Despite the good information, the poll might be more aptly called Beyond Schizophrenia. The Public Agenda Foundation's amazingly comprehensive survey, Assignment Incomplete (Monthly Letter #20) found less consensus among the public with regard to how well schools do, with overwhelming numbers dissatisfied that schools were actually providing the basics or rigorous standards.
And in a poll just released last month, The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found that African Americans, and people living in urban areas, were more likely to be dissatisfied with the schools than the population at large. The Joint Center surveyed 1,596 people, half of whom were African American (a vastly larger sample of black Americans than found in most surveys). "Black respondents were much more likely than others to rate their local public schools 'only fair or poor,' (54% vs. 30% for the general population). 64% of the general population rated their schools excellent or good, compared to only 41% of black respondents." The lowest marks came from urban America, where only 9.6% of black urbanites said schools were excellent, versus 31.1% in general. Vouchers were favored by 48% of black Americans, vs. 44% against, while the reverse was true for the general population. A majority of people with school age children across the races supported vouchers (61% black and 51% in general). Not surprisingly, the Joint Center found that those most satisfied with their schools were least likely to support vouchers.
Finally, a National Association of Elementary School Principals' survey says that principals are most worried about getting students to do their work and staying motivated, as well as how best to educate the disabled, and are least worried about such allegedly controversial issues as private contracting, school choice and charter schools. More than 60% of the respondents said that parents need to become more involved and committed to their children's education (a belief also reflected in other national surveys which find scant parental interest or involvement in education).
So, on one hand we have lots of people who are happy with the condition of education on most levels, while on the other hand, we don't. And to top it all off, a majority of people are concerned about schools, except when they're not.
What are we to make of this multiple personality disorder?
The only thing that everyone seems to agree on is that parents are not involved enough. Which begs the question, should they be? The answer is yes, and the don't-worry-be-happy search for silver linings doesn't move them toward that objective.
Beyond that, and without going into statistical and psychological analyses to divine the shades of meaning behind the numbers, suffice it to say that, yes, some parents are pleased with their children's schools, but some are at their wits ends, particularly urban parents. But whether one percent, or 30%, or 60% of the people are dissatisfied is not the issue nor the point of education reform which is to help parents implement the educational standards they want for their children and to give children the educational opportunities they need...no matter how many people are satisfied.
Back in the real world, the Pennsylvania hamlet of Wilkes-Barre was the site of an overblown controversy earlier this year, when King's College was challenged over a program it started to offer tuition assistance to parochial school students at several diocese schools. The Dallas, PA Education Association said it would no longer let King's senior education majors student-teach in the district because they opposed such a policy, and, sure enough, three senior were refused placement. The Wilkes-Barre School District did place 34 of King's seniors, despite pressure by the union last year.
The American Legislative Exchange Council, the largest individual membership group of state legislators, has published its 1995 Report Card on Education, analyzing U.S. Department of Education and NCES data to report on state by state spending, staffing and achievement patterns. ALEC reports that the top ten ranked states for performance, (8 out of 10 being for the second year in a row) are: Iowa, Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming. While rankings may vary depending upon what supporting data is used, most of these states, interestingly, also have a rigorous attachment to local control, and are not the highest spenders. For a copy of the ALEC Report Card call (202) 466-3800.
Bilingual education continues to stir up mixed reactions from the field, with increasing anger among Spanish-speaking parents who say they want their children immersed in English, and complain that in areas such as Los Angeles that is not being done. In a compendium of research and essays, "The Failure of Bilingual Education," the Center for Equal Opportunity takes a stab at conventional wisdom analyzing the problems and pitfalls of improperly providing English instruction to non-native English speaking students. It is no wonder it was labeled as "pulp fiction," by the National Association for Bilingual Education. Call (202) 639-0803 for this must read.
Stories about the lack of solid reading instruction amaze and sadden those dedicated to helping all children learn. So when Oregonian Associate Editor David Reinhard wrote on April 4 about his involvement in judging the Cascade institute's essay contest for high schoolers, we were struck by his conclusions. "I'd like to report that judging the contest was an unalloyed joy that eased any concerns I have about the quality of instruction in our public schools. I'd like to write something lovey-dovey about how we ought to stop knocking the schools...and dish up all the taxpayer cash they want. In fact, I could point to the winners and also-rans..to make the case. There were many strongly argued, well-written essays that showed young minds wrestling with ideas - and winning. But such a column would be a big lie.... the run of entries was depressing." A few of his concerns: Declaration of Independence was spelled wrong several times. There were brief essays - too brief - that showed little familiarity with the content. "I hold these truths to be self-evident...We cities, states and countries, are separated by various bounties and oceans....The wrong of this problem is that no one can feel safe and have inner peace without first having peace within our own countries." One teacher submitted the following show of good work: "I see that education as are biggest problem...causing use to know nothing...The way we can solve this is by re-doing are education." As Reinhard said, this essay was a cry for help.
So many of you have called or written us with stories about mathematics instruction gone awry. While we may be late to this trend, we did discover a new trend, masquerading in some circles as new math, new new math, whole math, or several other names to suggest that some are loosening their adherence to the basics, in favor of more concept-oriented teaching. These conclusions come from a newer player on the scene, a group called Mathematically Correct!, that is made up of concerned parents and mathematicians. In fact, a statement by Frank Allen, former President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) takes issue with the NCTM standards. In the statement, Allen cautions against the use of calculators too early, without mastery of the essentials first, and talks about the need for simple, objective grading to provide the best feedback. Among other things, the statement also dares to posit that the teacher's role be reaffirmed as expositor, and the student as learner. The statement's goal is to help put American math instruction standards on a par with other industrialized nations; in short, to guarantee solid learning. We haven't seen any better analysis of where we've fallen short mathematically speaking.
(Mathematically Correct! has a site on the Web, chock full of info about current trends and what to do - http://www.mathematicallycorrect.com)
Interestingly, teachers polled in another Public Agenda survey, Given the Circumstances: Teachers Talk about Public Education Today, also express concern over the early use of calculators. Among other findings, teachers are not as concerned as the public over the need for rigorous education as the key to "career success." They do not sense the lack of basic skills as urgently as the public or school leaders, and believe it more important to gain social skills than top grades. An NEA report on the subject says that "half of teachers view highly educated people with some misgiving, seeing them as either 'book smart' and impractical or as elitist snobs." (I'm not making this up!)
But consistent with the attitudes shown in the Joint Center poll, minority teachers are more concerned about poor academic skills in children, and more supportive of higher academic standards as the key to success. Once again, while some are living in Lake Wobegon, those in touch with failing urban systems are more concerned with the children there who are not getting the best education.
The Mayor of St. Louis thinks nothing of studying success to improve the public schools. That's why he recently called for a look into the management of Catholic schools to glean some wisdom on how to reconfigure the troubled district. While his initial comments led to pretty hostile reactions, school officials and the mayor have made up. From the St. Louis Post Dispatch comes the data that convinced Mayor Freeman R. Bosley, Jr. that there was something to learn from the private sector: St. Louis City Schools serve 43,619 students, while the Archdiocese serves 59,303. There are 105 public schools, and 173 Catholic schools. The public's annual budget is $326 million, with 6,167 staff. The Catholic schools budget is $150 million, with 3,000 staff. Administrators number 300 in the public system, and 11 in the archdiocese. The cost for each student is $8,334 for public, and $2110 private. And the public system graduates 27% of ninth graders, while the Catholic system graduates 80% of those who begin as ninth graders four years earlier.
A study on contracting from the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions has them branded with a scarlet "R" (for reform) for finding that Ohio lags behind the nation in using contracting to realize cost savings, and for recommending that Ohio districts consider the benefits, both cost and otherwise, of using private firms to do work. Said the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, the study is a "snake-oil remedy for the problems faced by Ohio public schools." 40% of responding districts said they contracted some work out, compared with a national average of 66%. As best summed up by National School Boards Association president Roberta Doering, "Private contracting is an old issue that has taken on new significance as school boards across the country debate how to best serve the educational needs of their students."
When Education Secretary Riley recently called for an end to social promotions at the NSBA conference, some educators expressed concern. An Orange Co., Florida official, in particular, said that eliminating social promotions was "impractical," and could lead to "building parking lots in middle schools for kids who are not ready to move up." That's a convenient answer. Of course, the harder question is to ask how they can ensure that those who move have achieved their grade level. There's no lack of models around the country. Then again, there's obviously no lack of business-as-usual attitudes. A Texas poll found that two out of three Texans believe social promotions for third graders should be banned. The Texas Federation of Teachers estimates that as many as 150,000 students are promoted despite failing grades, even though Texas' reform law says achievement should be the only basis for promotion.
To shamelessly boast, CER's The School Reform Handbook has won an award from the Educational Press Association of America. The awards honor outstanding achievement in publications serving children, young adults and the educational publishing industry. 179 winners were named in various categories from among 1,554 entries. So while we'll not be going to any fancy awards ceremony, we did think you'd like to know. There are still some Handbooks left from our original printing, so if you'd like your award-winning copy, call now before the floodgates open!
The printer is waiting (and he's none too happy). See you next month!