No Retreat on Education Accountability
Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn has called for, well, retreat on the state's math and science accountability standards. Here's his op-ed in yesterday's Seattle Times.
I am asking the Legislature to make four major changes regarding math and science:
• Delay the math graduation requirement to 2015.
• Establish a "two-tier" bar for the math graduation requirement in which one tier — "proficient" — is a goal but another — "basic" — is enough to earn a diploma.
• Create end-of-course tests in physical science and life science instead of offering a single comprehensive high-school science test.
• Delay the science graduation requirement until 2017, so we can gain some experience with these new tests.
It's because too many students can't meet the standards. This Times news story has reactions from education leaders.
Rumors about Dorn's proposals generated strong concern from groups such as the League of Education Voters and the Washington Roundtable, an association of corporate executives. Both organizations have been pushing for high-school standards that prepare all students to go to four-year colleges, even if they are not so inclined.
Dorn's proposal "doesn't appreciate the role that math and science play in our economy, and our future," said Lisa Macfarlane of the League of Education Voters.
Editorial boards across the state also reject Dorn's capitulation.
The Seattle Times:
Dorn's plan distracts from the need to compete for the $4 billion "Race to the Top" federal funds. Our education leader is at a precipice long ago reached by others. Three years ago, the Legislature approved a delay in the math graduation requirement because students were not prepared.
Another delay is unacceptable.
Dorn’s plan is exactly the wrong approach for tough economic times. Settling for less from Washington’s students means settling for a lesser future for the state.
The Herald of Everett:
With the Obama administration challenging states in a Race to the Top, now isn't the time to be lowering the bar in education.
That, however, is how we interpret state Superintendent Randy Dorn's proposal, unveiled Thursday, to further delay high-school graduation requirements in math and science — standards that were first pushed back just two years ago.
The Herald's editorial also notes ...
Dorn may also have met strong opposition within his own office. Seattle PostGlobe writer Joe Copeland, who first reported on Dorn's plans last week, wrote that Dorn's science director of teaching and learning, Mary McClellan, is resigning over “philosophical” differences.
A Herald report by Jerry Cornfield gives the governor's appropriately terse rejection of the delay. An excerpt:
We can't lower our standards in math, nor can we communicate that science is not important. We must prepare our students for their future. There is every reason to focus attention on the math and science learning needs of our students so they can succeed after high school.
The Superintendent is concerned about the graduation rate. I am concerned about the bigger picture - preparing kids for life. I think parents share that concern.
Precisely right.
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