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Education:
Results speak louder than words

Education is one of the most pressing issues facing our state. We are not graduating adequately prepared students. We must do better. Low expectations need to be replaced with high achievement. Talk must give way to results.

Today, the validity of the traditional academic measures, good grades and a high school diploma, is questioned. Our own University is reporting that freshman students are entering college unprepared for their academic regimen. In Alaska we invest more than $1 billion per year on K-12 education. We have been serious about funding education. We need to be serious about results.

Alaska law passed in 1997 provides that beginning next year, to graduate from high school with a diploma, a student must pass a three-part competency exam-in reading, English and mathematics. We established this standard of academic proficiency to measure our educational system's effectiveness and student performance. That is good. Students and schools previously had no uniform academic standard to measure up to-now they will.

While there is broad support for academic standards and testing, some people have questioned the appropriateness of the exam. There have been suggestions of legal challenges to it, especially for students with learning disabilities. In addition, because of the exceptionally low pass rate statewide among sophomores, the first class to take the exam, many have expressed concern about the math portion of the exam.

In response to these concerns I introduced SB 128. My proposal is threefold. First, it maintains accountability. Beginning in 2002, all students will be required to take the three-part competency exam before graduation and will receive an endorsement on their transcript and diploma for the part(s) successfully passed. This keeps the pressure on schools-to align curriculum, students-to learn the material, and parents-to get involved with their child's learning, all in an effort to improve results. Second, beginning in 2004, all students must pass the competency exam to receive a diploma. A comprehensive and independent review will establish the exam's validity and appropriateness. Finally, my approach will give parents, students and educators until 2004 to address special education.

Senator Lyda Green, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education & Social Services Committee, has incorporated these elements and added specific direction regarding students with learning disabilities in her recently introduced SB133, which will be the vehicle for Senate action. I applaud her pro-active leadership.

However, setting standards and testing achievement of those standards by exam are only one aspect of a successful educational approach. To understand what other elements are necessary we should look at school districts that are already achieving. Unalaska is one such achiever, though there are others-Valdez, Petersburg, and Steller Secondary School in Anchorage. Unalaska's year 2000 results were impressive: All twenty sophomores passed reading and English. Eighteen of twenty passed math.

Unalaska's success was due in large part to a complement of changes undertaken during the past several years. They instituted mandatory remediation during the summer for students who failed courses during the regular school year. Students who were disciplinary problems during the week were required to attend school on Saturdays. They also removed ineffective teachers which, although difficult, enhanced the effectiveness of teachers who remained. These changes resulted from effective administrative leadership and the benefit accrued to the students whose reward was more than high test marks-they learned what they were taught.

The early success of this school district highlights an approach that should be considered by other school districts when they transition to a result-oriented educational system. Complementary elements are required-effective teachers, aligned curriculum, remedial measures for students who miss the mark the first time around. Also needed are strong administrative leadership, parental involvement and student motivation.

We are taking deliberate steps to improve Alaskan education. Parents, teachers, students and employers want results. We deserve no less. And the results will speak louder than words.

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