September 2008
Public Calls for Change: Will the Next President Get the Message?
By Gene R. Carter, Executive Director, ASCD
Recently, schools throughout the United States reconvened against a backdrop of presidential conventions. Around the same time, the results of the 40th Phi Delta Kappa (PDK)/Gallup Poll on the "Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools" made the rounds in education circles, sending a clear message about the need to improve the U.S. system. The message, however, did not come from education organizations or any particular interest groups; it came from the American public.
Results from the poll underscore the challenges facing U.S. students and schools and indicate the public's desire for change. For example, fewer than 2 out of 10 Americans believe No Child Left Behind (NCLB) should continue without significant change, and only 1 in 4 think the legislation is helping their local schools. In addition, Americans fear U.S. schools are not keeping up in today's global economy. About half gave schools in Europe and Asia grades of As and Bs, compared with more than 60 percent who assigned U.S. schools Cs or below.
Amidst the campaign speeches and promises, these results represent a distressing view of the U.S. education system and raise concern for the country's status as an economic and political leader. Indeed, as demands for a highly skilled and educated workforce grow, U.S. schools are struggling to keep pace. The public knows it. The question is: How do we fix it?
ASCD believes that answer should come from the people who know the most about what is and is not working in schools—the educators. The PDK/Gallup Poll indicates the American public agrees, with the vast majority (77 percent) feeling that the new president should rely on educators for advice about how to improve our education system.
On September 16, a group of ASCD educators—representing classroom teachers, principals, district administrators, curriculum developers, college professors, and others—traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with their federal lawmakers during ASCD's Leadership for Effective Advocacy and Practice (LEAP) Institute. During their meetings, the educators shared ASCD's legislative priorities, which form the basis of the Association's policy recommendations for improving NCLB and echo some of the concerns expressed in the PDK/Gallup Poll.
Currently, the assessment and accountability system under NCLB relies heavily on standardized tests that provide a snapshot of student knowledge and ability at a single moment in time. ASCD's LEAP attendees called on their lawmakers to establish better assessment systems that allow achievement and accountability to be measured using a variety of indicators, including student grades, portfolios and exhibitions, teacher evaluations, and progress and growth over time. When the PDK/Gallup Poll asked Americans to choose the assessment method they believed would provide the most accurate picture of student achievement, more chose examples of student work and teacher observations than test scores. And 80 percent felt school performance should be measured by student academic progress instead of the percentage of students who passed a state test.
Historically, the first year of a new presidency and Congress is productive. Early in 2009, we anticipate movement on the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, the final education funding amounts for the year, and other child- and education-related policies. However, we can't wait until then to act. Now is the time to get informed and mobilize at the grassroots level so that educators have a stronger voice in shaping policies that support what is best for students.
ASCD educators understand the public's frustration and stand ready to help the new administration improve the U.S. education system. The Association is committed to the education of the whole child and seeks to recast the definition of a successful learner from one whose achievement is measured solely by academic tests to one who is knowledgeable, emotionally and physically healthy, civically inspired, engaged in the arts, prepared for work and economic self-sufficiency, and ready for the world beyond formal schooling.
Will the next president get the message? If not, he will jeopardize both our kids' future success in school, work, and life, as well as our country's future success in the global marketplace.
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