Paper Presented To
Colorado Association of School Executives
"Critical Conversations in P-16+ Education"
April 28, 2006
I am not a conspiracy nut. I do not think black helicopters follow me and I am OK thinking Oswald shot Kennedy. I do wonder what is up with the current bashing of K-12 education, especially high schools. For two years, I have heard Colorado Governor Bill Owens, CCHE commissioners Tim Foster and Rick O’Donnell, the Fund For Colorado’s Future, the Governor’s Education Alignment Council, Achieve, Inc., and the ACT organization persistently complain about what they say is the horrible job we are doing preparing students for college and life. I even read a 2003 quote in the Denver Post (Miniclier, 2003, p. ?) where CDE Commissioner Bill Moloney said, “Anyone can get a high school diploma if they are persistent, non disruptive and attend classes regularly.” I do not particularly find fault with that remark, but I do take issue with the commissioner’s concluding comment, “We release kids from high school or college on the same basis as we release prison inmates – for time served and good behavior.”
Such criticism is not at all new. In his landmark book, Education and the Cult of Efficiency, Raymond Callahan (1962) exposed the lengths to which school administrators went, particularly in the period from 1910 to 1950, in sacrificing educational goals to the demands of business. In a follow-up to Callahan’s classic, William Eaton included in his 1990 book a 1956 quote, “Reforming education is akin to politics and runs a close second to politics as the nation’s greatest spectator sport” (cited in Eaton, 1990, p. 115). He goes on to say,
Periodically, the public press, supported by the politicians, seizes upon education as the scapegoat for some national difficulty and demands reform of the public schools. . . .Whatever is the matter with the United States, the public schools may be blamed.
We certainly saw this played out following the 1957 launch of the Russian Sputnik and in 1983 with the Nation At Risk report (National Commission). Paul Houston, executive director of AASA, said this about high school reform,
When the most powerful man in the world and the richest man in the world agree on something, attention must be paid. President Bush has made high school reform a centerpiece of his [presidency], and . . . Bill Gates has been putting his money where his mouth is by massively funding high school reform efforts. Both men, along with most of the nation’s governors and business leaders, have concluded that our high schools are badly broken . . . . (Houston, 2005, p. 32)
In 1996 forty-five of the nation's governors joined business leaders to create Achieve, Inc. to be the clearing house of information in order to make high school reform a national priority. Now, 22 states have joined Achieve’s American Diploma Project. The heavy hitters who serve on Achieve’s board of directors (five governors and six corporation CEOs) expect to close the gap between what is demanded of students in high school and the skills they need to be successful in college and careers. I applaud the effort, but do not see the point in taking us all down in order to bring some up.
Michael Cohen, president of Achieve, Inc., spoke to the Alignment Council November 3 2005 in Denver. He presented a depressed view of the status of high school education in Colorado and the nation. His presentation and another one by a representative of American College Testing called for more math, English, and science. In January, I returned a report to Daniel Furman, director of education policy at the Fund for Colorado’s Future. He presented the information on established high school graduation requirements, including those at Holyoke High School, at a meeting of the Alignment Council on March 7, 2006. What his report did not show is that most of the fifty annual graduates at HHS greatly exceed the requirements. I told him a little about the extra courses our students choose in order to be ready for college and life. In addition to AP and dual-credit courses, 60% of our students are involved in leadership organizations like FBLA, FCCLA, and FFA. We send over forty students each year to their respective organization’s national convention. We also have an exhaustive program of art, music, drama, scholastic competitions, and athletics that further increases the student’s team building and leadership skills in ways an ACT test, CSAP test, or list of outcomes can never measure.
I made similar remarks to Matt Gianneschi, chief academic officer of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE), after reading the commission’s remedial education report (CCHE, 2005) released in December 2005. In an exchange of emails, Matt and I discussed a quote of his regarding the “wasted senior year.” (Denver Post, 2005, December 14, p. 25A), and one from Rick O’Donnell who said, “We’ve often heard about the wasted senior year. Now we’re talking about the wasted junior year” (Rocky Mountain News, quoting Rick O’Donnell, 2005, January 25). Such talk is counterproductive to an inclusive P-16+ conversation.
Bear in mind the stated reasons (Futhey, 2003) for the new college entrance requirements were:
- Increase the percentage of high school graduates entering college,
- Reduce need for remedial classes, and
- Increase the likelihood of graduating with a bachelor’s degree within six years.
What I have not figured out is the political motivation for CCHE to come after K-12 education. Until his resignation, the executive director of CCHE was Rick O’Donnell, a political appointee of the governor, who incidentally created the governor’s Colorado Education Alignment Council. The Alignment Council receives research assistance from the Fund For Colorado’s Future, whose board president is Rick O’Donnell.
I wonder if the criticism is a way to take pressure off CCHE’s stated problems related to entry and degree completion. I think they would like to siphon some of the goodwill K-12 education has experienced with the populace as witnessed by the passage of Amendment 23. As the state’s colleges have lost tremendous allocations from the state legislature, I wonder if they are not also after our revenue stream. Does anyone here think we would be better served with a P-16+ commission running all education in the state?
I believe there is a concerted effort to undermine public education in favor of private schools paid with vouchers. The banner of “school choice” is code for elimination of public education! If that isn’t sufficiently sensational, let me mention American College Testing and the College Board (publishers of ACT and SAT respectively). Both companies are capable, and more than willing to test anyone for everything. They malign the status of student achievement and propose new tests to measure that lack of success. “State officials across the country are” says Education Week writer David Hoff “increasingly turning to college-admissions tests to measure the achievement levels and the college prospects of all their students” (Hoff, 2006, p. 28). Follow the money!
I suggested to CCHE representatives that those incoming freshman needing remedial courses pay the full cost of the classes. I predict that parents will demand their children work a little harder in high school if they have to pay the full cost of any remediation. It appears obvious to all of us in the field that an ACT score of 17-19 (depending on which test) is insufficient to begin at a four-year institution and have hope for success. CCHE beats us up because some students receive such low scores. Such a low ACT score is certainly a hint that the student should consider community college or other post-secondary pursuit. CCHE considers such a low score as a slap at the quality of product produced by our high schools. The mandatory remediation classes are a straw man, as the test is designed to sort students and of course, some will not do well on such a test.
I suggested to Mr. Gianneschi that to increase the percent of high school graduates entering college that CCHE offer an incentive of lower cost to freshman students. For instance, from Holyoke High School, a number of our graduates are going to Laramie, Wyoming where they receive in-state tuition, better financial packages, and lower campus costs. That university is no farther away from Holyoke than are Greeley, Fort Collins, or Boulder. In fact, I wonder if the year 2010 entrance requirements are meant to make the state universities more elite by forcing the “also-rans” to community colleges and other states, but out of their way.
I have also suggested that students who receive a bachelor’s degree within six years be given a monetary refund, or at least charge those who take longer, ever increasing costs per credit hour. These suggestions for refinement place the responsibility to solve the three stated problems on higher education, where CCHE declares it the fault of K-12.
Our district has minimum requirements for high school graduation that closely correspond to the entry requirements set by CCHE for the class of 2008. My particular objection is CCHE’s required fourth math class and two years of the same foreign language beginning with the class of 2010.
Our current graduation requirements mean each of our students receives a basic education that serves them well. The many extras we offer are all voluntary and most of the students participate. The fact that some do not take advantage of AP, dual-credit, and more rigorous electives is heartbreaking, but more required courses may, or may not, make our students any more ready for college. For many who do not yet plan on college, the requirements are an impediment to their plans that are currently being met with our robust curriculum. I fear that the tougher requirements could even lead to more dropouts.
I assure you we work diligently with all students to help them be successful in school regardless of their plans for the future. Some take us up on the help, while some turn away. We are constantly working though to find the “key” to turn on each mind.
We currently have 15 eighth graders taking Spanish I in order to get one of the new required courses out of the way so they can take the electives of their choice when they get in high school. Enrollment is up 30% in our Spanish I, II, III, IV classes over last year. We provide a teacher via an instructional television network with an adjoining high school, and several other schools will join our consortium this coming year. I suspect we will need a second Spanish teacher a year from now. If I need one more foreign language teacher, how many do you suppose the Jefferson County district will need? Where will they come from? The University of Northern Colorado is graduating only seven this year. A fourth math class will increase by 25% the required courses needed to graduate. Where will we secure ¼ more math teachers?
Various Colorado think tanks, state legislators, and well-meaning organizations, are advocating even tougher graduation requirements in hopes of closing the achievement gap, improving CSAP scores, improving graduation rates, and increasing the percentage of students entering college. I share those goals, but we are already accomplishing them in Holyoke where the gap between Hispanic students and white students has closed by more than half in the past two years, the junior and senior high schools rank HIGH on the SAR, better than 95% of the students graduate, and 75% of our seniors enter college.
Our local example contradicts the so-called “Colorado Paradox” (CCHE, 2006, p. 9) that says as a state, Colorado has one of the nation’s most educated populations, yet a below average college-going rate among recent high school graduates. Therefore, several have ineptly concluded, all students should prepare for, and enter college. This one-size fits all approach will not serve my students any better. We have structured a program of rigor, responsibility, high interest, and achievement. I believe all of our school districts are capable of meeting any challenge, but let us decide locally how best to make the necessary improvements.
The process we use to assure school improvement in my district is time consuming and expensive. Having experienced a decline of over one hundred students over the past five years (700 down to 600 students), the district has imposed a 5% pay cut for certified staff and eliminated several teaching and classified positions. These circumstances create unique problems and increase local pressure to weaken our student achievement goals. I am in a quandary of how to keep all sides satisfied, but we shall prevail.
While many clamor for more required courses and tougher standards, we in Holyoke School District are successfully meeting federal and state regulations with graduates of distinction. Current education apologists David Berliner and Bruce Biddle (1995) as well as Gerald Bracey (1997 & 1995) examine and continue to expose misinformation about education that is so prevalent in America today. I encourage you to pay more attention to their articles and books and less to the reactionaries currently driving the national and Colorado’s education agendas.
As Paul Houston (2005, p. 40) said recently, “Those who are interested in reform should focus on getting schools the resources they need to do the job.” He also said, “Reform will not work by putting on more handcuffs. It will be accomplished by removing shackles so that people can fly.”
For additional information, contact:
Stephen Dean Bohrer, PHD
214 Shadow Wood Dr
Alamosa, CO 81101
719-937-2947 (house)
719-937-1311 (cell)
Stephen@Bohrer.com
References
Berliner, D. C., & Biddle, B. J. (1995). The manufactured crisis: Myths, fraud, and the attack on America's public schools. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Bracey, G. W. (1997). The truth about America's schools: The Bracey Reports, 1991-97. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.
Bracey, G. W. (1995). Final Exam: A study of the perpetual scrutiny of American education. Bloomington, IN: Technos Press.
Callahan, R. E. (1962). Education and the cult of efficiency: A study of the social forces that have shaped the administration of the public schools. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Colorado Commission on Higher Education. (2005, December). Remedial education: One-third of incoming college students unprepared by K-12 high schools. Denver: Colorado Commission on Higher Education.
Eaton, W. E. (Ed.). (1990). Shaping the superintendency: A reexamination of Callahan and the cult of efficiency. New York: Teachers College Press.
Futhey, Carol. (2003, October 2). Revision of admission standards policy. Report to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (Agenda Action Item IV, B).
Hoff, D. J. (2006, March 22). Kentucky moves toward college test for all. Education Week, (25)28, 28 & 30.
Houston, P. D. (2005, June 15). Intelligent redesign: Reframing the discussion on high school reform. Education Week, (24)40, 32 & 40.
Miniclier, K. (2003, October 3). Education chief seeks preschool funds. Denver Post. page unknown.
National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. Washington, DC: United States Department of Education.
O’Connor, E. (1956). The Last Hurrah. Boston: Little Brown and Company.
The book is a novel about a veteran
Irish politician, Frank Skeffington, as seen through the eyes of a nephew whom he invites to accompany him on yet another mayoral reelection campaign - which turns out to be unsuccessful and the end of Skeffington's long career. Skeffington is slightly corrupt, but delivers service to his constituents. His time has past, and he loses the election to a very mediocre and nondescript challenger. While not an exact copy, there are points of similarity between Skeffington and a former Boston mayor
James Michael Curley. In 1958 the book by the same name was made into a movie starring Spencer Tracy.
