As the calendar rolled over into 2012, the seemingly endless human capacity for hope dictated that the New Year had to be better than 2011. Certainly problems with the gridlock in Washington, the economy, unemployment and an ongoing war would improve in the coming year. Similarly the world of education, where an equivalent amount of negative events occurred, would also have to improve.
A loss of trust
For education 2011 was the year of scandals. Every educator understands that when the integrity of an academic activity is compromised all of the results that follow are meaningless. People who cheat whether in the individual classroom or on standardized tests ultimately punish the performance of those who do not. In 2011, unfortunately, the question of honesty in our schools became a focal point. Scandals involving standardized tests were uncovered throughout the country with the most egregious occurring in Atlanta where widespread “cheating parties” were conducted by teachers and administrators. Meanwhile several SAT frauds were exposed, which in turn demonstrated the woeful lack of security in that program. Individuals were being paid thousands of dollars to take exams for other students. The systems in place to protect the testing were so weak that one of the phony test-takers recently told 60 Minutes that he had even taken exams for females and on occasion participated in multiple sessions in a single weekend. To make matters worse the individuals who had hired these substitutes emerged unscathed. The fraudulent manner in which they achieved their scores was kept confidential by the testing program.
These events have dire results. Schools who did not manipulate their standardized test scores are deemed inferior to others who did. Students who took their own SATs lost opportunities to attend universities that they rightfully earned. The integrity of all teachers and administrators is brought into question by the immoral actions of a few.
Lacking a true focus on education
In 2011 education was the issue that disappeared. While the 2012 presidential campaign was dominated by discussions about jobs, the economy, wars and health care, immense amounts of time were also spent on vaccinations that supposedly cause mental retardation, discussions equating corporations to people and all things Donald Trump. Meanwhile scant if any conversations were focused on education. No candidate was asked how to fix a system that graduates only 70% of its participants. No opinions were solicited on how to raise America’s performance on the NAEP and PISA exams. Sadly the candidates’ primary focus on U.S. academics was on abolishing the Department of Education.
It was apparent few if any politicians were connecting the dots. While unemployment was a constant topic, no one was willing to state that the true issue is more about education than jobs. Rarely addressed was the fact that an individual without a high school diploma is three times as likely to be unemployed as those with a college education. No air-time was devoted to a discussion of how to develop a system for giving American workers the skill set necessary for employment in 2012.
On the state level, governments in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana found that the best way to meet difficult budget demands was to reduce teacher salaries, benefits and bargaining rights along with other public employees. The educators in Wisconsin, average annual salary $52,000, were directly blamed for the state’s economic woes. At the local level, funds for education continued to be among the first to be cut.
Making the serious into the trivial
In 2011 educational policy often lurched into the ridiculous. With an obesity epidemic threatening to engulf the health of our children, a discussion for improving the quality of school lunches led Congress to the following decision—pizza is now defined as a vegetable. Of course, this decree also required that the pizza in question have so much tomato product as to render the dish virtually inedible. A recent health report attributed one-third of all cancers in this country to obesity and yet such data could not deter the government from offering up pizza and French fries as good nutrition for our students.
When No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was enacted in 2001, there was little doubt that the requirement of a 100% pass rate for all schools by 2014 was implausible. A more realistic goal of 95% would have been considered challenging but possible; a goal of perfection was quickly deemed totally unrealistic. But for years the process moved forward with little acknowledgement of this fatal flaw. Finally, as more and more schools failed to reach higher and higher benchmarks, the federal government blinked and a new tactic was created—exemptions to the mandated 100% pass rates. Establishing different standards for schools significantly reduces the credibility of NCLB. Educational policy that includes loopholes that rival the tax code can be confusing at best and ineffective at worst.
Is there hope for the future?
One potentially positive development in 2011 was the introduction of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This document outlines a more rigorous, enlightened and uniform approach to education that could result in considerable improvement in academic programs throughout the nation. The one caveat, of course, is that it must be implemented effectively. This is an assumption that based on the events of 2011 must be made with extreme caution.
Next: An Educational Wish List for 2012
