What to look for in education this year

A great deal of time and energy have been expended analyzing all the events and forces in education in 2016. But now it’s time to look ahead. So in keeping with my annual tradition, I will summarize some of the education issues that promise to figure most prominently in 2017.

Some of these are trends that have been with us for a while and will continue to push the discussion on education. Others are emerging trends that will foster heated debate over how to address them going forward. All are playing out against a shifting national landscape and philosophical disagreements regarding the true purpose of education and how best to realize our visions.

On the agenda this year:

Common Core versus competition

President-elect Donald Trump has called the Common Core standards “a disaster.” Look for a shift in priorities at the federal level, led by his pick for Education secretary, Betsy DeVos. The former Michigan Republican Party chairwoman is a staunch advocate of school vouchers and “choice,” which allow families to use public funds for private schools. She also supports the spread of charter schools.

Even so, the changes in education that DeVos is expected to champion don’t necessarily mean that Common Core is doomed. In large measure, that’s because there is no federal Common Core law.

True, the Obama administration encouraged the adoption of the education standards by allocating Race to the Top funds to states that signed on. But the decision about whether or not to opt in to Common Core was made on a state-by-state basis, and those states — including California — that bought in are now well invested in making the standards work.

Despite a rocky rollout of some of the new Common Core-aligned curriculum, many states are likely to remain committed to the basic philosophy set forth in the standards, which emphasize critical thinking over rote memorization.

Testing and accountability

Of all the knotty issues in education, these are among the knottiest. In 2017, we will keep agonizing about standardized testing — how to test, how often and how to view the results. We’ll also continue arguing over how to hold schools and teachers accountable for educational outcomes.

At the risk of grossly oversimplifying, the overriding argument comes down to the question of whether we need repeated high-stakes testing to hold schools accountable, or if such testing actually impedes educators from being effective.

We’ll also continue to hear from education reformers who contrast our system with other, high-achieving countries like Finland that do very little standardized testing, hold their teachers in high regard, and give those teachers great freedom to manage their classrooms as they see fit.

But don’t expect to see much progress, at least not yet. That’s because even though criticism of standardized testing is rampant, we have no clearly articulated and broadly supported plan for a better way to evaluate how schools, teachers and students are faring.

Unfortunately, an overly complicated new system for judging public schools from the State Board of Education doesn’t appear likely to help clarify matters. And efforts to hold underperforming schools accountable will probably continue to focus more narrowly on how to make it easier to fire bad teachers.

College entrance fairness and affordability

The fairness issue will continue to be hot topic this year. The conversation nationwide is being driven by groups such as the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success, which are working to open more college doors for students from disadvantaged backgrounds who, their research shows, aren’t fully participating in college admissions and completion.

And in California, in particular, affordability will be a top priority. A new statewide survey released last month by the Public Policy Institute of California found that a large majority of state residents consider college affordability the top problem in higher education.

As public universities in the state face mounting budget pressures, however, arguments will persist over how we’ll pay for funding gaps, with scant support for either tuition hikes or new taxes. Rock, meet hard place.

Free speech and intolerance

Expect the heated arguments over trigger warnings, safe spaces, microaggressions, diversity, equality and the rights of various interest groups to promote their ideas on campus to keep rising in temperature.

We will see more clashes like the one that took place at UC Irvine last summer over the appearance of a controversial conservative celebrity, which drew protesters and supporters out in force. As one student at the scene aptly observed, “We are a divided campus now.”

This year, positions will harden and friendships will be tested. Also, look for the protests taking place across college campuses to filter down to high schools.

And more ...

Many other issues in education will loom large in 2017. Among them will be how to improve and expand early childhood education; the continued push to seamlessly integrate technology, Internet-based learning programs and social media into class studies; increasing calls to emphasize more skills-based learning; and escalating financial problems involving pensions and strained school budgets.

We will also hear more worried entreaties for state authorities to take action to deal with the growing teacher shortage in California, which could reach crisis levels this year. More on this, and other topics, in future columns.

Happy new year.

PATRICE APODACA is a former Newport-Mesa public school parent and former Los Angeles Times staff writer. She lives in Newport Beach.