Education Reform: Diploma Should Mean Something

Since a 1983 study called “A Nation at Risk” warned that the quality of U.S. public education lagged far behind that of other developed countries, demands for reform have been incessant. But the rhetoric rarely has been translated into change. The problem is particularly acute here in California. Leaders of the state’s high-tech industries complain that public schools fail to provide them with first-rate employees. Officials at state universities find themselves mired in the business of remedial education. In 1994, for example, eight out of every 10 freshmen enrolled at Cal State Los Angeles were deemed unprepared for college-level English courses, while 85% of all freshmen at Cal State Dominguez Hills required remedial instruction in math.

Sacramento began getting serious about reform this year, earmarking $971 million to help local school districts reduce the average size of first- and second-grade classes to 20 students. And on Tuesday, state officials unveiled the first high school graduation standards ever proposed in California. Designed to clarify what students should know in order to succeed, the standards wisely go beyond rote learning. Instead, they require students to demonstrate various proficiencies, such as the ability to draw conclusions from literature or a facility for data analysis and mathematical reasoning.

State officials say California is still years away from implementing the standards, which puts it well behind the national curve. Ten states already require their high school students to pass graduation exams linked to specific academic standards. With California students, teachers and parents now on notice, a phase-in of such standards should proceed.

Thanks to a surplus in the state’s general fund, Sacramento should be able to help local school districts close the gap. For the new standards to work, several steps should be taken:

* Students must be expected to demonstrate certain proficiencies prior to entering high school. Currently, only three states, California not among them, plan to implement such a requirement. Studies show early intervention is the only effective way to prevent students from falling behind.

* Students should be required to demonstrate certain skills before being promoted to the next grade. A report of the American Federation of Teachers says only half the states intend to tie assessment tests to student promotion.

* Public schools should coordinate their standards with college requirements, as Oregon is now doing. For years, the California State University system has required its freshmen (except those with relatively high SAT scores) to take a test assessing their knowledge of English and math. This requirement would be motivational if it was a condition of admission.

Prompt action is needed. As state Supt. of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin warned in an assessment that could well be too optimistic, “In 10 years there will be two kinds of people in California: the well-educated and the hardly employable.”