Look to the Test Scores

Gov. Pete Wilson is expected to have the last word on how most of the $818-million extra allocation for public schools and community colleges will be spent when the new state budget is approved. His and the Legislature’s priorities should be guided by statewide standardized test scores: Most California students read and do math far below national average levels.

A proposal to reduce class sizes to 20 students in the ninth grade, a year in which too many students lose interest in school or fail for other reasons, is a worthy idea but greatly mistimed. Currently, the goal of 20 students per teacher reaches from kindergarten through third grade. The governor and many educators support adding the fourth grade, but they acknowledge the expense and the severe shortage of additional classrooms on elementary campuses in many urban and suburban districts. In truth, neither should be a priority until the state can recruit better teachers, certify more of its emergency hires and pass a bond measure that would finance school construction.

Teacher quality will become even more important this school year as California schools grapple with tougher academic standards, a more difficult standardized test and a new English-immersion program required by Proposition 227 for most limited-English students. All of these challenges should take precedence over extending class-size reductions.

California teachers need intensive retraining, both before school opens and from time to time all year, to master the tougher new curriculum. Bilingual teachers also need retraining, new curricula, lesson plans and appropriate textbooks as they make the transition from teaching in Spanish and other languages to teaching primarily in English. The budget plan shortchanges staff development to pay for a longer school year. Students should spend more time in class, but extending the school year will mean little if they are taught by poorly prepared teachers.

Many California pupils need a strong remedial reading program in grades two through 11: That would help more primary students read at grade level by the end of the third grade; more casualties of the so-called whole language method of instruction could catch up, and high school students could gain the reading comprehension skills they should have to graduate.

As school districts end the practice of social promotion, failing students need extensive, compulsory summer school. Late-afternoon classes and Saturday tutoring sessions in reading and math also can help low-achieving students make the grade.

The governor deserves credit for his leadership on public education, a truly bipartisan effort in Sacramento. But how the extra money will be spent is still a political issue. Here’s a guiding notion: If it doesn’t help teachers improve and students quickly achieve better test scores and passing grades, put it on the back burner.