Cracking the Whip to Improve Education
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I volunteer in a reading program for a Santa Ana elementary school. I am alarmed by the removal of two principals from Santa Ana elementary schools because of their students’ low performance on the Stanford 9 tests (Aug. 6).
We can replace principals, fire or reassign teachers, and remove students from classes by continuously holding them back or allowing them to drop out, b. But that won’t solve the education problem.
Real education reform is going to cost more money. If so many students aren’t making the grade under existing classes, then, among other things, we need to add new remedial and special programs in reading, writing, and math to boost learning.
Punishment alone is not going to produce educational reform, but it certainly is a cheap way to pretend we have a cure. The sooner we learn the difference, the faster our students and educational system can improve.
Neil Cleere
Yorba Linda
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