In the 20+ years I have been involved in education policy—and in the wake of the recent controversy over former Indiana and Florida State Superintendent Tony Bennett—I find myself repeatedly asking: why is common sense so absent from the discussion of how to improve education? Rather than focusing on the best methods for establishing a system that provides all students with the quality education they need to succeed in life, the focal point almost always becomes about the who and not the what in policy decisions. But is it fair to use this controversy solely to question whether school performance should be measured in any meaningful way, as it was here, here, and here? Then there is this outrageous post suggesting that we not only scrap school grades, but the entire reform movement.
There is no denying the latest school grade flap involving Dr. Bennett and his staff at the Indiana Department of Education raises plenty of questions. There’s a good case to be made that in this case the changing of a school’s grade may have been politically motivated. The case of the A-to-F grade change made for Christel House Academy, however, is the exception that proves the rule.
It is interesting some people critical of Dr. Bennett immediately pointed to student outcome data in arguing that the grade was unfounded, which means they are saying the school’s performance data should speak for itself and school ratings should not be reverse engineered. Thus, I would ask the people pursuing such logic in challenging Dr. Bennett to apply it fairly and consistently to everyone else. To imply the entire idea of grading schools should be weakened or dismantled, as some are doing, is more politically opportunistic, and with much farther reaching consequences, than whatever the Indiana Department of Education did for Christel House.
It seems ironic that some of the most vocal critics of Dr. Bennett and the idea of school grading systems couch the discussion in a debate about the merits of issuing grades to schools in the first place. Why is it so wrong to assess how well a school is advancing student learning by applying a grade to that achievement (or lack of it)? In a system where grading kids has been the norm dating back to the horse and buggy, it seems unconscionable that the adults behind this current, and at times vitriolic, debate refuse to extend the same practice to schools and school districts.
Equally confounding is the uproar surrounding the adoption of measures to gauge how well teachers are educating their students. In Indiana and almost every other state where teacher evaluations have been introduced, the action has been met with protests and fierce opposition. In a system funded with taxpayer money, it is mystifying to think this should seem unreasonable. It also defies common sense to think that those who do their jobs the best should not be paid more than those who fail to perform up to par.
Policies proposed to: (1) Fund schools based on the needs of students and what that actually costs; (2) Give parents and students choices for where they receive an education, even when some kids are clearly being required to attend a lousy school; (3) Set expectations – standards – for learning that will prepare students to be successful in life beyond high school; and, (4) Use tests and other measures of achievement to determine if students are meeting the expectations we set or are even learning become the subject of intense debate, news reports, articles, and various social media posts. Those policy proposals are all grounded in taking logical or common sense approaches to improving education. So to debate if those policies should be enacted and not how they can be carried out only further detaches education from what makes sense.
Rather than having an honest discussion on how to do any of these things, or how to do them best in education, we instead find ourselves debating if these actions should be taken at all. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying there are not people involved in education policy, and engaged in reform—on both sides of the issues—who pursue ideas with questionable motives. Nor are my comments intended to defend or for that matter cast any sort of judgment on Tony Bennett or anyone else. What I am saying is, it is time—actually well past time—to do what makes sense in improving our education systems in this country, and certainly in Indiana to serve the best interests of all students.
In the meantime, as the latest controversy swirls and the adult rhetoric grows louder and louder, another 96 kids dropped out of school today in Indiana. As the new school year gets underway, we can unfortunately predict thousands of Hoosier students will still fall further behind, with many of those young people heading for an uncertain and often bleak future. Sadly, as data verifies, those same children will eventually end up unemployed, potentially on public assistance, and for far too many—incarcerated. So, as we keep questioning the motives of policy makers and incessantly wage a rhetorical war of words in ed reform debates, where does this leave the kids? If we continue to lust for the next conspiracy theory, reformer run afoul or corporate school raider, nothing will change. The spotlight will continue to be diverted from those who deserve it the most – the children we profess to care about, and what we should do to help them. But alas common sense is yet another casualty in the endless battle to do better by our kids. And for that, we all deserve an F.
Larry joined the DFER team at the end of 2010. He has over twenty years of experience in research, policy development and analysis, and evaluation, primarily in the areas of education and youth development. He was formerly the chief education policy advisor to Governor Frank O’Bannon, and served as the Education Finance Analyst for the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee prior to that.