by Renette McCargo
Evening Times, West Memphis, Arkansas
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
What West Memphis School District is doing with their assessment should be used as a model for the state, said Arkansans for Education Reform Foundation executive director Luke Gordy as he spoke about the educational delivery system core principles.
Gordy was a special guest during West Memphis Rotary Monday. He said the educatinal needs of today's children changes rapidly and the educational delivery system must change to meet those needs.
Improving education was not just an educational issue, it was also an economic development issue that is vital to the future, he continued.
Pointing out some national statistics, Gordy said total spending from local, state and federal sources on elementary and secondary education was approximately $500 billion annually.
Even though that was more than what was spent in the national defense, he said children in public schools still were not getting the education to prepare them for the workforce.
Giving even more statistics, he said 42 percent of freshmen entering a public two year college have to be remediated. About 20 percent of freshmen entering four year universities were enrolled in remedial courses in 2000. He said colleges spend $2 billion annually on remediation.
Gordy called on West Memphis School Superintendent Bill Kessinger to explain some standards that would place a student in remediation upon entering college.
Kessinger said Arkansas requires students to score higher than an 18 on the ACT. Any score lower would place the student in remediation. However, Tennessee requires students to score 16 or less before being placed in remediation. Kessinger said this was just state-supported schools.
Gordy also talked about how the state could make some changes in the education delivery system.
First, he talked about how the system could be more accountable. He said educators should know what kids should be able to do by what grade level they were in. Furthermore there needed to be a more comprehensive mechanism in place (such as a pre-test or post-test) to see how much value had been added from the beginning of school to the end.
Secondly, he talked about transparency. This was an indicator for parents, teachers and policy makers on exactly how children were advancing and how education funds were being spent. He said achievement should be reported in "absolute terms".
"Some schools are doing it. Some schools are not," he said, adding that West Memphis School District was one of those schools which was making assessments throughout the year.
Finally, he siad parents should have more choices. What that meant was parents could have other options such as magnet or open enrollment charter schools. He said children should not have to attend a school system that did not provide adequate education for them. Furthermore, he said the choice should also extend to teachers and administrators.
Recently, Arkansas raised graduation requirements for students. Gordy said Arkansas was one of the three states that required students to take more classes before graduation.
Arkansans for Education Reform Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization started by president and CEO of Murphy Oil Corporation of Eldorado Claiborne Deming, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Publisher Walter Hussman Jr., Exosemis, Inc. Jackson T. Stephens and Arvest Bank chairman Jim Walton.
