An 8-Track System in an iPod World
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 By Matthew Carr
National Review Online has posted an interview with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Since leaving office, he has remained involved in education reform through the Foundation for Excellence in Education. One part of the Q&A caught my attention in particular:
NRO: In your opening remarks at the conference, you said that our education system is like “an 8-track system living in an iPod world”? What changes do you think need to be made to bring our education system into the 21st century?
Governor Bush: I believe we are at a tipping point. We can build a world class education system through bigger and bolder reform - higher standards, more school choice, pay for performance, harnessing technology, and stronger accountability. If we give into complacency, we will cede our role as a global powerhouse.
There are two points worth noting. First, he’s absolutely right that our K-12 education systems have become anachronistic. The most obvious example is a school calendar still based on the needs of an agrarian economy. The research on the benefits of a year-round schedule, and the differential regression rates of students during the summer months that contributes to the achievement gap, is well documented. Yet, implementing a reform as seemingly simple as extending the school year quickly becomes a political quagmire because of funding issues and union rules.
Other examples are easy enough to find and I’m sure most people have their own favorite - the lack of technology utilization in the classroom, paying teachers according to steps and ladders rather than performance, residential school assignment, etc, etc.
The second point that jumped out was the similarities between the specific policy proposals set out by Governor Bush and those described by the Ohio Department of Education’s Creating a World-Class Education System in Ohio report.
Both highlight rigorous accountability, high standards, and quasi-market policies that alter incentive structures. All of which makes Governor Strickland’s decision to focus on reforms before funding somewhat reassuring.
Unfortunately, there is little reason to believe that when he does lay out some specific ideas they will look anything at all like either those of former Governor Bush or the ODE report recommendations. Here’s hoping our governor can do better than yet another round of 8-track players.
Tags: Education, School Choice, School Finance, Strickland, Teacher Unions
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:31 am
[...] Buckeye Institute’s education policy director, Matt Carr, is a bit hopeful about the process: “Governor Strickland’s decision to focus on reforms before funding [is] somewhat [...]