Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former West Virginia governor and congressman speaks at the State of the State Conference. Photo by Michael Childs. |
Educators must take advantage of opportunities of economic crisis, Wise says
Georgia’s educators should take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the current economic crisis—specifically, the federally recognized link between education and economic recovery—to join other states in calling for national standards in mathematics and reading, said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education.
Genevieve di Leonardo | Oct 5, 2009
|
|
The time is right for national standards in mathematics and reading, said Bob Wise. Photo by Michael Childs. |
“We are in a historic moment for education reform,” Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, told more than 100 of Georgia’s top education leaders and policymakers at the second annual Education in Georgia: A State of the State Report on October 1.
Georgia’s educators should take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the current economic crisis—specifically, the federally recognized link between education and economic recovery—to join other states in calling for national standards in mathematics and reading, he said.
A key shortcoming of No Child Left Behind was permitting each state to set its own measure of proficiency, said the former West Virginia governor and congressman. He likened it to allowing him to set his own height and speed for the high hurdle.
Wise said that while Georgia has its own education issues—namely high school and college graduation rates that hover below the national average—education provides a national challenge, not just a challenge to Georgia.
“Today, three out every 10 students do not graduate from high school,” said Wise. “About a third who do graduate are not college- and work-ready. As a result, the United States has dropped from 2nd in number of college graduates among developed countries in 1995 to 15th today."
This has a tremendous unemployment and economic impact on Georgia and the nation, he said.
Unlike past recessions, the current economic crunch is not an equal-opportunity victimizer in terms of job losses, he said. The unemployment rate is much higher in jobs requiring a lower skills set and education. While higher skilled jobs are expected to reappear during the economic recovery, the lower skilled jobs, once cut, are unlikely to return.
Another economic impact of education is lost future wages, said Wise. For example, as a result of those who did not graduate high school in 2009, there was a $15.5 billion loss in wages. However, if the dropout rate was cut by 50 percent, wages would increase $145 million.
“I know many of you legislators could use $145 million right now,” said Wise.
The good news, he said, is that Georgia is doing several things to improve their graduation rate and prepare all students to be ready for college or work. The governor has funded graduation coaches, online SAT preparation, and the state is participating in the American Diploma Project. In addition, Georgia is one of six states approved the differentiated accountability pilot program. Georgia is also one of 15 states selected by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to receive help with Race to the Top application.
He also complimented Georgia on the use of a robust longitudinal data system that included 9 of 10 elements recommended by the Data Quality Campaign, from which informed decisions can be made.
“A good longitudinal system is crucial to improving student achievement. I like to call it the UPS test,” said Wise. “Educators should be able to follow their students’ progress like UPS tracks a package.”
Georgia is also one of 48 states participating in the Common Core Standards Initiative, an effort by states to develop common core standards for reading and math, supported by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers in partnership with the ACT and the College Board.
Wise stressed the importance of this program, explaining that it will provide standards that are research and evidence-based, internationally benchmarked, and aligned with college and work expectations.
A draft of college and career readiness standards, developed by a 25-member validation committee of the Common Core Standards Initiative, was released September 21 and can be viewed at www.corestandards.org.
The Common Core Standards are a critical initial step toward transforming education, he said. For systemic change to occur:
• Aligned assessments that are richer, better measures of what students know and are able to do must be developed;
• Aligned instructional materials must be developed;
• Time, resources and tools must be provided to educators to adjust classroom;
• Federal, state and district policies will need to be re-examined to ensure they support alignment of the common core – with student achievement.
A set of K-12 common core state standards are expected to be completed and released to the public for comment sometime this winter. The states are expected to set adoption timelines in early 2010, said Wise.
Wise noted that there was more than $100 billion for education in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act among the educational priorities of President Barack Obama’s administration.
To receive funding, states must commit to four areas of measure improvement/progress:
• Making progress toward rigorous college and career-ready standards, and high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable for all students,
• Establishing pre-K to college and career data systems that track progress and foster continuous improvement,
• Making improvements in teacher effectiveness and in the equitable distribution of qualified teachers for all students,
• Providing intensive support and effective interventions for the lowest-performing schools.
Wise said educational leaders across the country realize there is a window of opportunity in this unprecedented economic crisis with weak fiscal conditions expected to continue possibly into 2011 and 2012, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers.
“There is an extricable link between education and the economy,” said Wise. “Higher unemployment rates across the country directly correlate to the level of educational attainment.”
Policymakers at the federal, state and local level are recognizing this link and focusing on this as tremendous challenge and opportunity. Stakeholders must continue to work around a common agenda for ensuring college- and work-readiness for all students, he said.
Jeffrey Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth in UGA’s Terry College of Business, told education leaders that Georgia K-12 would lag behind the state's economic recovery but should see budget improvments by 2012. Photo by Michael Childs. |
The second keynote speaker, Jeffrey Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth in UGA’s Terry College of Business, warned that the nation’s economic recovery will be slow and bumpy, as the consumer sector will struggle to regain its footing.
Although Georgia was hit especially hard by the recession, its recovery will likely match that of the nation, predicts Humphreys, who described the two economies as “joined at the hip in synchronized recovery.” He attributed the recession’s significant local impact to Georgia’s vast economic activity in the housing industry, from home building to remodeling.
Humphreys predicted a full recovery of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2011. However, while the period of heavy job losses appears to be over, he does not think that jobs will be fully recovered until 2013. He noted that in the last decade, Georgia has experienced no net job growth.
In conclusion, Humphreys said that K-12 education would not likely recover in terms of funding until 2012, due to its budgetary dependence on state and local government.
There were three concurrent breakout sessions in the afternoon featuring the following topics and speakers:
• Risk Factors in Predicting School Completion. Amy Reschley, assistant professor in educational psychology, College of Education, UGA.
• Emerging Policy Considerations for English Language Learners. Pedro R. Portes, The Goizueta Foundation Distinguished Chair of Latino Teacher Education, professor in counseling, and executive director of the Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE), College of Education, UGA.
• Assessment and Accountability Reform. Eric Houck, assistant professor in educational administration and policy, College of Education, UGA.
See power point presentations, text and video (coming soon) of the speakers on the conference website.
See October 2 blog posts from Maureen Downey of the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
“Time is right for national standards and assessments.”
“Recession over. ‘Joyless’ recovery ahead for Georgia schools”
Genevieve di Leonardo is a first-year master's student in public relations and a graduate assistant in the COE's Office of Communications & Publications.
Top of Page
|
coeUPDATES
