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1/2/2007
Education for all is just a bad dream
Wisconsin is failing minority and low-income students. Plain and simple. Of the 10 issue areas featured in the Post-Crescent’s end-of-year “Editorial Agenda Update," at least six are critically reliant on our schools performing – performing much better than they do now – and performing better and better around the state, not just here in our cozy, cuddly Fox Cities backyard.
Think about it. Success in these six important “Issue” areas – labeled by the Post-Crescent as Economic Development, Fiscal Responsibility, Education (of course), Government Accountability, Working Poor, and Citizenship have at their core a well-performing education system.
Then think about this. According to The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children?, Wisconsin is doing a dreadful job in closing the achievement gap between the haves and the have-nots. The difference in achievement scores between Wisconsin white and African-American students is in the dead-last position – tied with Minnesota.
Something’s wrong with that. And what’s also wrong is that this dreadful divide drags the whole state down with it.
Ah, but you say (as do many), Wisconsin’s ACT scores rank at the very top in the nation.
Those ACT scores help all of us ignore what is going on with the neediest among us – primarily students in the Milwaukee Public Schools.
Those Key Issues
How can we move Economic Development in Wisconsin forward, given this MPS albatross? How can we ever think of Fiscal Responsibility (to me that means first and foremost balancing the state budget) with billions of dollars spent to gain such dismal results for low-income and minority students? And Government Accountability? We are all failing the failing school districts in our state. And we’re failing many minority and low-income students among us in the Fox Valley. How can the Working Poor move forward without an education? How can folks who need to make a difference, be good at Citizenship when the educational system fails them?
And talk about government accountability – how do our state standards compare with others? Another recent Fordham report, The State of State Standards, 2006 states, “Solid standards matter because they are the foundation of standards-based reform, the dominant education policy strategy in America today.” The Fordham Foundation reports that Wisconsin is among the states that not only hasn’t improved standards since “No Child Left Behind” was enacted in 2000, but instead, has weakened state standards! States were graded on standards that each set in the areas of English (Wisconsin scored a C), Math (D), Science (F), U.S. History (F) and World History (F). Read a summary of the report yourself. Wisconsin’s state standards score a rousing F+. Very very bad.
We’ve got work to do in Wisconsin and the Fox Valley when it comes to educating the economically disadvantaged among us. Access to affordable health care is first and foremost in most everyone’s mind. But we dare not, must not, ignore the need for accountability, much less for high expectations and high standards for, and high achievement by, all students in our state.
COMMENTS
Your comments are well taken. Accountability is key. Accountability begins first in the home with parents (or a parent) committed to nurturing responsible and productive children. Accountabilty then belongs with students themselves who must strive to learn and grow and succeed. Schools also need to be accountable to provide the environment, capable and dedicated teachers, as well as the physical resources required to encourage students on their quest. Finally, society must be accountable to set expectations, standards, and role models for it future citizenry. Absent accountability in all four of these areas, education will continue to languish as a sector with far too many failures.
Dennis Clauss (Tue Jan 02 09:38:48 2007)
Amen Jo! Thanks for bringing this issue to light. The only other person I've heard discuss this publicly is Mark Green. Our performance in these schools, where education is so critical, is atrocious.
Brian (Tue Jan 02 10:58:21 2007)
Jo, I'm not disagreeing that we need to do better with education, particularly down here in Milwaukee. However, I think you need to reconsider your reliance on the Fordham study you cited. I discussed it back in August:
Editor's Note: I get your point Jay. Good stuff. But the reality on the ground is that MPS isn't working. And I'd argue, as I tried to, that it's pulling down the state in many key areas. Study after study - what can we do? Jo Egelhoff
Jay Bullock (Tue Jan 02 18:02:32 2007)
I wonder what responsibility MPS bears in this. Sure we should be concerned but the change has to be driven from the local level; they're the ones with the stake in the school and the outcome.
Brian (Thu Jan 04 09:18:14 2007)
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