Education Issues

So I've long lambasted the weakness of the United States education system. I've been particularly disappointed with the lack of science and math education. Today, I read an interesting op-ed by the former CEO of Lockheed Martin:

With all the talk of America's very real weaknesses in the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math), you might be surprised to learn that the answer—according to the federal government's National Assessment of Educational Progress—is neither science nor math. And despite what might be suggested by the number of underwater home loans, high-school seniors actually fare best in economics.

Which leaves history as the answer, the subject in which students perform the most poorly. It's a result that puts American employers and America's freedoms in a worrisome spot.

Mr. Augustine goes onto say:

In my position as CEO of a firm employing over 80,000 engineers, I can testify that most were excellent engineers—but the factor that most distinguished those who advanced in the organization was the ability to think broadly and read and write clearly.

When we think about education reform, we should not limit our thinking to what aspects need to be improved, but rather, how to improve the whole. Being able to think is probably one of the biggest drags on students today. The skills you obtain from studying one subject can pay dividends to learning other subjects.

How do you improve the educational system though? Is there one way? Probably not. We live in a diverse country with diverse challenges. In Florida, there was a method that worked.

In an article praising a Bush, they say education should be left to the states:

“By federalizing education policy you create resistance at the classroom, school, school district -- and even the state level,” he told the Harvard Political Review earlier this year. “I think you’re getting more dynamic results by having the states play the policy role and holding local school districts accountable for actual learning.”

The state of Florida's educational system was not succeeding:

In 1998, Florida’s public educational system was ranked among the worst in the nation. Its high school graduation rate was an appalling 52 percent; 47 percent of its fourth-graders were functionally illiterate, according to nationally administered tests. To address this crisis, the state had adopted a rigorous set of criteria for each grade called the Sunshine State Standards, and established a system of tests, the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT), administered to fourth-, fifth-, eighth- and 10th-graders to see if students were living up to them.

What did Jeb Bush do? Reform, spend, improve:

Their first major legislative initiative, passed swiftly by the Florida legislature, was called the Florida A-Plus Plan. It’s primary features included the following four provisions: Making the FCAT an annual exercise so that each student is tested each year; assign letter grades, A through F, to every school in the state based on academic performance; requiring D and F schools to produce a detailed plan to improve performance -- and providing state money to help; and allowing students from chronically underperforming schools the option of transferring to any public school in their district, or an adjacent district, or even attending a private school at state expense.

And merit-based pay:

Bush and his team followed up in subsequent years with a plethora of other innovations. These included the always-controversial merit pay to retain the best teachers; changes in teacher certification procedures designed to attract instructors with a high grasp of the subject material (especially in math); ending “social promotions,” especially from third grade to fourth; and subsidizing PSAT tests for high school students from needy families. A third wave of policies expanded scholarships for needy kids, funded charter schools and “virtual” schools, and opened a number of pre-kindergartens programs across the state.

Bush saw success even in underrepresented minorities. This was a tremendous accomplishment.

Florida is a unique example, but it's not one that should be ignored. They did a lot of things I would agree with such as incentivizing schools to do better and to provide students and their families with options. For far too long, public education has been what is offered. It is time to let the people have the choice. This should paint a clearer picture to what works and what does not.