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The "Catch-22" of Public Education
By Susan Sims

Children are the future. How each child is reared and educated will determine the outcome of the country in the following decades. This is why education is such a significant issue, especially during elections. As politicians attempt to raise educational standards, however, their attempts occasionally render the opposite result.

The most recent and highly celebrated act supporting education has been the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, better known as the "No Child Left Behind Act," signed by President Bush earlier this year.

For Georgia, this act provides 1) the requirement that highly qualified teachers be hired, 2) an increase in Federal funding by more than $1.1 billion, to ensure that "no child is left behind," 3) an increase in Title I funding to better the quality of education for disadvantaged children, 4) an increase in funding up to $27.8 million for the Reading First Program to ensure literacy by the third grade, 5) and an increase in funding of more than $8.9 million to assess how well these programs are succeeding. To monitor the progress of schools, the Federal Government will also follow-up with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a standardized test designed to assess basic math and reading skills. Overall, the plan sounds ideal; however, the few flaws may be enough to prevent the plan from being widely successful.

First of all, the state of Georgia is having difficulty finding and retaining the services of teachers in general, let alone those of "highly qualified" caliber. "Highly qualified" is a broad, if not vague, standard, but with or without that qualification, the teaching profession is under-represented in the school systems, compared to the number of students filling every desk in a classroom (an average of 35-40). Since class sizes remain large by necessity and teachers are therefore unable to spend as much one-on-one time with each individual student, how is it possible that an increase of $1.1 billion prevents a child from being left behind? Wouldn't it seem more likely that a child would achieve and remain at the desired standard if class sizes were smaller, giving the teacher the freedom to work with the individual student?

Ah, but unfortunately, there still remains a lack of teachers, one of the single most underpaid, overworked professions in America. Perhaps if that $1.1 billion were designated for a raise in teacher salaries, more competent people would offer themselves as teachers in the public schools. Perhaps then "no child would be left behind."

Secondly, the incorporation of the NAEP testing initially sounds beneficial; however, as Greg Toppo, an education writer for the Associated Press, points out, "The law attaches no penalties to low NAEP scores."

What will encourage the states to raise and maintain their standards? The Department of Education believes the public embarrassment stemming from the low NAEP scores will provide sufficient motivation for the states to increase and maintain their educational standards. A possibility. However, a study conducted by the London-based EPPI-Center recently reported that high-stakes testing, such as the NAEP, tends to "reinforce the poor self-image of low-achieving students and leads teachers to resort to feeding facts to students." Perhaps not such a good idea after all.

Yet, feeding facts to students is becoming a more prevalent practice in the schoolroom today. One teacher from Riverwood High School in Fulton County admits that at least 50% of teachers focus on material solely for the test. Not all teachers are doing this by choice, however. The teacher also reported that they are required by their superiors to teach test-relevant material only or face the possibility of losing their jobs. In these cases, test results and statistics become the priority over understanding and achievement on the part of the student. Not all statistics support the idea of "teaching the test," though. At the Brookings Institution, a public-policy research center, studies have shown that tougher courses are directly linked to higher rates of college attendance and college graduation as well as higher scores on entrance exams. The studies continue on to report that "those who took advanced math and science courses are 17 times more likely to attend a four-year college rather than a two-year college," and account for a potential 265 point increase on the SAT test.

And so the "Catch-22" emerges: Without a salary increase, qualified teachers will remain hidden in the woodwork of the business world, resulting in large class sizes, little individual attention, and students inevitably being left behind. Simultaneously, even qualified teachers must "teach the test" as opposed to actually teaching the material which might result in the possibility of higher test scores. On such a basis, America could find itself in a dire situation, relative to the educational system and future employee base, in the next few decades.

All is not hopeless, though. A "rose among the briers" stems from an approach used by the Japanese educational system: the track system. In Japan, at the end of what the United States consider middle school (seventh or eighth grade), a series of tests is administered to determine the intelligence level, capabilities, and strengths of a child. These tests were created to help determine the field in which a student would be best suited, guiding the student to an academic, technical, or trade school to best meet the needs of the student.

The Japanese system, though not infallible, attempts to determine the capabilities of the student and to build upon those foundations in contrast to the American educational system that clumps all students, regardless of personality and learning style, into a mass of standardized tests. Perhaps it would be beneficial for the U.S. to expand beyond the confines of current political boundaries to further explore the educational possibilities and successes of other countries that might enhance our own.

Other educational possibilities exist, including a more Capitalist-friendly idea of merely teaching practical work skill courses alongside academic studies in high schools. Currently, courses teaching everyday business and work skills are severely lacking in public high schools.

For instance, the Cochrans from Woodstock, Ga., expressed their surprise at the situation. Their son, having attended Etowah High School, received the standard academic education; whereas their daughter, slightly mentally challenged, attended St. Francis Day School, where she learned to balance a checkbook as well as studied academic subjects. Should this be open to the "special schools" exclusively? No one is born with the ability to balance a checkbook, or a complete understanding of the banking system, etc. These are skills that must taught. Why not teach them, even as electives, within the public schools?

Regardless of which approach is now being used, the evidence suggests our educational system and its standards need help. The children of tomorrow depend upon us to effectively teach the children of today. Children grow up as we grow older; and, one day, our lives will be placed in their hands. Wouldn't it be more comforting to know that we, as well as the rest of the country, are in competent, capable hands? But first, we must teach them.

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