TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/081489/08148900.014

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                                                                                EDUCATION, Page 46

How to Tackle School Reform


Three states rise to the challenge and provide valuable lessons


    The facts are shocking. An estimated 13% of America's
17-year-olds -- and perhaps 40% of minority youths the same age
-- are functionally illiterate. In the six years since the
federally sponsored A Nation at Risk report warned of a "rising
tide of mediocrity" in U.S. schools, average combined scores on
the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) have risen only slightly,
from 893 to 904. Despite a 46% jump in the average amount that
local, state and federal governments spend per pupil, the
percentage of high school students who graduate has actually
dropped, from 73.3% to 71.1%. "We are standing still," Education
Secretary Lauro Cavazos said in May, as he unveiled a report
showing a tenacious lack of progress in public education.

    That dismal overall assessment, however, masks the success
that many states have had in boosting the quality of their
schools. Since A Nation at Risk, as many as 16 states have
adopted major legislative packages calling for sharp spending
increases and radical restructuring of their schools. How some
of these states moved education to the top of the political
agenda -- and what they are doing to keep it there -- provides
telling lessons for others. A look at three case histories:

    ARKANSAS. Since 1983 Democratic Governor Bill Clinton has
been determined to improve public education in a state that, by
nearly every measure of academic performance, ranked near the
bottom. Within a year of his election, Clinton rammed through
a package of reforms that lengthened the school day and required
the state's 24,000 teachers to take a controversial competency
exam. To pay for the improvements, lawmakers raised the sales
tax from 3 cents on the dollar to 4 cents.

    The infusions of cash and care paid off. The high school
graduation rate has risen from 73.4% to 77.5%, and the
percentage of students going on to Arkansas colleges, just 38.7%
in 1982, has grown to 44.5%. All this has helped Clinton, 42,
a boyish-looking Rhodes scholar with presidential ambitions,
earn a national reputation as a wizard of school reform. "I feel
real good about where we have come in the past 6 1/2 years,"
says the Governor.

    But Clinton's reform plans may be in for some rough
weather. Earlier this year, at the Governor's urging, the
general assembly enacted new education measures. Among them: a
choice plan that will allow students to attend virtually any
public school in the state, fines of up to $50 for parents who
fail to show up for parent-teacher conferences and a minimum
teacher salary of $16,000. But legislators, fearing a voter
backlash, refused to pass a 1 cents boost in the sales tax to
underwrite the package. Determined to carry through with his
program, the Governor has been touring the state's small,
backwoods communities since March to reignite enthusiasm for
education reform and solicit support for the taxes to fund it.
Says Clinton: "We need to make sure people know what the gains
were."

    SOUTH CAROLINA. While Arkansas' reform zeal is flagging,
South Carolina seems to be catching its second wind. In June
the legislature adopted "Target 2000," the second installment
of the Education Improvement Act of 1984. The bill not only
continues support for most of the act's original programs, it
actually expands many of them. Says David Beasley, chairman of
the house education and public works committee: "We've kept the
heat on and the excitement rolling."

    Why the fevered momentum? E.I.A.'s tough provisions --
mandatory kindergarten for five-year-olds, exit exams for high
school graduates -- have shown impressive results. Thanks to a
special test-preparation program, average SAT scores have
soared 48 points since 1982 (from 790 to 838), the biggest such
gain in the nation. Enrollment in advanced-placement courses has
tripled since the 1983-84 school year, and the average number
of student absences has dropped almost two days, to 7.7 a year,
making the state sixth in the U.S. in attendance.

    One reason E.I.A. has enjoyed sustained support is that its
sponsors, led by State Superintendent of Education Charlie
Williams, took care to build a consensus among business
leaders, educators, politicians and parents. The business
community, motivated by the need for a literate work force, has
been especially enthusiastic. "We understand that we have to
make a generational commitment to education," says Bob Thompson,
vice president of public affairs for Springs Industries, a
textile firm. "Reform is not just something you do one time."

    A key ingredient of E.I.A.'s success is accountability.
Each year the state education department issues a booklet titled
What Is the Penny Buying for South Carolina?, which liberally
mixes darts and laurels. Last year's report, for instance,
praised the rise in SAT scores but also pointed out that the 25%
dropout rate had not gone down significantly. There is room for
improvement in other areas as well. Despite recent gains, the
average teacher salary ($24,403) still ranks 35th in the nation,
while expenditures per pupil ($3,465) rank 41st.

    WEST VIRGINIA. Last month the Mountain State put into
effect the most sweeping and costly education reform in its
history. Of West Virginia's $1.7 billion budget for 1989-90,
fully 70% is going toward school-system bailouts and quality
improvements. The high priority put on education is all the more
remarkable coming from one of the country's poorest states.

    Credit for the $1.2 billion package goes largely to
freshman Democratic Governor Gaston Caperton, 49. After making
education the centerpiece of his inaugural address last January,
Caperton immediately called the legislature into emergency
session. Over the next ten weeks, he persuaded lawmakers to
raise an estimated $400 million in new taxes, including a levy
of 5 cents per gal. on gas and 6 cents for each dollar's worth
of food.

    The new money will help provide a 5% pay raise for teachers
(from $21,736 in 1988 to an estimated $23,000 in 1990), new
bonds for school construction, a basic-skills program and
advanced-placement programs in high schools. The biggest chunk
of cash ($120 million) will go to shore up the dangerously
depleted teachers' pension fund.

    Caperton's swift action has surprised West Virginians, who
watched his Republican predecessor, Arch Moore, promote some of
the same proposals without success. The difference may lie in
Caperton's consultative approach. Weeks before taking office,
he formed a bipartisan committee of legislators, educators and
business leaders to advise him on education. By the time of the
special legislative session, he had committed allies for his
program.

    Not everyone is happy with Caperton's reforms, which tend
to centralize authority in the state capital. Taxes on gas and
food are also considered unfairly regressive in a rural state
where cars are considered vital to survival and per capita
income is only $11,658, 49th in the nation. The Governor knows
his support is fragile. He regularly tours local communities,
listening to teachers and parents in an attempt to counter
public apathy. Says Harold Carl, superintendent of Pleasants
County schools: "We are on the right track. Now the big chore
is to take the reform, master it and make it work."

    The main lesson of these states' experiences is that reform
works best when those concerned have a say. "Unions, business,
educators -- everybody has to be involved," says Joe Fernandez,
superintendent of schools for Dade County, Fla. "You've got to
forget the turf battles."

    The ability to translate higher spending into concrete
results is also crucial. The problem, of course, is that the
fruits of education reform are often not seen for decades. "The
toughest battle is to convince the public that dollars invested
in education are golden, that the payoff is there," says Bill
Honig, state superintendent of public instruction in California.

    Despite such obstacles, many education advocates think the
future of reform is bright. They point to innovations such as
New Jersey's alternative teacher certification, which has opened
up the field to mid-career professionals, and Minnesota's choice
system, which this fall will phase in a program that allows
students to attend any school in the state.

    The next wave of educational improvements will probably
originate not in state capitals but in individual districts.
Already, schools in Dade County, Rochester and Toledo have
taken the initiative to raise pay, restructure curriculums and
monitor results. "In the first phase of reform, it was state
executives who led the way," says former Tennessee Governor
Lamar Alexander. "In the 1990s, reform will be led by parents
and taxpayers." That is, if they care enough to pay the price.