TIME: Almanac 1990/1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).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.