Here’s the big education question for Texas — and, really, the nation: Do we truly believe all children can learn?
Naturally, we all will answer that question with a resounding “yes.” Still, the data makes you wonder. Look at the information that came out last week in this newspaper.
Forty-five percent of Texas high school students who did not pass their English I writing end-of-course exams last spring have yet to pass them after two tries. Likewise, 32 percent of those who did not pass their English I reading exams on two tries still have not. And 39 percent have yet to pass their English II writing test. (English I is for ninth-graders; English II is for 10th-graders.)
We received disappointing national news last week, too.
U.S. teenagers averaged a lower score in math in 2012 on the respected Program for International Student Assessment than their peers from other developed nations. Our teens slipped from 20th to 24th in the PISA science rankings, and they finished 21st in reading, down from 11th in 2009. (The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development administers the tests, which focus on applying a student’s knowledge to real-world problems.)
Interestingly, U.S. scores did not plummet in each subject. They largely remained flat.
While we have run in place, nations like Poland have raced past us. Poland was no academic power 15 years ago. It is now, after undergoing major education changes, despite facing serious poverty after its emergence from communist rule.
Don’t get me wrong. We have seen substantial achievements in American schools over the last two decades. We’ve grown more serious about measuring schools on their work, honoring them for their progress and holding them responsible for their deficits.
An example of the advancements, if you can stomach one more test reference: Latino 9-year-olds showed significant gains in reading from 1999 to 2008, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress exams.
Still, we have far to go. And I worry that the once-bipartisan push for school reform is crumbling. We may be going in reverse.
The Texas Legislature this spring lessened high school graduation requirements for many students. In Dallas, Superintendent Mike Miles has encountered opposition to hiring stronger principals with vision and improving classroom instruction. Across the nation, we see growing resistance to the more demanding Common Core education standards that governors from both parties helped fashion. In Washington, most proposals to rewrite the No Child Left Behind Act have tried to weaken the bipartisan law’s benchmarks for student progress.
Perhaps more deadly than all those backward moves is the pernicious attitude that poverty limits some students from achieving. Usually, that means Latino or African-American students.
That attitude can consign most students to a life of limited horizons in a state like Texas. More than 60 percent of Texas students come from minority families. Similarly, about 60 percent of our students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.
Of course, you’ll rarely see educators flatly say a student from an impoverished background can’t learn. You must look for more subtle signals, like educators blaming parents for their students’ low marks.
No doubt, parents must read to their children, talk to them about the world and pay attention to homework. They are a crucial link in their child’s education. But shrugging shoulders and blaming parents is one way educators dismiss children from disadvantaged homes.
Amanda Ripley observed a different phenomenon in Finland in researching her challenging new book, The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way. She studied Finland because of its high standing on international metrics like the PISA rankings.
She sought out a Finnish community with a sizable immigrant population. There, she discovered an inspiring teacher, Heikki Vuorinen.
He didn’t want to label his kids as poor, she writes. Otherwise, he may think, There’s not much I can do with them. “Wealth doesn’t mean a thing,” he told Ripley. “It’s your brain that counts. These kids know that from very young. We are all the same.”
In short, he believed every child can learn. Do we?
Dallas Morning News editorial columnist William McKenzie’s email address is email@example.com. He moderates the Texas Faith blog at dallasnews.com/texasfaith and contributes to the Education blog. Follow him on Twitter at @bill_mckenzie.