Are Education leaders demanding more money and less accountability?
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas What we see here are school districts wanting more money without having a way to measure whether that investment is working or not" said Bill Hammond TAB President & CEO. We must ensure the state has an effective way to measure whether increased investment in education is working and you cant do that without a strong accountability system.
At a time when school districts and school boards are demanding changes that could water down the states accountability system they also are demanding more funding from the state. Members of the Texas Coalition for a Competitive Workforce say those two requests dont mix.
The Texas Coalition for a Competitive Workforce made up of education and business groups announced their engagement in the debate on school accountability and testing at a Capitol Press Conference earlier today. The Coalition is made up of:
- Bill Hammond President & CEO Texas Association of Business
- Jim Windham Chairman Texas Institute for Education Reform (TIER)
- Bernie Francis Chairman Texas Business Leadership Council Education Task Force & CEO Business Control Systems Dallas
- James Golsan Center for Education Policy Texas Public Policy Foundation
We are here to say that this is not acceptable" said Texas Institute for Education Reform Chairman Jim Windham. Many of us and the organizations we represent have supported the growth in education funding over the years to support enhanced accountability for student achievement growth but we will not continue to do so in the light of the breach of faith in the consensus on the advancement of accountability for results."
We will strongly urge our business community friends and other taxpayers who pay a great part of the freight to oppose any further spending increases requested by bureaucrats who are arguing for less accountability" said Bernie Francis CEO of Business Control Systems of Dallas and Chairman of Texas Business Leadership Council Education Task Force.
Students and parents need more choices educators need more flexibility and taxpayers need more accountability and efficiency" says James Golsan education policy analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. These reformsnot more moneywill improve educational quality and prepare Texas schoolchildren for post-secondary education and the workforce."
We feel that school districts shouldnt expect taxpayers to fund a system without knowing that it is as efficient as possible and that the system is held accountable for its results" said Hammond.
This accountability system has played a crucial role over the past 20 years in effecting impressive advances in student achievement. Based on data from state and national exams African American and Hispanic students have improved by as much as 2 to 3 grade levels in reading and mathematics during that time.
Overall student achievement has improved and the dropout rate has steadily decreased. Based on this data it is clear that accountability pays dividends our students and educators are capable of meeting more challenging goals and that Texas is poised to continue as a leader in public education policy.
Anyone asking that the new accountability system be weakened should take those numbers into consideration" said Hammond.
Even with the new STAAR test we have seen the gap between white and minority students continue to disappear. We would never know that was happening unless we had an accountability system to measure it. Using sample test groups in other words picking and choosing which students are tested wouldnt give us the kind of comprehensive results we get today" Hammond said.
We must maintain a true picture of our progress and our failures."
