"Common sense" says American schools suffer from low expectations.Frederick Frederick, city, United States Frederick, city (1990 pop. 40,148), seat of Frederick co., NW Md.; settled 1745, inc. 1817. The processing center of a fertile farm and dairying area, it makes beer, household items, optical and glass products, leather goods, Hess Hess , Walter Rudolf 1881-1973. Swiss physiologist. He shared a 1949 Nobel Prize for his research on the brain's control of the body. , director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is a conservative think tank, founded in 1943. According to the institute its mission "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism — limited government, , challenges the accepted structure of the U.S. education system and "status quo [Latin, The existing state of things at any given date.] Status quo ante bellum means the state of things before the war. The status quo to be preserved by a preliminary injunction is the last actual, peaceable, uncontested status which preceded the pending controversy. reformers" in his newest book, Common Sense School Reform (Palgrave Pal´grave n. 1. See Palsgrave. Noun 1. Palgrave - English poet (1824-1897) Francis Turner Palgrave Macmillan). Hess argues that the problem with American schools is not a lack of spending but the continued use of a school system designed for the 1900s when expectations of the education system were considerably lower. DA: You mention flexibility and accountability as the essential starting points Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting point terminus a quo commencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the for "common sense" reform. Can you explain? Hess: A lot of what we call "standards-based accountability" embodies a setting of expectations, but then flexibility calls for untying hands of principals and teachers to accomplish those goals. Flexibility is really about giving principals, superintendents, teachers the tools to approach their jobs differently, to reward excellence, to eliminate ineffective personnel, to shift time and money to support the kind of development or focus that builds a culture of excellence. For instance, this might mean giving raises only to highly effective teachers, and taking the rest of the money that would have gone to across-the-board raises and focus it on professional development intensely targeted on teachers who are not performing up to par. DA: You believe competition is key. Does this mean more public money should be thrown into charter schools and voucher A receipt or release which provides evidence of payment or other discharge of a debt, often for purposes of reimbursement, or attests to the accuracy of the accounts. programs? Hess: Vouchers and charters are an essential part of a high quality accountability system. I absolutely think it's useful to have more money flow in a way that encourages the formation of a variety of accountable schools. DA: Do you know anyone saying, "This is a great idea! We should do this?" Hess: This common sense framework ... is not offered so much as a strategy that I expect a governor is going to adopt, or that a school board can implement on its own. It's offered as a way to ensure that we don't lose the forest of school improvement for the trees. |
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