Reforming education reform: if college is the answer for all high school students, what are the questions?

America's high schools are the emerging battleground of education reform, portending both promise and peril.

Strengthening the nation's high schools requires reforming education reform. Not only must new improvement efforts be solidly grounded, they must overcome a negative mindset that has inhibited recent reform measures and interfered with improving achievement and preparing students for their roles in our democracy.

Reforming education reform will hinge on seven critical elements that also serve as guideposts for updating America's high schools for the 21st century.

* No. 1: We need a better definition of reality.

In the 1930s, humorist Will Rogers said, "Schools aren't as good as they used to be, and they never were." Actually, schools are a lot better than ever before, but you wouldn't know it from the rhetoric. Ask yourself, if 90 percent of adults in the United States attended public schools and we are the pre-eminent nation in the world, how have public schools failed?

The record needs to be set straight so that high school reform is focused on real issues and problems, not ones fabricated for political purposes. The Center on Education Policy's recent publication, "Do You Know ... The Latest Good News About American Education," is a valuable report detailing many successes, such as more high school students taking a challenging curriculum, completing advanced math and science classes and succeeding in Advanced Placement courses. Couple this with the facts that 2005 SAT math scores reached an all-time high and more students are going to college and graduating than ever before, and you have a very different story than the one told by think tanks and radio talk-show pundits.

Many proposed reforms ignore these gains with the implied notion that current high schools should be bulldozed. What many critics fail to understand is that the biggest obstacle to reform is the fact that many students and parents are very satisfied. Reform has to be negotiated in a win/win manner, otherwise it is sure to be vehemently opposed.

This is not to say there shouldn't be a critical examination of what's happening in America's secondary schools---quite the opposite, in fact. But how we begin makes a huge difference in whether the self-fulfilling prophecy is positive or negative.

Framing high school reform around the need to keep pace with the exponential change in society and the world goes over much better than trashing local public schools. Additionally, this approach conforms to the Gallup Poll findings that most Americans believe school change should come from within, not from external mandates.

One example of the right way to do things has unfolded in the Cherry Creek School District in Greenwood Village, Colo. High school principals decided to get the firsthand story on student success after graduation. Together, all seven visited the campuses of regional universities and community colleges to meet with former students, professors, admission officers and administrators. They sent e-mail surveys to recent graduates asking for feedback.

What they learned wasn't all rosy, but it was real, providing an accurate picture of the strengths and weaknesses of their schools. Their analysis has led to rapid, focused changes they are pursuing in vigorous concert with one another--something that externally imposed reforms rarely accomplish.

* No. 2: We need to revitalize the vision of public education to propel the American dream.

Public education has long been viewed as the great equalizer. Millions of Americans have risen from humble origins to lofty heights because of the opportunities afforded them in public schools. But the linkage between the American dream and public education has waned for poor and minority youth and families. Authenticity of the connection is essential to high school reform because it provides the motivating linkage between quality of life in the future and student effort in the present.

The improvement we want hinges on making the education system work for all students. Poor and minority students often feel left out and disenfranchised. The resulting achievement gaps threaten the future prosperity of individual citizens and the entire nation. Breaking through racial and economic divides and learning to connect and teach at deeper levels are essential.

School districts such as Chapel Hill-Carborro in North Carolina and Evanston-Skokie in Illinois have confronted institutional racism forthrightly, elevating the consciousness of educators and the community. The opportunities and positive presuppositions bestowed on white students are being more equitably distributed to black, Latino and other minority youngsters with promising results.

Glenn Singleton, president of the Pacific Educational Group, says altering racial stereotypes and closing achievement gaps require courageous conversations about race, ultimately leading to courageous actions. Few subjects are so sensitive to discuss in America as race, but until we learn to do so openly and honestly, we have no chance to reform high schools so they work for all students.

Paul Houston, AASA's executive director, has written that public education's 20th century mandate was to provide universal access to quality education. That goal has been largely accomplished. The 21st century mission is universal proficiency. But we have to master the intermediate step, which is universal achievement--ensuring every student makes a year or more of academic growth annually-before we can realistically contemplate universal proficiency.

High schools nationwide that are building professional learning communities are addressing this challenge by making sure students get the help, tutoring, support and encouragement they need to stay on a continuous improvement trajectory. Universal achievement reforms such as this demand a level of urgency and intensity well beyond the typical culture in most schools, but they must become the norm.

* No. 3: We need to elevate awareness of the magnitude of the task and garner the necessary resources.

To realize the goal of universal achievement and proficiency, the bell curve must be broken and intellectual physics redefined. Many believe the bell curve is analogous to gravity in respect to achievement, that it can't be defied. Breaking free of "educational gravity" requires new and more powerful forms of instructional propulsion.

Busting the bell curve and achieving universal proficiency is analogous to placing not one but thousands of humans on Mars. It will take our best efforts, most ingenious plans and massive resources--more than have ever been contemplated, much less committed.

It is interesting to contrast the unveiling of No Child Left Behind

with President Bush's call in the 2004 State of the Union address to place a person on Mars. When the costs and difficulty were calculated by the science community to go to the red planet, the idea was quickly shelved. But in relation to NCLB, there has been a stubborn unwillingness to consider the comparable difficulty and costs and changes that could make it workable.

Efforts to reform high schools have to go beyond empty rhetoric to illuminate the real challenges and financial resources. States and the nation as a whole must confront the actual costs of universal proficiency, which are being revealed through adequacy analyses. These analyses inevitably yield big price tags because the goals of reforms like NCLB are so enormous. "Walking the talk" is the operative test, and so far the results are lacking.

District and school leaders have to increase the political pressure to ensure that universally adequate resources are provided to reach universal proficiency-otherwise, the goal is more hoax than real vision.

A recent report by the National Association of Secondary School Principals about the funding needed to reform high schools and meet the conditions of NCLB is an expansive proposal that should be considered in conversations about reform. It estimates that $4.8 billion are needed annually to fund a nationwide high school reform initiative. This is a lot of money, but small in comparison to funding the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and arguably just as important to our nation's future. If our aim is truly universal proficiency, the money can be found.

* No. 4: We need more enlightened management and labor practices.

The style of contemporary school reform generated from federal and state levels can only be labeled as autocratic. The preferred strategy appears to be unfunded mandates coupled with a dose of public ridicule. Such approaches don't work very well, especially in people-intensive businesses. As previously noted, universal proficiency requires everyone's best effort, yet autocratic, top-down mandates are notorious for producing minimal compliance at best.

Progressive businesses would not dream of using such practices because they are counter-productive. A more sensible approach to high school reform is to empower and support those at the epicenter--principals, teachers, students and parents. The fact that educators were not included in the design of NCLB explains why it has such obvious flaws. This mistake can be avoided as we strive to reform and re-energize high schools by building upon the best things happening in them across the country, and engaging and respecting the people in the classroom.

Harvard researcher Richard Elmore's work supports this notion. Schools that build strong cultures of accountability and efficacy do so with teachers and staff because there is no other effective way.

Labor practices have to change, too. Flexible contracts for teachers that provide incentives to work in highly impacted schools, take on challenging assignments, engage in professional development, and extend the school year should be the rule not the exception. A simple saying applies, "if we keep doing what we've always done, we'll get less than we've always gotten." The rate of change in schools has to keep pace with changes in the broader environment, otherwise they are certain to fall behind and risk becoming a relic of the past.

* No. 5: We need to think 16-pre-K with the intent of preparing every student for college.

The 21st century high school model has to be designed with the end in mind. While developmental and constructivist models certainly have their place, the curriculum must be designed backwards with clarity and specificity, using college preparation as the key target. Poway Unified School District in California and the Bellevue School District in Washington, among others, have made unambiguous commitments to preparing all students for college. Their superintendents, Don Phillips and Mike Riley, respectively, understand that creating a seamless 16-pre-K system can greatly enhance student success.

Good reasons support college preparation for all. Access to the American dream today requires post-secondary education, otherwise the prospect of a good-paying job is low. Furthermore, when students are asked about their ambitions after high school, 90 percent say they want to go to college. While it is true that some have not done the right things to prepare, they recognize the awesome power that continuing education holds in realizing their dreams.

Add to this mix Thomas Friedman's book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. It provides a sobering account of what's happening in international competition for jobs, and the impact on American workers and our standard of living.

One passage sums up the entire book. When he was young, Friedman says his mother told him to eat all his dinner because there were children in China and India starving. Today, he tells his own two daughters to do their homework because there are children in China and India starving for their future jobs. The point is we have to significantly increase the level of knowledge and skills that citizens possess if we want to remain the pre-eminent economic power on earth and keep the American dream alive.

The notion of universal college preparation can have a profound impact on closing the achievement gap by ensuring that all students have access to the best curriculum. At present, black and Latino students are less likely to be enrolled in college-prep gatekeeper courses. We must provide all students with a guaranteed, robust curriculum, and in so doing build a more compelling vision for our schools than state and federal mandates can ever ignite.

* No. 6: We need to commit to reform as a long-term process, not a political event.

The kind of reform needed to prepare all students for college won't happen overnight. The hard work ahead is captured by Mary Catherine Swanson, founder of Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, who says, "We have to move from college by chance to college by design."

If college is the answer, many questions must be addressed. Fortunately, there is more guidance than ever before. The College Board, ACT and David Conley, author of College Knowledge, among others, have clearly articulated the courses and content students need to gain admission to college and to succeed once there. Because we know what students need, the only sensible thing is provide it to them, especially given the staggering tuition rates that parents and students face today.

In this context, far too many students, with their parents' blessing, use the senior year as a vacation instead of a time for serious intellectual effort and preparation. Many studies show the deleterious effect that such decisions have on college success and completion. Adjustments to school and district policies are needed that keep students engaged and working hard through graduation. It is the biggest favor we can do for them.

The implications of these factors are revealed when looking at national statistics that show 25 percent of students attending four-year colleges must take one or more remedial classes, and 60 percent of students attending two-year, postsecondary institutions take remedial classes. Moreover, 62 percent of first-year college students spend less than 15 hours per week studying outside of class. A great deal of difficulty youngsters experience in college could be averted by programs that instill good work habits, study skills, self-regulation and organization, such as AVID.

Students need to know what is needed for full academic preparation and to receive high levels of guidance and direction. Teachers have a responsibility to understand collegiate expectations themselves and make it a routine element of instruction and communication with students and parents at all grade levels. Every lesson, activity and minute of instruction should be evaluated for its relevance to college readiness to ensure rigor and articulation.

College preparation needs to begin early, including universal preschool, full-day kindergarten and robust primary literacy programs. The influence of the early years is vital to later success. Conversations about high school reform have to drill down to the formative years and embed strong programs in public policy. Anything less will keep college preparation a reality only for those privileged or lucky enough to have the essential building blocks and family resources. High school administrators and teachers should be outspoken advocates for early childhood education and well-articulated feeder systems. It's enlightened self-interest.

* No. 7: We need to lead more wisely and courageously.

Educators need to speak with a stronger voice. Howard Gardner, author of Leading Minds, describes a leader as "an individual who creates a story that significantly affects the thoughts, behaviors and feelings of followers. Since followers invariably know many stories, a leader can be effective only if his or her story is powerful, if it can compete for influence with already prevalent stories."

Part of the reason external reforms have usurped more informed judgments of practitioners is the absence of a story compelling enough to resonate through communities and repel misguided mandates. The voice of school leaders has to be more persuasive if high school reform is to take the preferred course.

The journey ahead is certain to be difficult and will test leadership and resolve. Unique and powerful coalitions are needed that increase the power of the profession. The Western States Benchmarking Consortium is a group of seven school districts that has formed to share best practices and tackle pressing challenges--with preparing all students for college at the top of the list. This group is pushing the envelope by implementing 16-pre-K programs that enhance the chance for college access and success.

Another emerging linkage is between AVID and the College Board. The fusion of these two organizations speaks volumes about the necessity of joining forces to leverage change. The College Board brings deep and intimate knowledge about the standards and content necessary for success in higher education, while AVID offers a robust model for engaging previously disenfranchised youngsters into a college-prep pathway.

Connections like these have the potential to unlock the door to the kind of high school reform that will change millions of lives for the better, much like the GI Bill did for previous generations.

In 1993, Pope John Paul II spoke in Denver where he urged the 300,000 attendees at World Youth Day "to be faithful to your mission." His message rings true as we embark on the journey to reform America's high schools. It isn't about mandates, political platforms or selfish interests. It's about serving young people in the most effective and human ways possible.

If we stay true to that overriding mission, the next wave of high school reform will make the American dream a more vibrant reality than ever before for our nation's youth.

Monte Moses is superintendent of the Cherry Creek School District, 4700 South Yosemite St., Greenwood Village, CO 80111. E-mail: mmoses@ cherrycreekschools.org. He is the 2005 National Superintendent of the Year.