Columnist Bill Hanlon: Lawmakers must consider all aspects of educational reform

BILL HANLON is a school district administrator and a member of the State Board of Education. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected].

SIMPLE SOLUTIONS to complex problems that make great soundbytes seldom work. We all have heard the "three strikes and you are out" policy as it applied to prisons, it hasn't worked. A decade ago, Nevadans were promised world-class educational standards by merely increasing the credit requirement. That clearly didn't work either.

As appealing solutions are presented to solve our problems, dialogue is needed. Last week the Legislative Committee on Education proposed a test at eighth grade for promotion. Those failing the test would not be able to move on to high school. On first blush, most everyone can buy that. Clearly anyone that would oppose such an idea would not support high educational standards or so goes the argument.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column supporting the idea of having kids pass a test before being promoted to middle school or high school. However, the suggestion I made went beyond just holding them back.

Before you grab on to the latest soundbyte solution to cure the woes of public education, we need to think these things through. During the last session of the Legislature, more than 50 bills were passed that dealt with public education. This session a number of those laws will need to be amended because they were not thought through. Let's not make those same mistakes again.

The proposal to retain kids in eighth grade that don't pass a test at the end of the year is appealing for those that want to get tough with public education. So let's examine these issues.

First, how many chances do the kids have to pass the test? If the high school proficiency is any indicator, 40 percent of the kids failed that test on their first attempt. Second, we already have a shortage of classrooms in the state, where then would the approximately 40 percent of the students being retained in eighth grade sit?

Third, since this would be a statute and kids could not be promoted by law, would safety become an issue by having older kids in school with middle-school students?

Fourth, Nevada is one of only a handful of states that does not provide free summer school. Since the best predictor of failure on tests is socioeconomic status, how will the poorest of our community pay for summer school or transportation to remedial classes since they will likely be the group disproportionately represented? Other states that have established a test for promotion have also put aside tens of millions of dollars to pay for summer school. That's a $40 million proposal in Nevada.

If local school districts picked up this expense, that would mean less money will be available for the average student. Schools can ill afford to drop the slim number of advanced programs they have, nor can they cut into special education because of state and federal laws. The average kid will suffer with increased class size or fewer texts and supplies.

Fifth, the fact that the decision to hold students back is not data driven does not seem to phase the legislators. The research is very clear that holding kids back results in more discipline problems and kids not reaching academic expectancies. So why would we consider such a move?

I believe for two reasons. First, politically it sells well. Remember how good increasing credits seemed more than a decade ago? And second, passing kids on, like we have been doing, has not worked either. Balance and reason are needed here, not another extreme swing of the proverbial pendulum.

I personally believe that holding kids back will send a message to marginal students to shape up or face the consequences. Fear is a very powerful motivator. But more is needed.

Sixth, just how many tests should be administered in eighth grade? Currently eighth graders are required to take the NAEP, the state's writing test as well as the Terra Nova, the district syllabus-based tests, and now an eighth-grade promotion test is being proposed. Let's not forget teachers still need to give their own quizzes and tests. Sounds like educational reform will eliminate teaching in favor of testing.

The bill draft approved last week by the Legislative Committee on Education only addresses holding kids back. Before we go off half-cocked and create a bigger mess than we currently have, we need to study the issues involved and look at alternative solutions as well as unintended consequences of such legislative action. While the soundbyte might be appealing, the devil is always in the details.

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