Education in Arizona: popular concerns, unpopular choices: a report of the Governor's Committee on Quality Education

              Education in Arizona
ular Concerns
A Report of the Governor7s Committee on Quality Education
The Committee wishes to thank
the following individuals without
whom the work of the Committee
would not have been possible:
W. Stevenson Bacon
Prudence Lee
Thomas Reno
Pamela Abbott
November 2, 1983
Honorable Bruce Babbitt
Governor of Arizona
State Capitol
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007
and
Honorable Carolyn Warner
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Arizona Department of Education
1535 West Jefferson
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Dear Governor Babbitt and Mrs. Warner:
It is with great pleasure that I submit to you the
deliberations and recommendations of the Committee on
Quality Education.
During the time from June through October 1983, the
Committee held seven working sessions in which we reviewed
numerous national reports calling for educational reforms,
studied current information on Arizona's elementary, middle,
and secondary schools, and listened to invaluable testimony
from members of the public who attended the meetings. All
of this information, together with the professional and
parental expertise provided by the Committee members themselves,
formed the basis for our discussions.
We present to you a lengthy list of goals and recommendations
for educational reform in Arizona. The choices that we ad-vocate
are formidable ones that call for extraordinary leader-ship.
However, we believe that apathy or inaction will only
serve to guarantee mediocrity in our schools.
The members of the Committee and I thank you for giving
us the opportunity to discuss openly and make recommendations
on a subject that is vital to the future of Arizona. We now
invite the public to continue these deliberations and work to
insure that all Arizonans have the opportunity for a quality
education.
Sincerely,
Chairman
MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNOR'S
COMMITTEE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION
Dr. John P. Schaefer, Committee
Chairman; President, Research
Corporation, Tucson, AZ
Phineas Anderson, Headmaster,
Green Fields Country Day School,
Tucson, AZ
Eva Bacal, Member, Governing
Board, Tucson Unified School
District, Tucson, AZ
Joan Beigel, Parent, Tucson, AZ
Ed Butterbaugh, Managing Partner,
Ernst b Whinney CPA's, Tucson,
AZ
George Castillo, Parent, Phoenix,
AZ
Kathleen Clark, Student Regent,
Arizona Board of Regents,
Flagstaff, AZ
Ray Davies, Teacher, Alice Vail
Junior High School, Tucson, AZ
Myrna Harrison, President, Rio
Salado Community College,
Phoenix, AZ
Dr. Eugene M. Hughes, President,
Northern Arizona University,
Flagstaff, AZ
William J. Lazovich, Principal,
Sunnyside High School, Tucson,
AZ
Jewel1 Lewis, Parent, Florence,
AZ
Daniel Lopez, Historian, Papago
Tribe of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Mercedes E. McCormick, Teacher,
Hawkins Elementary School,
Phoenix, AZ
Jonathan Rose, Parent, Tempe, AZ
Dr. George Smith, President,
State Board of Education, Mesa,
AZ
Dr. Robert T. Stout, Dean,
College of Education, Arizona
State University, Tempe, AZ
Jim Sullivan, Counselor, Koffa
High School, Yuma, AZ
Dennis Van Roekel, President,
Arizona Education Association,
Phoenix, AZ
Roger S. Wilson, Staff Assistant
to the Chairman, The Navajo
Nation, Window Rock, AZ
Mervyn Lackey, Superintendent,
Roosevelt School District,
Phoenix, AZ
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter of Transmittal
Members of the Governor's
Committee on Quality Education
Preface
Summary of Recommendations
Proceedings
School Skills o Testing o Time Commitment o
Curriculum Requirements o Bilingual Educa-tion
o Handicapped Education o Program
Evaluation o Textbooks o Academic Credits o
Slow and Gifted Students o Course Content
(Pages 14-25)
Higher Education o Vocational Education
(Page 25)
Teacher Education o Certification o
Evaluation and Tenure o Compensation
(Pages 25-31)
Management and Governance o Parental
Involvement o School Finance (Pages 31-33)
Appendix I
Appendix I1
Appendix 111
EDUCATION I N ARIZONA
POPULAR CONCERNS 0 UNPOPULAR CHOICES
PREFACE
For t h e p a s t decade concern
has been v o i c e d a b o u t t h e q u a l i t y
of our e d u c a t i o n a l system, which
has been perceived a s d e t e r i o r a t -
ing. Some of t h e f a c t o r s t h a t
have given r i s e t o t h i s concern
a r e a s t e a d y d e c l i n e i n s t u d e n t
s c o r e s on s t a n d a r d i z e d examina-t
i o n s such a s t h e S c h o l a s t i c Apti-tude
T e s t s (SAT); a concern about
t h e q u a l i t y of t e a c h e r s being
r e c r u i t e d f o r t h e classroom;
h i g h l y p u b l i c i z e d d i s c i p l i n a r y
problems; t e a c h e r s t r i k e s ; growing
concern about America's a b i l i t y t o
compete s u c c e s s f u l l y i n t h e high
technology sweepstakes; evidence
t h a t our g r a d u a t e s no longer pos-s
e s s adequate communication
s k i l l s , and complaints from our
minority groups t h a t t h e i r needs
a r e not being e f f e c t i v e l y
addressed.
Those t h i n g s t h a t we a s a
n a t i o n do well i n education tend
t o be l o s t i n t h e avalanche of
c r i t i c i s m . We have continued t o
broaden a c c e s s t o our e d u c a t i o n a l
system. We now s e r v e a higher
p e r c e n t a g e of our p o p u l a t i o n than
ever b e f o r e i n h i s t o r y . W e do
have an informed p u b l i c t h a t can
read and make i n t e l l i g e n t judg-ments
about complex i s s u e s , essen-t
i a l f o r a democracy t h a t encour-ages
independence and e n t e r p r i s e
along with a s o c i a l conscience.
America is a t t h e f o r e f r o n t of
s c i e n c e , technology and medicine,
and has t h e r e s o u r c e s t o r e t a i n
its p o s i t i o n of l e a d e r s h i p .
There is, however, a c l e a r
c h a l l e n g e t o our schools t o h e l p
maintain t h e n a t i o n ' s advanced
s t a t u s . Weaknesses do e x i s t a t
a l l l e v e l s and r e f o g s are i n
o r d e r . S e v e r a l p r e s t i g i o u s groups
have independently surveyed prob-lem
a r e a s and i d e n t i f i e d a r e a s
where a c t i o n should be taken.. It
would appear t h a t a s a minimum we
need to:
1. I n c r e a s e our e x p e c t a t i o n s
of s t u d e n t performance i n
school
2. I n c r e a s e t h e breadth and
depth of t h e e d u c a t i o n a l
program t o which s t u d e n t s
a r e exposed
3 . E l e v a t e t h e s t a t u s of
t e a c h e r s , and improve t h e
t r a i n i n g they r e c e i v e and
t h e i r l e v e l of compensa-t
i o n
4. I n c r e a s e p a r e n t a l involve-ment
i n education
These reforms w i l l n o t b e
easy t o achieve. They w i l l
r e q u i r e a w i l l i n g n e s s t o compro-mise
on m a t t e r s commonly regarded
a s immutable; a reexamination of
t r a d i t i o n a l ways of doing t h i n g s ;
a r e o r d e r i n g of p r i o r i t i e s ;
r e s t r u c t u r i n g of budgets; and ad-d
i t i o n a l f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s .
Lacking adequate r e s o u r c e s ,
choices w i l l be d i f f i c u l t and
courage and determination w i l l be
required. For example, it may be
impossible to pay adequate teacher
s a l a r i e s unless some programs are
dropped or new revenues made
available.
Our recommendations are
addressed t o a l l concerned with
education: the Governor, the
Legislature, the Department of
Education, the State Board of
Education, the local school
boards, d i s t r i c t s t a f f s , building
administrators, classroom teach-e
r s , parents and students.
Although individual recommenda-tions
may concern only one or two
of these groups, effective educa-t
i o n a l reform w i l l require the
cooperation of a l l .
Hopes and wishes are not the
same as achievements, and ambition
m u s t not be equated with accom-plishment.
If we as Arizonans do
not pause to analyze the r e a l
needs of our schools and provide
the means of meeting them, our
ambitions f o r the future, our
dreams of achievement, w i l l never
come to pass.
-Governor's Committee
on Quality Education
November 2 , 1983
THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON QUALITY EDUCATION
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Pr imary and Secondary School
S k i l l s (Pages 14-15)
o A r i z o n a ' s primary and second-a
r y schools should provide
s t u d e n t s with fundamental
s k i l l s i n w r i t t e n and o r a l
communications, s c i e n c e ,
mathematics, s o c i a l s c i e n c e s
and t h e a r t s . A l l s t u d e n t s
should have t h e e s s e n t i a l
i n t e l l e c t u a l s k i l l s t o be
e f f e c t i v e and p r o d u c t i v e
c i t i z e n s and t o p r o g r e s s t o a
formal c o l l e g e or u n i v e r s i t y
education or t o g a i n f u l
employment
o A r i z o n a ' s elementary s c h o o l s
should provide s t u d e n t s with
a sound b a s i s f o r t h e study
of English language; w r i t i n g ;
computational and problem-s
o l v i n g s k i l l s ; s c i e n c e ;
s o c i a l s t u d i e s ; f o r e i g n
languages, and t h e a r t s .
Teachers and p a r e n t s should
promote an enthusiasm f o r
l e a r n i n g and i n d i v i d u a l
development
Testing and Academic Achievement
(Pages 15-17 )
i n s t r u c t i o n can be provided
t o overcome d e f i c i e n c i e s
o I n s t r u c t i o n i n developing
e f f e c t i v e work and study
h a b i t s should be provided t o
s t u d e n t s a t an e a r l y age and
continued u n t i l such h a b i t s
a r e f i r m l y i n g r a i n e d
o A l t e r n a t i v e systems, such a s
nongraded c l a s s r o o m s , s h o u l d
be experimented w i t h f o r t h e
f i r s t four y e a r s of schooling
a s p o s s i b l e means of i n s u r i n g
t h a t t h e b a s i c s k i l l s a r e
mastered without t h e s o c i a l
stigma of f a i l u r e
o Promotion should be based
upon achievement
o The concept of homework
should be i n t r o d u c e d e a r l y i n
t h e s c h o o l e x p e r i e n c e . The
amount of independent work
t h a t is expected from s t u -
d e n t s should pe reviewed and
i n c r e a s e d where a p p r o p r i a t e
Time Commitment t o Education
(Pages 17-18
o The school year should be
o Grades and s t a n d a r d i z e d t e s t s i n c r e a s e d from 175 t o 185
should be used c a r e f u l l y t o days
measure achievement l e v e l s of
s t u d e n t s and t o i d e n t i f y slow o Kindergarten should begin a t
l e a r n e r s so t h a t a d d i t i o n a l age four and be a f u l l
f our-hour program
o Minimum time f o r grades 1-3
should be expanded from four
t o f i v e h o u r s a day
o Minimum time f o r grades 4-6
should be expanded from f i v e
t o s i x h o u r s a day
o Minimum time f o r grades 7-12
should remain a s p r e s e n t l y
s t r u c t u r e d
o High school s t u d e n t s should
be r e q u i r e d t o t a k e a minimum
of f i v e academic c o u r s e s (now
four f o r each term they a r e
e n r o l l e d
o K i n d e r g a r t e n s h o u l d become a
meaningful e d u c a t i o n a l expe-r
i e n c e i n which t h e b a s i c
s k i l l s a r e i n t r o d u c e d
o Attendance and p a r t i c i p a t i o n
i n school a c t i v i t i e s should
be encouraged and r e i n f o r c e d
by s c h o o l s and p a r e n t s
o The S t a t e Board of Education
should i n i t i a t e a d e t a i l e d
study f o r a l l grade l e v e l s on
t h e amount of time t e a c h e r s
and s t u d e n t s spend on
i n s t r u c t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s
Curriculum Requirements
(Pages 18-19)
Mathematics - 3 y e a r s
Science - 3 y e a r s
S o c i a l S t u d i e s - 3 y e a r s
Computer Science - 1/2
year
I n a d d i t i o n , c o l l e g e bound
s t u d e n t s should be encouraged
t o t a k e two y e a r s of a
f o r e i g n language
o A d d i t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s
should be provided f o r aca-demically
g i f t e d s t u d e n t s
B i l i n g u a l Education (Pages 19-20)
o The S t a t e Board of Education
should work t o achieve a
s t a t e w i d e consensus on t h e
o b j e c t i v e s of b i l i n g u a l edu-c
a t i o n programs i n Arizona
o Early morning and a f t e r - h o u r s
i n s t r u c t i o n i n English should
be a v a i l a b l e f o r non-English-speaking
s t u d e n t s t o q u i c k l y
g i v e them a command of t h e
language
o Teacher p r e p a r a t i o n f o r bi-l
i n g u a l i n s t r u c t i o n should be
improved
o Research should be undertaken
t o e v a l u a t e t h e r e l a t i v e
e f f e c t i v e n e s s of d i f f e r e n t
approaches t o achieving pro-f
i c i e n c y i n English
o High school g r a d u a t i o n Education of t h e Handicapped
r e q u i r e m e n t s s h o u l d be (Page 20)
i n c r e a s e d t o 22 u n i t s and in-clude
t h e following: o Programs f o r t h e handicapped
English - 4 y e a r s should continue t o r e c e i v e
high p r i o r i t y . Adequate
f u n d i n g s h o u l d be provided t o
school d i s t r i c t s t o pay f o r
t h e s e programs
E v a l u a t i o n of School Program
(Pages 20-22)
o The S t a t e should e s t a b l i s h a
t a s k f o r c e of c i t i z e n s ,
e d u c a t o r s , b u s i n e s s and labor
l e a d e r s t o i d e n t i f y c l e a r l y
t h e s k i l l s t h a t elementary
schools should provide t o a l l
s t u d e n t s . The recommended
courses of study and course
c o n t e n t should be e v a l u a t e d
a g a i n s t t h e recommendations
developed by t h e Educational
EQuality P r o j e c t and con-t
a i n e d i n Academic Prepara-t
i o n f o r College (see
Appendices, I and 11)
o A second t a s k f o r c e s h o u l d b e
appointed t o review t h e high
school curriculum. O u t l i n e s
s i m i l a r t o t h o s e p r e s e n t e d i n
t h e Educational EQuality Pro-j
e c t r e p o r t should be devel-oped
f o r Arizona s c h o o l s
o An Arizona high school gradu-a
t e should be a b l e t o demon-s
t r a t e a c l e a r mastery of
b a s i c s k i l l s . These i n c l u d e
reading , wr i t i n g , speaking
and l i s t e n i n g , mathematics,
reasoning and study s k i l l s .
D e s c r i p t i o n s of competency
l e v e l s a r e contained i n Chap-t
e r 2 of t h e E d u c a t i o n a l
EQuality P r o j e c t r e p o r t
should mandate t h e minimum
competency l e v e l s t h a t a r e t o
be r e q u i r e d of a l l Arizona
high s c h o o l g r a d u a t e s . A
minimum must not become a
g u i d e l i n e f o r t h e optimum or
a v e r age
Textbooks (Page 22)
o The S t a t e should provide f r e e
use of textbooks through
grade 12
Academic C r e d i t s (Pages 22-23)
o Academic a c t i v i t i e s must be
recognized by t h o s e involved
with education a s t h e primary
focus of t h e e d u c a t i o n a l
process. A s t r o n g academic
curriculum a s o u t l i n e d
throughout our r e p o r t and i n
t h e Appendix should be de-f
i n e d f o r our school system,
and academic p r o g r e s s and
g r a d u a t i o n should be based
upon s u c c e s s f u l completion of
t h e core program
Slow and G i f t e d (Pages 23-24)
o The s t a t e should provide ade-quate
f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s f o r
schools t o d e a l with t h e d i f -
f i c u l t i e s of educating slow
l e a r n e r s
o School d i s t r i c t s should b e
given a f i n a n c i a l i n c e n t i v e
t o provide advanced c l a s s
o f f e r i n g s f o r academically
g i f t e d c h i l d r e n
o The S t a t e Board of Education o E f f o r t s should be made t o
involve i n d u s t r y repr e s e n t a -
t i v e s and members of t h e pro-f
e s s i o n s i n e n r i c h i n g c o u r s e s
f o r t h e g i f t e d
Course Content (Pages 24-25)
o The S t a t e Board of Education
should continue t o review pe-r
i o d i c a l l y a l l s t a t e course
requirements and course con-t
e n t f o r K-12 c l a s s e s
o Local boards and s c h o o l s
should review t h e c o n t e n t and
e f f e c t i v e n e s s of e l e c t i v e and
c o r e course o f f e r i n g s . The
S t a t e Board of Education
s h o u l d d e v e l o p g u i d e l i n e s f o r
t h i s process
Teacher Education Programs
(Pages 25-27 )
o A t a s k f o r c e comprised of
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from our
s t a t e u n i v e r s i t y c o l l e g e s of
education, t e a c h e r s , pr i n c i -
p a l s and s c h o o l s u p e r i n t e n -
d e n t s should reexamine t h e
manner i n which t e a c h e r s a r e
t r a i n e d . A r e p o r t with
recommendations f o r improve-ments
should be submitted t o
t h e Governor, t h e Board of
Regents, t h e S u p e r i n t e n d e n t
of P u b l i c I n s t r u c t i o n and t h e
S t a t e Board of Education.
Areas t h a t should b e i n v e s t i -
gated i n c l u d e t h e s t u d e n t
t e a c h i n g experience; t h e
amount of academic prepara-t
i o n r e q u i r e d f o r t e a c h e r s ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e aiming t o
t e a c h i n secondary s c h o o l s ;
t h e amount and q u a l i t y of
t r a i n i n g i n t h e a r e a s of hu-man
r e l a t i o n s and communica-t
i o n s k i l l s ; t h e number and
r e l a t i v e importance of
r e q u i r e d methodology c o u r s e s ,
and t h e degree of i n t e g r a t i o n
and c o o p e r a t i o n between t h e
c o l l e g e s of education and
other academic u n i t s on uni-ver
s i t y campuses
C e r t i f i c a t i o n of Teachers
(Page 27)
o C e r t i f i c a t i o n of t e a c h e r s a s
a p r e r e q u i s i t e f o r employment
needs t o b e e v a l u a t e d f o r
e f f e c t i v e n e s s . C e r t i f i c a t i o n
should be made more f l e x i b l e
t o allow h i g h l y q u a l i f i e d ,
n o n c e r t i f i e d i n d i v i d u a l s t o
e n t e r t h e t e a c h i n g p r o f e s -
s i o n . The e f f e c t i v e n e s s of
t h i s measure s h o u l d b e evalu-a
t e d by t h e S t a t e Board of
Education a f t e r a s u i t a b l e
p e r i o d h a s e l a p s e d
Employment, E v a l u a t i o n and Tenure
of Teachers (Pages 27-29)
o Performance r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r
t e a c h e r s , o f t e n vague, need
t o be c l e a r l y d e f i n e d by each
school d i s t r i c t ( r e q u i r e d by
law a s of 1983)
o Programs t o e v a l u a t e and
improve t h e performance of
p r o b a t i o n a r y t e a c h e r s should
be developed and implemented
by each school d i s t r i c t
o Tenured t e a c h e r s should be
e v a l u a t e d r e g u l a r l y t o i n s u r e
c o n t i n u i n g e f f e c t i v e n e s s i n
t h e classroom and competency
i n t h e s u b j e c t m a t t e r b e i n g
t a u g h t
o Tenure s t a n d a r d s a r e o f t e n
n o n e x i s t e n t or vague. The
s t a n d a r d s f o r t e n u r e need t o
be c l e a r l y d e f i n e d by each
school d i s t r i c t
o Each school d i s t r i c t should
develop c l e a r l y d e f i n e d per-sonnel
p o l i c i e s t h a t d e f i n e
t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s and ob-l
i g a t i o n s of a l l employees of
t h e school d i s t r i c t . These
p o l i c y s t a t e m e n t s should
s p e l l out t h e procedures t o
be followed f o r h i r i n g , eval-u
a t i n g and t e r m i n a t i n g
employees. A l l employees
should be thoroughly f a m i l i a r
with t h e p o l i c i e s of t h e i r
school d i s t r i c t s
o School a d m i n i s t r a t o r s should
r e c e i v e b e t t e r i n s t r u c t i o n i n
t h e a r e a of personnel manage-ment
and s h o u l d d e v e l o p and
implement sound personnel
p r a c t i c e s
Teacher Compensation I s s u e s
(Pages 29-31)
o The s a l a r i e s of t e a c h e r s a t
a l l l e v e l s a r e not s u f f i -
c i e n t l y c o m p e t i t i v e w i t h in-d
u s t r y t o a t t r a c t and r e t a i n
t e a c h e r s i n t h e necessary
numbers t o a s s u r e a s t r o n g
e d u c a t i o n a l system. We
recommend t h a t t h e s t a t e work
toward a g e n e r a l i n c r e a s e in
s a l a r i e s of t e a c h e r s t o
l e v e l s of 25% above t h o s e now
i n e f f e c t , and t h a t t h i s in-c
r e a s e be implemented over a
t h r ee-year per iod
o School d i s t r i c t s should be
encouraged t o examine teacher
pay s c a l e s and t h e c r i t e r i a
used t o determine compensa-t
i o n l e v e l s . I n a d d i t i o n t o
academic p r e p a r a t i o n and
l o n g e v i t y , competence and
other performance f a c t o r s
should e n t e r i n t o s a l a r y
d e t e r m i n a t i o n s
o Awards should be made t o
super i o r t e a c h e r s t o r ecog-n
i z e t h e i r e f f o r t s . We
encourage school boards t o
consider mer it Pay I
per for mance-based bonus
p l a n s , s u p p o r t for summer
p r o j e c t s , a c c e l e r a t e d s a l a r y
awards, s a b b a t i c a l l e a v e s and
p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n conferences
a s p o s i t i v e ways t o recognize
and encourage o u t s t a n d i n g
t e a c h e r s . The i s s u e of m e r i t
pay must n o t , however, be
allowed t o obscure t h e f a c t
t h a t t e a c h e r s ' s a l a r ies a r e
too low t o r e c r u i t t h e b e s t
of our c o l l e g e g r a d u a t e s or
t o keep t h e f i n e t e a c h e r s we
now have in t h e p r o f e s s i o n
Management and Governance i n
Education (Pages 31-32)
o The t r a i n i n g of a d m i n i s t r a -
t o r s needs t o be i n t e n s i f i e d
t o i n s u r e t h a t they have t h e
s k i l l s necessary t o work con-s
t r u c t i v e l y with people and
t o p r o v i d e s c h o o l s w i t h
e f f e c t i v e academic l e a d e r s h i p
School Financing (Pages 32-33)
o The i s s u e of how we f i n a n c e
our schools is b a s i c t o
determining how t o provide
q u a l i t y education. The
i m p l i c a t i o n s of c u r r e n t s t a t e
laws t h a t bear on t h i s t o p i c
should be reexamined by t h e
e x e c u t i v e and l e g i s l a t i v e
branches o f t h e s t a t e
government
THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON QUALITY EDUCATION
PROCEEDINGS
Dur ing its o r g a n i z a t i o n a l
meeting t h e Committee d i s c u s s e d
how b e s t t o approach t h e task t h a t
t h e Governor had s e t for us. We
recognized t h a t t i m e l i n e s s was of
t h e essence in l i g h t of n a t i o n a l
e x p r e s s i o n s of concern for educa-t
i o n in t h e United S t a t e s , and t h e
high l e v e l of d i s c u s s i o n of educa-t
i o n a l m a t t e r s within t h e s t a t e
among par en ts , t e a c h e r s ,
e d u c a t o r s , s t u d e n t s , and our
e l e c t e d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . We a l s o
a p p r e c i a t e d t h e i m p r a c t i c a l i t y of
a t t e m p t i n g t o do f a r - r e a c h i n g
r e s e a r c h on n a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n a l
issues a s they might apply t o
Arizona, i n view of a v a i l a b l e time
and r e s o u r c e s .
The Committee has depended
upon a survey of t h e r e p o r t s of
v a r i o u s n a t i o n a l commissions on
education. G e n e r a l l y , we b e l i e v e
t h a t t h e f i n d i n g s mirror t h e prob-lems
we f a c e i n Arizona. When t h e
need for d a t a t h a t was s p e c i f i c t o
Arizona a r o s e , we were a b l e t o
r e l y upon t h e s t a f f and r e s o u r c e s
of t h e S t a t e Department of
Education, which was most
c o o p e r a t i v e . The Committee
decided t o focus its energy on t h e
s t a t e e d u c a t i o n a l system from
kinder gar ten through 12 t h grade
(K-12), s i n c e t h e s e a r e t h e formu-l
a t i v e grades i n t h e e d u c a t i o n a l
development of c h i l d r e n and t h e
focus of c u r r e n t c o n t r o v e r s i e s .
We b e l i e v e t h a t t h e Committee
has i d e n t i f i e d a number of
elements of our e d u c a t i o n a l system
t h a t could b e s t r e n g t h e n e d ; we
have proposed ways o f doing so.
I n other i n s t a n c e s , we have iden-t
i f ied problem a r e a s , p o s s i b l e
ways of approaching them, and
o p p o r t u n i t i e s t h a t we b e l i e v e
should be pursued. These sugges-t
i o n s w i l l r e q u i r e time ,
d e t e r m i n a t i o n , and funding t o
c a r r y o u t , but we b e l i e v e t h a t ac-t
i o n is necessary i f Arizona is t o
provide e d u c a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s
of s u p e r i o r q u a l i t y t o t h e young
p e o p l e o f our s t a t e .
Each member of t h e Committee
r e c e i v e d c o p i e s of r e p o r t s t h a t
d e l i n e a t e t h e e d u c a t i o n a l system
i n t h e United S t a t e s a s it has
been perceived by v a r i o u s groups
of e d u c a t o r s and laymen. Among
t h e s e were Nation a t Risk;
Academic P r e p a r a t i o n f o r College:
What Students Need t o Know and Be
Able t o Do; The P a i d e i a Proposal;
and Action f o r Excellence ( s e e
Appendix 111). Other m a t e r i a l s
were c o l l e c t e d from j o u r n a l s ,
p e r i o d i c a l s and t h e p r e s s . These
served a s e x c e l l e n t i n t r o d u c t i o n s
t o problems t h a t have been i d e n t i -
f i e d i n Arizona a s well a s other
s t a t e s a c r o s s t h e n a t i o n .
Primary and Secondary School
S k i l l s
What e x p e c t a t i o n s should w e
have from our primary and second-ary
schools? Exactly what
s k i l l s should we expect s t u d e n t s
t o have on g r a d u a t i o n from an
Arizona h i g h s c h o o l ?
Concerns were voiced about
t h e breadth and depth of t h e edu-c
a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e t h a t s t u d e n t s
r e c e i v e through high s c h o o l . The
apparent i n a b i l i t y of g r a d u a t e s t o
communicate e f f e c t i v e l y through
w r i t i n g was c i t e d a s a major cause
f o r concern. This appears t o
r e f l e c t a lack of s k i l l t h a t many
s t u d e n t s have i n developing and
o r g a n i z i n g t h e i r thoughts i n a
c l e a r and l o g i c a l manner and
e x p r e s s i n g t h o s e thoughts d i r e c t l y
and simply. The i n a b i l i t y t o
s t r u c t u r e grammatically c o r r e c t
s e n t e n c e s and t o s p e l l p r o p e r l y
are a l s o perceived as common
f a i l i n g s .
We b e l i e v e t h a t s t u d e n t s a r e
n o t being a d e q u a t e l y c h a l l e n g e d or
s t i m u l a t e d by t h e e d u c a t i o n a l
experience. Education should be a
process t h a t c o n t i n u e s throughout
l i f e . The y e a r s of formal school-ing
through high school should
g e n e r a t e an a p p e t i t e f o r knowledge
and, a t b e s t , a love f o r
l e a r n i n g . Teachers and p a r e n t s
must work t o g e t h e r t o s t i m u l a t e
t h e s t u d e n t ' s a p p e t i t e f o r
education. The school curriculum
must be p r o v o c a t i v e enough t o nur-t
u r e s t u d e n t i n t e r e s t and
enthusiasm.
We recognize t h a t n o t a l l
s t u d e n t s have t h e a b i l i t y or
d e s i r e t o be academicians. W e do
b e l i e v e t h a t t h e l a r g e m a j o r i t y of
c h i l d r e n have t h e c a p a b i l i t y t o
absorb t h e b a s i c s k i l l s needed t o
a d e q u a t e l y f u n c t i o n i n our
s o c i e t y . We b e l i e v e t h a t our
e d u c a t i o n a l system should provide
s t u d e n t s who do not pursue a
higher education with t h e s k i l l s
and knowledge they need t o become
e f f e c t i v e and p r o d u c t i v e c i t i z e n s .
The following summarizes t h e
Committee's f i n d i n g s :
o Arizona's primary and second-a
r y s c h o o l s should provide
s t u d e n t s with fundamental
s k i l l s i n w r i t t e n and o r a l
communication, s c i e n c e ,
mathematics, s o c i a l s c i e n c e s
and t h e a r t s . A l l s t u d e n t s
should have t h e e s s e n t i a l
i n t e l l e c t u a l s k i l l s t o be
e f f e c t i v e and p r o d u c t i v e
c i t i z e n s and t o p r o g r e s s t o a
formal c o l l e g e or u n i v e r s i t y
education or t o gainf u l
employment
To t h i s end, we recommend:
o A r i z o n a ' s elementary s c h o o l s
should provide s t u d e n t s with
a sound b a s i s f o r t h e study
of English language; w r i t i n g ;
computational and problem-s
o l v i n g s k i l l s ; s c i e n c e ;
s o c i a l s t u d i e s ; f o r e i g n
languages; and t h e a r t s .
Teachers and p a r e n t s should
promote an enthusiasm f o r
l e a r n i n g and i n d i v i d u a l
development
Testing and Academic Achievement
A t t h e p r e s e n t t e s t i n g t a k e s
up a high p e r c e n t a g e of classroom
time, and Committee members f e e l
t h a t it is o f t e n overdone and adds
l i t t l e t o t h e e d u c a t i o n a l pro-c
e s s . We b e l i e v e t h a t some of
t h e s e e f f o r t s should b e r e d i r e c t e d
t o make s t a n d a r d i z e d tests and
other measures v a l u a b l e t e a c h i n g
and l e a r n i n g t o o l s . Slow l e a r n e r s
should be i d e n t i f i e d a s e a r l y a s
p o s s i b l e so t h a t they can be given
a d d i t i o n a l a t t e n t i o n . This is
e s p e c i a l l y c r i t i c a l i n t h e primary
grades where reading s k i l l s a r e
being developed. F a i l u r e t o l e a r n
t o read with f a c i l i t y i n e v i t a b l y
dooms a youngster t o subsequent
f a i l u r e i n all other s u b j e c t s . An
assessment of how well a s t u d e n t
is p r o g r e s s i n g with reading s k i l l s
can only be accomplished by f r e -
quent and c a r e f u l t e s t i n g .
Conversely, t h e g i f t e d s t u -
dent should not be held back t o
t h e p o i n t where l e a r n i n g c e a s e s t o
b e c h a l l e n g i n g and g r a t i f y i n g .
T e s t i n g can i d e n t i f y t h e s e i n d i -
v i d u a l s so t h a t i n t e r e s t i n g and
p r o d u c t i v e c o u r s e work can be
provided. The Committee s t r o n g l y
b e l i e v e s t h a t promotion from grade
t o grade must r e f l e c t achievement,
not t h e passing of another y e a r .
We a l s o recognize t h a t t h e r e
a r e n e g a t i v e a s p e c t s a s s o c i a t e d
with t h e f a i l u r e of an i n d i v i d u a l
t o keep up with t h e m a j o r i t y of
h i s o r h e r p e e r s . These i n c l u d e
t h e embarrassment a s s o c i a t e d with
f a i l u r e , a diminishment of t h e
w i l l t o t r y t o master s k i l l s t h a t
"I'm not good a t , " and even a de-c
i s i o n t o drop out of school a t an
e a r l y age. Both s o c i e t y and t h e
i n d i v i d u a l pay a r e a l p r i c e when a
s t u d e n t drops out: t h e c o s t t o
s o c i e t y is t h e l o s s o f
p r o d u c t i v i t y ; t h e c o s t t o t h e
s t u d e n t is i n c a l c u l a b l e .
Thus, t h e dilemma t h a t we
have forced upon our schools and
t e a c h e r s is t h e e x p e c t a t i o n t h a t
they w i l l t e a c h our s t u d e n t s a s i f
they were a l l capable of progress-ing
a t t h e "normal" r a t e i n a nor-mal
classroom s e t t i n g - - t h i s
d e s p i t e c l e a r evidence t h a t such
an e x p e c t a t i o n is u n r e a l i s t i c . A
consequence has been " s o c i a l
promotion" a s t h e only a c c e p t a b l e
c o u r s e of a c t i o n open t o t h e
s c h o o l s ; p a r e n t s a s a group a r e
under s t a n d a b l y r e l u c t a n t t o have
t h e i r c h i l d r e n l a b e l e d a s
f a i l u r e s . A r e s u l t of s o c i a l pro-motion
has been, p r e d i c t a b l y ,
d e c l i n i n g s t a n d a r d s and d e c l i n i n g
performance .
The i s s u e of c u l t u r a l b i a s i n
widely used t e s t s has been r a i s e d ,
and must not be l i g h t l y
dismissed. Too o f t e n t e s t i n g has
been viewed a s a measure of what
an i n d i v i d u a l does not know. Good
t e s t i n g should measure t h e knowl-edge
of a s t u d e n t and i n d i c a t e
what must be done by s t u d e n t and
t e a c h e r t o achieve t h e next l e v e l
of mastery.
Weighing a l l of t h e s e f a c t o r s
and r e c o g n i z i n g t h a t grades 1-3
a r e t h e most c r i t i c a l f o r a l l
s t u d e n t s , t h e Committee b e l i e v e s
t h a t t h e S t a t e of Arizona should
use t h e following approach:
o Grades and s t a n d a r d i z e d t e s t s
should be used c a r e f u l l y t o
measure achievement l e v e l s of
s t u d e n t s and t o i d e n t i f y slow
l e a r n e r s s o t h a t a d d i t i o n a l
i n s t r u c t i o n can be provided
t o overcome d e f i c i e n c i e s
o I n s t r u c t i o n i n developing
e f f e c t i v e work and study
h a b i t s should be provided t o
s t u d e n t s a t an e a r l y age and
continued u n t i l such h a b i t s
a r e f i r m l y i n g r a i n e d
o A l t e r n a t i v e systems, such a s
nongraded c l a s s r o o m s , s h o u l d
be experimented with f o r t h e
f i r s t four y e a r s of schooling
a s p o s s i b l e means of i n s u r i n g
t h a t t h e b a s i c s k i l l s a r e
mastered without t h e s o c i a l
stigma of f a i l u r e
o Promotion should be based
upon achievement
An important p a r t of educa-t
i o n is t o develop t h e s t u d e n t ' s
a b i l i t y t o work independently.
This can be accomplished through
t h e e f f e c t i v e use of homework.
Homework a l s o provides an oppor-t
u n i t y f o r meaningful p a r e n t a l
involvement i n t h e e d u c a t i o n a l
process. The Committee recommends
t h a t :
p a t i n g i n a meaningful l e a r n i n g
e x p e r i e n c e a t a younger age than
is r e f l e c t e d by c u r r e n t p r a c t i c e s .
Secondly, t h e i n t e n s i t y of t h e
e d u c a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e should be
i n c r e a s e d by l e n g t h e n i n g b o t h t h e
school day and t h e s c h o o l y e a r .
W e n o t e t h a t e d u c a t i o n a l time
requirements i n Arizona a r e t h e
lowest i n t h e n a t i o n .
While it is d i f f i c u l t t o know
what t i m e framework f o r education
would be i d e a l , we recommend t h a t
Arizona adopt t h e following
s t a n d a r d s , which approximate
n a t i o n a l norms, on a p r o v i s i o n a l
b a s i s :
o The school year s h o u l d b e
i n c r e a s e d from 175 t o 185
days
o K i n d e r g a r t e n s h o u l d b e g i n a t
age four and be a f u l l
f our-hour program
o Minimum time f o r grades 1-3
should be expanded from four
t o f i v e hours a day
o The concept of homework o Minimum time f o r grades 4-6
should be i n t r o d u c e d e a r l y i n should be expanded from f i v e
t h e school experience. The t o s i x hours a qay
amount of independent work
t h a t is expected from s t u - o Minimum time f o r g r a d e s 7-12
d e n t s s h o u l d b e reviewed and should remain a s p r e s e n t l y
i n c r e a s e d where a p p r o p r i a t e s t r u c t u r e d
Time Commitment t o Education o High school s t u d e n t s should
be r e q u i r e d t o t a k e a minimum
The Committee reviewed d a t a of f i v e academic c o a r s e s (now
r e l a t i v e t o t h e framework w i t h i n four ) f o r each term they a r e
which education is o f f e r e d i n e n r o l l e d
Arizona. It seems c l e a r t h a t
c h i l d r e n a r e capable of p a r t i c i - o K i n d e r g a r t e n s h o u l d become a
meaningful e d u c a t i o n a l expe-r
i e n c e i n which t h e b a s i c
s k i l l s a r e i n t r o d u c e d
o Attendance and p a r t i c i p a t i o n
i n school a c t i v i t i e s should
be encouraged and r e i n f o r c e d
by s c h o o l s and p a r e n t s
o The S t a t e Board of Education
should i n i t i a t e a d e t a i l e d
study f o r a l l grade l e v e l s on
t h e amount of time t e a c h e r s
and s t u d e n t s spend on
i n s t r u c t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s
I n a d d i t i o n t o a s s e s s i n g t h e
amount of time s p e n t i n t h e c l a s s -
room, t h e Committee a l s o b e l i e v e s
t h a t t h e a b i l i t y t o teach depends
upon t h e q u a l i t y of t h e time t h a t
a t e a c h e r can spend with a s t u -
dent. This is o f t e n l i m i t e d by
c l a s s s i z e . When c l a s s e s i n c r e a s e
i n s i z e above 25 s t u d e n t s per
t e a c h e r , t h e p e r s o n a l a t t e n t i o n
t h a t a s t u d e n t can r e c e i v e is
d r a s t i c a l l y l i m i t e d , and t h e qual-i
t y of t h e e d u c a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e
d e c r e a s e s . It is i m p e r a t i v e t h a t
c l a s s e s be kept t o manageable
s i z e s s o t h a t t h e education of
s t u d e n t s w i l l not be f u r t h e r
compromised.
Curriculum Requirements
After reviewing t h e r e s u l t s
of n a t i o n a l s t u d i e s , t h e Committee
s t r o n g l y recommends t h a t t h e con-t
e n t of K-12 courses be s t r e n g t h -
ened. A t t h e p r e s e n t , it is pos-s
i b l e f o r an Arizona h i g h s c h o o l
s t u d e n t t o complete t h e 12th grade
without an a d e q u a t e e x p o s u r e t o
t h e b a s i c s and without t h e
i n t e l l e c t u a l s k i l l s t h a t
should be possessed by every
high s c h o o l g r a d u a t e . The
i s s u e of course work is d i s -
cussed below. F u r t h e r , we
recommend t h a t :
o High s c h o o l g r a d u a t i o n
r e q u i r e m e n t s s h o u l d be
i n c r e a s e d t o 22 u n i t s and in-clude
t h e following:
English - 4 y e a r s
Mathematics - 3 y e a r s
Science - 3 y e a r s
S o c i a l S t u d i e s - 3 y e a r s
Computer Science - 1/2
year
I n a d d i t i o n , c o l l e g e bound
s t u d e n t s should be encouraged
t o t a k e two y e a r s of a
f o r e i g n language
It was noted by t h e Committee
t h a t t h e r e is evidence t o i n d i c a t e
t h a t s t u d e n t s a r e capable of
l e a r n i n g f o r e i g n languages i n e l e -
mentary school where i n s t r u c t i o n
might be more e f f e c t i v e and
a p p r o p r i a t e . Although t h e Commit-t
e e has not made a s p e c i f i c recom-mendation
i n t h i s m a t t e r , it urges
t h a t t h e i s s u e b e s t u d i e d .
The Committee is concerned
t h a t our schools a r e not providing
s u f f i c i e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r our
g i f t e d s t u d e n t s . W e recognize
t h a t t h i s may r e p r e s e n t a s i g n i f i -
c a n t hardship f o r smaller school
d i s t r i c t s , but b e l i e v e t h a t prac-t
i c a l and a f f o r d a b l e e d u c a t i o n a l
o p p o r t u n i t i e s can be developed t o
provide g i f t e d s t u d e n t s with an
advanced curriculum t o which t h e i r
academic t a l e n t s can respond.
Therefor e , w e recommend:
o A d d i t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s
should be provided f o r aca-demically
g i f t e d s t u d e n t s
B i l i n g u a l Education
Arizona has a s u b s t a n t i a l
p o p u l a t i o n of people who do not
speak English or f o r whom it is a
second language. From d a t a
gathered by t h e s t a f f of t h e Board
of Education, t h e r e a r e 87,000
s t u d e n t s who speak a language
o t h e r t h a n E n g l i s h a t home.
Spanish is t h e primary language
f o r 60,000 s t u d e n t s ; over 20,000
s t u d e n t s speak a n a t i v e American
language. Despite s i g n i f i c a n t e f -
f o r t s t o provide b i l i n g u a l educa-t
i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o s t u d e n t s
i n Arizona, doubts have been ex-pressed
a s t o t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s of
c u r r e n t programs of some d i s t r i c t s
i n meeting t h e needs of t h e s t u -
d e n t s exposed t o them. More
d i s t u r b i n g l y , t h e Committee heard
testimony t h a t q u e s t i o n e d t h e
b a s i c philosophy behind b i l i n g u a l
education from members who had
f i r st-hand exper i e n c e w i t h t h e
programs .
The Committee c l e a r l y recog-n
i z e s t h a t t h e S t a t e of Arizona
has an o b l i g a t i o n t o educate
non-English-speaking s t u d e n t s . We
have s e r i o u s c o n c e r n s a b o u t how
e f f e c t i v e p a s t e f f o r t s have been.
There seems t o be a p a u c i t y of
r e s e a r c h bearing on t h e r e l a t i v e
m e r i t s of var ious approaches t o
t e a c h i n g t h o s e who speak languages
o t h e r than English. Some
e d u c a t o r s , f o r example, f a v o r a
" t o t a l immersion" technique.
Others b e l i e v e t h a t it is b e t t e r
t o g r a d u a l l y b u t s t e a d i l y i n t r o -
duce English i n t o t h e classroom
while s u b j e c t s a r e being l a r g e l y
t a u g h t i n t h e s t u d e n t s i n a t i v e
tongue. There is no agreement on
how l o n g a b i l i n g u a l program
should continue a t t h e elementary
l e v e l . There is a s t r o n g convic-t
i o n t h a t too few t e a c h e r s r e a l l y
have t h e necessary language and
t e a c h i n g s k i l l s t o conduct an
e f f e c t i v e b i l i n g u a l program.
Arizona has had a v i s i b l e
commitment t o b i l i n g u a l education
f o r over a decade, and it is d i s -
t u r b i n g t o encounter a h i g h d e g r e e
of u n c e r t a i n t y a s t o t h e e f f ec-t
i v e n e s s of c u r r e n t programs. It
is c l e a r t h a t an i n t e n s i v e analy-sis
of b i l i n g u a l education should
be launched immediately. The
q u e s t i o n is n o t if w e should be
involved i n t h e s e e f f o r t s , but
what we must do t o develop e f f e c -
t i v e programs. The goal must be
t o f a c i l i t a t e f u l l p a r t i c i p a t i o n
by non-English speaking s t u d e n t s
i n A r i z o n a ' s e d u c a t i o n a l system a s
q u i c k l y a s p o s s i b l e .
To summarize t h e concerns of
t h e Committee on t h e s u b j e c t of
i n s t r u c t i o n f o r non-English speak-ing
s t u d e n t s , we recommend:
o The S t a t e Board of Education
should work t o achieve a
s t a t e w i d e consensus on t h e
o b j e c t i v e s of b i l i n g u a l edu-c
a t i o n programs i n Arizona
o Early morning and a f t e r - h o u r s
i n s t r u c t i o n i n English should
be a v a i l a b l e f o r non-English-speaking
s t u d e n t s t o q u i c k l y
g i v e them a command of t h e
language
o Teacher p r e p a r a t i o n f o r bi-l
i n g u a l i n s t r u c t i o n should be
impr ov ed
o Research should be undertaken
t o e v a l u a t e t h e r e l a t i v e
e f f e c t i v e n e s s of d i f f e r e n t
approaches t o achieving pro-f
i c i e n c y i n English
I n t e a c h i n g non-English-speaking
c h i l d r e n we must r e a l i z e
t h a t we a r e a l s o d e a l i n g with
non-English-speaking p a r e n t s .
Because of language and c u l t u r a l
b a r r i e r s , it is o f t e n d i f f i c u l t t o
involve t h e s e p a r e n t s i n t h e
s c h o o l i n g p r o c e s s . S p e c i a l ef-f
o r t s should be made by school
d i s t r i c t s t o reach t h e s e p a r e n t s ,
s i n c e p a r e n t a l involvement is
v i t a l i n t h e e d u c a t i o n a l p r o c e s s .
Adequate funding f o r b i l i n -
g u a l programs should be provided.
Educators must be prepared t o pro-v
i d e a s s u r a n c e s and d a t a t h a t
demonstrate t h a t programs a r e
e f f e c t i v e and s e r v e t h e needs of
s t u d e n t s a s they become p r o f i c i e n t
i n English.
Education of t h e Handicapped
I n r e c e n t y e a r s , our n a t i o n ' s
schools have been r e q u i r e d t o ac-c
e p t a major s h a r e of t h e respon-s
i b i l i t y f o r t h e c a r e and educa-t
i o n of t h e handicapped, i n c l u d i n g
t h o s e c h i l d r e n a f f l i c t e d with
s e v e r e m u l t i p l e handicaps. This
o b l i g a t i o n has placed an enormous
f i n a n c i a l burden on a l l school
systems. A d i v e r s i o n of r e s o u r c e s
and t h e o c c a s i o n a l i n c l u s i o n of
l e s s a b l e s t u d e n t s with t h e i r
c h r o n o l o g i c a l p e e r s h a s a l t e r e d
classroom s i t u a t i o n s t o t h e e x t e n t
t h a t many t e a c h e r s have a d i f f i -
c u l t time coping with t h e addi-t
i o n a l demands t h a t have been
placed on them.
While t h e Committee does not
q u e s t i o n t h e s o c i a l value or t h e
human b e n e f i t s t h a t t h e s e educa-t
i o n a l programs have brought t o
s o c i e t y , we have been made aware
t h a t t h e s e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s have
o f t e n been met a t t h e expense of
t r a d i t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n a l objec-t
i v e s . Furthermore, school dis-t
r icts have had t o r e a l l o c a t e
s c a r c e r e s o u r c e s t o accommodate
t h e s e mandated programs . Af ter
reviewing t h e scope of programs
f o r t h e handicapped t h a t a r e being
undertaken i n Arizona, t h e Commit-t
e e recommends t h a t :
o Programs f o r t h e handicapped
should continue t o r e c e i v e
high p r i o r i t y . Adequate
f u n d i n g s h o u l d be provided t o
school d i s t r i c g s t o pay f o r
t h e s e programs
Evaluation of School Program
Unquestionably, t h e most com-monly
voiced concern by t h e v a r i -
ous commissions t h a t have reviewed
education i n t h e United S t a t e s has
d e a l t with t h e s c h o o l c u r r i c u l u m .
C r i t i c i s m s have been l e v e l e d a t
t h e content of c o u r s e s , t h e v a r i -
e t y of c o u r s e s among which s t u -
d e n t s can choose, t h e q u a l i t y and
c o n t e n t of textbooks t h a t a r e
being used, t h e q u a l i t y of teach-ing
i n classrooms and t h e absence
of a well-defined c o r e curriculum
t o which e v e r y h i g h school gradu-a
t e is exposed.
A s t r o n g sentiment p r e v a i l s
t h a t high school s t u d e n t s today
a r e academically l e s s well pre-p
a r e d t h a n were t h e s t u d e n t s of
two decades ago. The s t e a d y ,
monotonous d e c l i n e t h a t w e have
observed i n both t h e ACT and SAT
t e s t s c o r e s is c i t e d as evidence
of a d e t e r i o r a t i o n i n t h e q u a l i t y
of U.S. education. While one may
q u a r r e l with s p e c i f i c f i n d i n g s and
recommendations, t h e preponderance
of evidence c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e s t h a t
t h e q u a l i t y of t h e e d u c a t i o n a l
e x p e r i e n c e i n our schools needs t o
be s i g n i f i c a n t l y improved. We
b e l i e v e t h a t t h e s e c o n v i c t i o n s a r e
shared by most of t h e c i t i z e n s of
Arizona.
I n t h e l a s t s e s s i o n t h e
l e g i s l a t u r e enacted Senate B i l l
1049. This l e g i s l a t i o n , among
o t h e r t h i n g s , r e q u i r e s t h e S t a t e
Board of Education t o p r e s c r i b e a
minimum course of study i n t h e
common schools and a minimum
course of study f o r t h e promotion
of s t u d e n t s from t h e 8 t h grade.
It a l s o r e q u i r e s t h e S t a t e Board
t o p r e s c r i b e a minimum c o u r s e of
study and t o d e f i n e competency
requirements f o r g r a d u a t i o n from
h i g h s c h o o l . The Committee wishes
t o go on r e c o r d a s s u p p o r t i n g and
applauding t h i s e f f o r t .
Approximately t e n y e a r s ago
t h e College Board e s t a b l i s h e d t h e
Educational EQuality P r o j e c t a s an
e f f o r t t o s t r e n g t h e n t h e q u a l i t y
of education i n our secondary
s c h o o l s . From t h i s e f f o r t a docu-ment
t i t l e d Academic P r e p a r a t i o n
f o r College: What S t u d e n t s Need
To Know and Be Able To Do ( s e e Ap-pendices
I and 11) has been
pr epar ed . The document is a
thorough, well w r i t t e n review .of
t h e o v e r a l l academic curriculum.
S p e c i f i c c o u r s e s and t h e i r c o n t e n t
a r e a l s o considered.
The Committee b e l i e v e s t h a t
t h i s document should be a corner-s
t o n e f o r reviewing our education-a
l programs i n Arizona. The
r e p o r t can form a b a s i s f o r
r e s t r u c t u r i n g t h e curriculum now
o f f e r e d by our school system.
Based upon our review t h e Commit-t
e e recommends:
o The S t a t e should e s t a b l i s h a
t a s k f o r c e of c i t i z e n s ,
e d u c a t o r s , b u s i n e s s and labor
l e a d e r s t o i d e n t i f y c l e a r l y
t h e s k i l l s t h a t elementary
schools should provide t o a l l
s t u d e n t s . The recommended
courses of study and course
c o n t e n t should be e v a l u a t e d
a g a i n s t t h e recommendations
developed by t h e Educational
E Q u a l i t y P r o j e c t and con-t
a i n e d i n Academic
P r e p a r a t i o n f o r College
o A second t a s k f o r c e should be
appointed t o review t h e high
school curriculum. O u t l i n e s
s i m i l a r t o t h o s e p r e s e n t e d i n
t h e E d u c a t i o n a l E Q u a l i t y Pro-j
e c t r e p o r t should be
developed f o r A r i z o n a ' s
schools
o An Arizona high school gradu-a
t e should be a b l e t o demon-s
t r a t e a c l e a r mastery of
b a s i c s k i l l s . These i n c l u d e
r e a d i n g , w r i t i n g , speaking
and l i s t e n i n g , mathematics,
reasoning and study s k i l l s .
D e s c r i p t i o n s of competency
l e v e l s a r e contained i n
Chapter 2 of t h e Educational
EQuality P r o j e c t r e p o r t
o The S t a t e Board of Education
should mandate t h e minimum
competency l e v e l s t h a t a r e t o
be r e q u i r e d of a l l Arizona
high s c h o o l g r a d u a t e s . A
minimum must not become a
g u i d e l i n e f o r t h e optimum or
t h e average
Textbooks
A t t h e p r e s e n t , s t u d e n t s i n
t h e s t a t e of Arizona a r e provided
with t h e use of textbooks f r e e of
charge f o r grades K t o 8. Stu-d
e n t s i n grades 9 through 12 must
purchase t h e textbooks they need
f o r t h e i r c l a s s e s . This works a
f i n a n c i a l hardship on many
f a m i l i e s . We b e l i e v e t h a t Arizona
should adopt t h e p r a c t i c e followed
by t h e m a j o r i t y of t h e n a t i o n and
provide f o r t h e f r e e use of t e x t -
books by s t u d e n t s t h r o u g h h i g h
s c h o o l . The incremental c o s t of
t h i s t o t h e s t a t e of Arizona was
e s t i m a t e d t o be approximately $6
m i l l i o n per year. We b e l i e v e t h a t
t h e S t a t e can a f f o r d and should
provide f o r t h i s e x p e n d i t u r e .
The Committee recommends:
o The S t a t e should provide f r e e
use of textbooks through
grade 12
A second a s p e c t of textbooks
about which t h e Committee was con-cerned
was t h e q u a l i t y of t h e
c o n t e n t . There was a c l e a r con-sensus
t h a t t h e textbooks being
used a c r o s s t h e n a t i o n and i n
Arizona a r e inadequate. We recog-n
i z e t h a t textbooks a r e w r i t t e n
with a n a t i o n a l audience i n mind.
Although t h e p o p u l a t i o n of Arizona
is not l a r g e enough f o r us t o
e x e r t a major i n f l u e n c e on content
of t h e s e books, we b e l i e v e t h a t
our v o i c e s should be added t o
t h o s e demanding improved q u a l i t y .
We a l s o b e l i e v e t h a t it would be
u s e f u l f o r t h e school d i s t r i c t s
and t h e S t a t e Board of Education
t o p r e p a r e supplemental m a t e r i a l s
on t h e s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s and cul-t
u r e s of Arizona. These publica-t
i o n s c o u l d b e added t o other
t e x t s used i n t h e classroom.
Academic C r e d i t s
It is c u r r e n t p r a c t i c e i n
most Arizona schools t o award aca-demic
cr e d i t f o r non-academic
a c t i v i t i e s such a s p h y s i c a l
education, a t h l e t i c s , c h e e r l e a d i n g
and d r i v e r ' s education. The Com-m
i t t e e does not q u e s t i o n t h e value
of t h e s e courses i n e n r i c h i n g t h e
e d u c a t i o n a l experience. We
b e l i e v e , however, t h a t schools may
be sending t h e wrong message t o
s t u d e n t s and t h e i r p a r e n t s by
awarding c r e d i t f o r t h e s e a c t i v i -
t i e s on equal b a s i s with c r e d i t
earned f o r academic c o u r s e s .
Although t h e i s s u e is n o t a n
easy one t o r e s o l v e , we b e l i e v e it
is one of e x c e p t i o n a l importance.
It should be addressed s e r i o u s l y
by t h e S t a t e Board of Education
and l o c a l school d i s t r i c t s . A t
t h e moment t h e r e appears t o be a
major imbalance i n t h e p a r t i c i p a -
t i o n of s t u d e n t s and t h e i r p a r e n t s
i n e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r a c t i v i t i e s a s
compared t o academic a c t i v i t i e s .
There has been an overemphasis i n
r e c e n t decades on t h e r o l e of non-academic
a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e high
s c h o o l e x p e r i e n c e . We b e l i e v e
t h a t i f t h e kind of energy and
enthusiasm demonstrated by p a r e n t s
of s t u d e n t s involved i n e x t r a c u r -
r i c u l a r a c t i v i t i e s could be
focused on academic programs, many
of t h e problems t h a t our school
systems f a c e would q u i c k l y be
r e s o l v e d .
The Committee b e l i e v e s t h a t
t h e S t a t e of Arizona must c l e a r l y
d e f i n e a c o r e curriculum t o which
each s t u d e n t should be exposed.
To graduate from s c h o o l , each s t u -
dent should be r e q u i r e d t o t a k e
and p a s s a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e number
of c o u r s e s i n t h i s c o r e a r e a .
C r e d i t should be awarded f o r other
a c t i v i t i e s , but not on a b a s i s
equal t o t h e c r e d i t given f o r
academic o f f e r i n g s . For example,
members agree t h a t course c r e d i t
should be given f o r a b a s i c course
i n p h y s i c a l education, but t h a t
advanced o r c o m p e t i t i v e p h y s i c a l
education programs should be
o f f e r e d only f o r i n d i v i d u a l
enrichment .
I n summary, t h e Committee
recommends :
o Academic a c t i v i t i e s must be
recognized by t h o s e involved
with education a s t h e primary
focus of t h e e d u c a t i o n a l
process. A s t r o n g academic
curriculum a s o u t i i n e d
throughout our r e p o r t and i n
t h e appendix should be de-f
i n e d f o r our school system,
and academic p r o g r e s s and
g r a d u a t i o n should be based
upon s u c c e s s f u l completion of
t h e c o r e program
Slow and G i f t e d S t u d e n t s
Although t h e s p e c i a l problems
of slow and g i f t e d s t u d e n t s were
touched upon e a r l i e r , they should
b e s i n g l e d o u t f o r s p e c i a l
a t t e n t i o n . I n education t h e r e a r e
two b a s i c parameters a t e a c h e r
must contend w i t h : t h e i n n a t e
a b i l i t y of a s t u d e n t t o l e a r n and
t h e r a t e a t which l e a r n i n g can
occur. Most s t u d e n t s have t h e
a b i l i t y t o absorb m a t e r i a l t h a t is
p r e s e n t e d i n t h e classroom. Some
of them comprehend new s u b j e c t
matter more s l o w l y t h a n average.
Slow l e a r n e r s can e a s i l y become
dropouts i f they a r e not handled
p r o p e r l y .
I n order t o succeed, slow
l e a r n e r s need time, a t t e n t i o n and
i n d i v i d u a l instruction. I n t h e
normal classroom s e t t i n g , t e a c h e r s
o f t e n lack t h e time and t h e
s p e c i a l s k i l l s necessary t o d e a l
e f f e c t i v e l y with t h e s e s t u d e n t s .
The Committee b e l i e v e s t h a t pro-grams
such a s af t er - hour s
i n s t r u c t i o n , Saturday c l a s s e s , and
f r e e summer school o f f e r s p e c i a l
promise f o r helping slow l e a r n e r s
keep up with t h e i r p e e r s . The
Committee s t r o n g l y recommends:
o The S t a t e should provide ade-quate
f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s f o r
schools t o d e a l with t h e d i f -
f i c u l t i e s of educating slow
l e a r n e r s
On t h e other end of t h e
l e a r n i n g curve a r e s t u d e n t s who
have t h e c a p a c i t y t o absorb mate-r
i a l a t an a c c e l e r a t e d r a t e and
comprehend s u b j e c t matter t h a t
goes f a r beyond t h e l e v e l of t h e
normal c l a s s o f f e r i n g . These s t u -
d e n t s have t h e p o t e n t i a l of making
e x t r a o r d i n a r y c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o
s o c i e t y and should be encouraged
i n every p o s s i b l e way.
It may be f e a s i b l e t o e s t a b -
l i s h s p e c i a l schools f o r t h e
g i f t e d i n our l a r g e r communities
t o provide them with an opportuni-t
y t o p r o g r e s s a t an a c c e l e r a t e d
pace. We b e l i e v e t h a t it would
a l s o be d e s i r a b l e t o e x p l o r e t h e
f e a s i b i l i t y of using community
c o l l e g e and u n i v e r s i t y i n s t r u c t o r s
and r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from i n d u s t r y
t o h e l p provide an enriched
curriculum. S p e c i a l course o f f e r -
ings could be c o n s t r u c t e d and
t a u g h t by v i s i t i n g f a c u l t y members
from higher education and
i n d u s t r y . A problem with t h i s
approach i n p a s t y e a r s where col-l
e g e s and u n i v e r s i t i e s were con-cerned
was t h a t t h e r e was no f i -
n a n c i a l compensation f o r t h e
e f f o r t and, i n f a c t , it r e p r e -
s e n t e d an a d d i t i o n a l burden on t h e
s c h o o l s . The Committee recommends
t h a t :
o School d i s t r i c t s should be
given a f i n a n c i a l i n c e n t i v e
t o provide advanced c l a s s
o f f e r i n g s f o r academically
g i f t e d c h i l d r e n
o E f f o r t s should be made t o
involve i n d u s t r y r e p r e s e n t a -
t i v e s and members of t h e pro-f
e s s i o n s i n e n r i c h i n g courses
f o r t h e g i f t e d
Course Content
The S t a t e Board of Education
c u r r e n t l y provides f o r a review of
t h e s t a t e c o u r s e r e q u i r e m e n t s , and
Senate B i l l 1049 g i v e s t h e S t a t e
Board a d d i t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y i n t h i s
a r e a . The Committee wishes t o
applaud t h e S t a t e Board of Educa-t
i o n f o r its p a s t e f f o r t s . We
b e l i e v e it is important t h a t t h e r e
be c l o s e monitoring of c o r e course
o f f e r i n g s t o i n s u r e t h a t they a r e
not watered down or debased. A
pr e-algebr a cour s e , f o r example,
cannot be regarded as a s u b s t i t u t e
f o r a l g e b r a .
A l a r g e number of c o u r s e s n o t
reviewed by t h e S t a t e Board f a l l
i n t o t h e category of " e l e c t i v e "
o f f e r i n g s . The Committee b e l i e v e s
t h a t t h e s e a c t i v i t i e s a r e more
p r o p e r l y reviewed and monitored a t
t h e l e v e l of t h e l o c a l school
board o r i n d i v i d u a l school. We
recommend t h a t t h e S t a t e Board of
Education prepare g u i d e l i n e s f o r
t h e l o c a l boards t o use i n making
such r e v i e w s .
I n summary, t h e Committee
recommends t h a t :
o The S t a t e Board of Education
should continue t o review
p e r i o d i c a l l y a l l s t a t e course
requirements and course con-t
e n t f o r K-12 c l a s s e s
o Local boards and s c h o o l s
should review t h e c o n t e n t and
e f f e c t i v e n e s s of e l e c t i v e and
c o r e course o f f e r i n g s . The
S t a t e Board of Education
s h o u l d d e v e l o p g u i d e l i n e s f o r
t h i s process
Higher Education i n Arizona
The S t a t e Board of Regents
has r e c e n t l y reviewed t h e admis-s
i o n requirements f o r t h e t h r e e
s t a t e u n i v e r s i t i e s . Requirements
f o r admission have been c l e a r l y
defined and upgraded. The Commit-t
e e r e c o g n i z e s t h i s e f f o r t by t h e
Board of Regents and s t r o n g l y sup-p
o r t s t h e i r a c t i o n .
The s t a t e u n i v e r s i t i e s have a
d i r e c t impact on t h e q u a l i t y of
education i n our primary and sec-ondary
s c h o o l s . I n a r e a l s e n s e ,
t h e s t a n d a r d s t h a t they set f o r
admission w i l l d e f i n e what is
being taught through t h e high
school l e v e l i n Arizona p u b l i c
s c h o o l s . The Board of Regents has
r e c e n t l y prepared a b o o k l e t (Ready
f o r Success, Making High School
Count) f o r s t a t e w i d e d i s t r i b u t i o n
t h a t g i v e s high school s t u d e n t s
i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e p r e p a r a t i o n
they w i l l r e q u i r e f o r admission t o
t h e u n i v e r s i t i e s . W e urge a l l
t e a c h e r s , p a r e n t s and s t u d e n t s t o
become f a m i l i a r with t h i s b o o k l e t
and t h e Educational EQuality Pro-j
e c t r e p o r t , Academic P r e p a r a t i o n
f o r College.
Vocational Education
Vocational e d u c a t i o n h a s
r e c e i v e d c o n s i d e r a b l e a t t e n t i o n i n
t h e S t a t e of Arizona over t h e l a s t
decade. The widely d i f f e r i n g
p o i n t s of view a s t o what c o n s t i -
t u t e s v o c a t i o n a l education and its
proper r o l e i n our s c h o o l s was a
matter o f concern t o t h e
Committee. The Committee d i d not
have t h e time or r e s o u r c e s t o ana-l
y z e v o c a t i o n a l education
e f f o r t s . W e b e l i e v e t h a t t h e
S t a t e Board of Vocational and
Technical Education should examine
t h e c u r r e n t system of providing
v o c a t i o n a l education t o determine
optimal c o n t e n t and t h e b e s t mode
of d e l i v e r y .
Teacher Education Proqrams
A l l of t h e Committee's meet-i
n g s were open t o t h e p u b l i c and
were a t t e n d e d by a number of
t e a c h e r s and p a r e n t s . The Commit-t
e e provided t h e s e i n d i v i d u a l s
with o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o speak; t h e
comments r e c e i v e d were s t i m u l a t i n g
and v a l u a b l e . Members of t h e
audience a s well a s t h e Committee
expressed s t r o n g concern a s t o t h e
adequacy of t e a c h e r t r a i n i n g .
Much c r i t i c i s m was d i r e c t e d toward
t h e c o l l e g e s of education i n our
own s t a t e a s well a s around t h e
n a t i o n . The following p o i n t s were
emphasized:
1. Teachers need a s t r o n g e r
grounding i n b a s i c aca-demic
s u b j e c t m a t t e r t h a n
they a r e now r e c e i v i n g
2. Colleges of education
p l a c e f a r too much empha-sis
on methodology of
q u e s t i o n a b l e r e l e v a n c e
3 . Colleges of education
should p l a c e more empha-sis
on meaningful method-ology
such a s human r e l a -
t i o n s and communication
s k i l l s . Methodology
courses should be geared
t o meet t h e d i f f e r e n t
needs of elementary,
middle and high school
t e a c h i n g
4. More e f f o r t should be
d i r e c t e d toward i n c r eas-ing
s t u d e n t t e a c h i n g time
and improving t h e q u a l i t y
of s u p e r v i s i o n
5. There is a need f o r
g r e a t e r cooper a t i o n and
i n t e r a c t i o n between t h e
academic d i s c i p l i n e s and
t h e c o l l e g e s of education
Among numerous s u g g e s t i o n s
were t h a t t e a c h e r t r a i n i n g be cen-t
r a l i z e d i n t h e l i b e r a l a r t s
c o l l e g e s , and t h a t education col-l
e g e s be confined t o graduate
courses t h a t would focus on meth-odology
and s t u d e n t t e a c h i n g .
Another s u g g e s t i o n was t h a t ways
be found t o remedy t h e s e r i o u s
lack of p u b l i c school classroom
exper ience evidenced by some pro-f
e s s o r s i n c o l l e g e s of education.
The d e s i r a b i l i t y of i n v o l v i n g s t u -
d e n t s i n classroom t e a c h i n g expe-r
i e n c e s e a r l y i n t h e i r c o l l e g e
c a r e e r s was maintained by other
s p e a k e r s . The o b j e c t i v e would be
t o weed out t h o s e s t u d e n t s who
do n o t appear t o have t h e neces-s
a r y a b i l i t y t o become t e a c h e r s .
In any review and e v a l u a t i o n
p r o c e s s , i n c l u d i n g t h a t conducted
by t h e Governor's Committee f o r
Q u a l i t y Education, t h e r e is a
g r e a t temptation t o s i n g l e out one
i s s u e and i d e n t i f y it a s " t h e
major problem." Such a conclusion
may or may not be j u s t i f i e d .
However, t h e Committee b e l i e v e s
t h a t t h e s t a t e ' s c o l l e g e s of edu-c
a t i o n ignore t h e above expres-s
i o n s of concern a t t h e i r own
p e r i l . We n o t e t h a t a t some s t a t e
u n i v e r s i t i e s a c r o s s t h e country a
d i s m a n t l i n g or r e d u c t i o n i n t h e
scope of c o l l e g e s of education is
a l r e a d y underway. The Committee
recommends :
o A t a s k f o r c e comprised of
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from our
s t a t e u n i v e r s i t y c o l l e g e s of
education, t e a c h e r s , p r i n c i -
p a l s and school s u p e r i n t e n -
d e n t s should reexamine t h e
manner i n which t e a c h e r s a r e
t r a i n e d . A r e p o r t with
recommendations f o r improve-ments
should be submitted t o
t h e Governor, t h e Board of
Regents, t h e Superintendent
of P u b l i c I n s t r u c t i o n and t h e
S t a t e Board of Education.
Areas t h a t should be i n v e s t i -
gated i n c l u d e t h e s t u d e n t
t e a c h i n g exper i e n c e ; t h e
amount of academic pr epar a-t
i o n r e q u i r e d f o r t e a c h e r s,
p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e aiming t o
t e a c h i n secondary s c h o o l s ;
t h e amount and q u a l i t y of
t r a i n i n g i n t h e a r e a s
of human r e l a t i o n s and com-munication
s k i l l s ; t h e number
and r e l a t i v e importance of
r e q u i r e d methodology c o u r s e s ,
and t h e degree of i n t e g r a t i o n
and cooper a t i o n between the
c o l l e g e s of education and
other academic u n i t s on uni-v
e r s i t y campuses
C e r t i f i c a t i o n of Teachers
An i n d i v i d u a l needs t o be
c e r t i f i e d by t h e Department of
Education t o be a classroom
t e a c h e r a t t h e elementary or sec-ondary
l e v e l i n t h e S t a t e of
Arizona. The i n t e n t of c e r t i f i c a -
t i o n is t o a s s u r e t h a t p r o s p e c t i v e
t e a c h e r s have undergone a formal
course of p r o f e s s i o n a l t r a i n i n g
and have achieved a s p e c i f i c l e v e l
of s u b j e c t mastery. It was con-cluded
by most Committee members,
however, t h a t t h e r e is n o t neces-s
a r i l y a c o r r e l a t i o n between
c e r t i f i c a t i o n and t h e competency
t o teach. Some members f e l t t h a t
c e r t i f i c a t i o n c r e a t e s an a r t i f i -
c i a l b a r r i e r f o r q u a l i f i e d i n d i -
v i d u a l s who a r e capable of being
e f f e c t i v e t e a c h e r s . The Committee
was a l s o concerned t h a t c u r r e n t
c e r t i f i c a t i o n t e s t i n g may be sys-t
e m a t i c a l l y excluding m i n o r i t i e s
from t e a c h i n g p o s i t i o n s .
The S t a t e of C a l i f o r n i a has
r e c e n t l y enacted l e g i s l a t i o n t o
e n a b l e s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s t o h i r e
noncer t i f i e d t e a c h e r s i n a r e a s
where t h e r e a r e not enough c e r t i -
f i e d t e a c h e r s a v a i l a b l e . The Com-mittee
b e l i e v e s t h a t t h e r e a r e
i n d i v i d u a l s i n Arizona who would
be q u a l i f i e d t o teach c e r t a i n sub-j
e c t s i n our school system but who
do not have t h e r e q u i r e d education
courses t o q u a l i f y f o r
c e r t i f i c a t i o n . The Committee
f e e l s t h a t it would be u s e f u l f o r
t h e s t a t e t o e x p l o r e mechanisms by
which such i n d i v i d u a l s could
become t e a c h e r s without going
through c u r r e n t cer t i £ i c a t i o n
procedures. Some Committee mem-b
e r s suggested t h a t t e a c h e r s who
t a k e t h e necessary c o u r s e s and
meet t h e c e r t i f i c a t i o n r e q u i r e -
ments w i l l have a f a r b e t t e r
chance t o succeed i n t h e
p r o f e s s i o n .
It was g e n e r a l l y agreed t h a t
t h e r e should be a measure of com-petency
f o r t e a c h e r s who a r e
e n t e r i n g t h e p r o f e s s i o n ; t h e r e was
no agreement t h a t c e r t i f i c a t i o n
provides an optimal s o l u t i o n . The
Committee recommends:
o C e r t i f i c a t i o n of t e a c h e r s a s
a p r e r e q u i s i t e f o r employment
needs t o b e e v a l u a t e d f o r
e f f e c t i v e n e s s . C e r t i f i c a t i o n
should be made more f l e x i b l e
t o allow highly q u a l i f i e d ,
n o n c e r t i f i e d i n d i v i d u a l s t o
e n t e r t h e t e a c h i n g
p r o f e s s i o n . The e f f e c t i v e -
ness of t h i s measure should
b e e v a l u a t e d by t h e S t a t e
Board of Education a f t e r a
s u i t a b l e p e r i o d h a s elapsed
Employment, E v a l u a t i o n and Tenure
of Teachers
P o l i c i e s r e g a r d i n g t h e h i r i n g
of t e a c h e r s d i f f e r i n d i s t r i c t s
27
around t h e s t a t e . Procedures t h a t
were d e s c r i b e d t o t h e Committee
o f t e n r e f l e c t very poor personnel
p r a c t i c e s . I n some school d i s -
t r i c t s t h e m a j o r i t y of new h i r e s
a r e employed during t h e summer
months or j u s t b e f o r e school
opens. The r e s u l t is t h a t t h e
h i r i n g d e c i s i o n is made s o l e l y by
t h e school a d m i n i s t r a t o r . Good
personnel p r a c t i c e s d i c t a t e t h a t
a s much of t h e academic community
a s p o s s i b l e be involved i n t h e
r e c r u i t i n g and h i r i n g of new fac-u
l t y members. There is, however,
agreement with t h e p r o p o s i t i o n
t h a t t h e f i n a l d e c i s i o n should be
l e f t t o t h e school a d m i n i s t r a t o r .
The i s s u e of t e n u r e has o f t e n
been c i t e d a s a matter of nation-wide
concern. There is a b e l i e f
t h a t t e n u r e simply s e r v e s t o pro-t
e c t t h e incompetent t e a c h e r . The
i s s u e of t e n u r e is l i n k e d t o
t e a c h e r competency, t e a c h e r evalu-a
t i o n and t e a c h e r promotion and
compensation.
The t r u e f u n c t i o n of t e n u r e
is t o guarantee t h e q u a l i f i e d
t e a c h e r w i t h a measure o f academic
freedom necessary i n t h e educa-t
i o n a l process. I t s e r v e s t o pro-t
e c t t h e t e a c h e r from a r b i t r a r y
and c a p r i c i o u s d e c i s i o n s r e g a r d i n g
h i s o r h e r employment. Tenure was
employees i n t h e school system.
Evaluation of t e a c h e r s should not
be confined t o p r o b a t i o n a r y
t e a c h e r s a l o n e . E v a l u a t i n g
t e a c h e r s and m a i n t a i n i n g high aca-demic
s t a n d a r d s is one of t h e p r i -
mary r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s of school
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s . The e v a l u a t i o n of
t e a c h e r s should be c a r r i e d out
throughout t h e school year. When
p r a c t i c a l , comments from p e e r s ,
s t u d e n t s and p a r e n t s should be
sought. Older s t u d e n t s a r e o f t e n
capable of providing meaningful
o b s e r v a t i o n s .
It is important t h a t evalua-t
i o n be viewed a s an o p p o r t u n i t y
f o r a t e a c h e r t o improve h i s or
her performance r a t h e r than a s a
t h r e a t t o job s e c u r i t y . Some Com-m
i t t e e members noted t h a t t h e
Arizona Teacher Residency Program
is working well a s a t o o l f o r t h e
assessment of t e a c h e r s and t h a t it
should be more widely a p p l i e d .
The Governor's Committee recom-mends
t h a t :
o Performance requirements f o r
t e a c h e r s , o f t e n vague, need
t o be c l e a r l y defined by each
school d i s t r i c t ( r e q u i r e d by
law a s of 1983)
not intended, nor should it be o Programs t o e v a l u a t e and
used, t o p r o t e c t incompetent improve t h e performance of
t e a c h e r s from d i s m i s s a l . p r o b a t i o n a r y t e a c h e r s should
The key t o r e s o l v i n g many of be developed and implemented
t h e i s s u e s surrounding t e n u r e and by each school d i s t r i c t
promotion seems t o r e s i d e i n
developing and implementing c l e a r
and r e a s o n a b l e p e r s o n n e l o Tenured t e a c h e r s should be
p o l i c i e s . These s h o u l d b e under- e v a l u a t e d r e g u l a r l y t o i n s u r e
stood by a l l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and c o n t i n u i n g e f f e c t i v e n e s s i n
t h e classroom and competency
i n t h e s u b j e c t matter being
taught
o Tenure s t a n d a r d s a r e o f t e n
n o n e x i s t e n t or vague. The
s t a n d a r d s f o r t e n u r e need t o
be c l e a r l y defined by each
school d i s t r i c t
o Each school d i s t r i c t should
develop c l e a r l y d e f i n e d per-sonnel
p o l i c i e s t h a t d e f i n e
t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s and ob-l
i g a t i o n s of a l l employees of
t h e school d i s t r i c t . These
p o l i c y s t a t e m e n t s should
s p e l l out t h e procedures t o
be followed f o r h i r i n g , eval-u
a t i n g and t e r m i n a t i n g
employees. A l l employees
should be thoroughly f a m i l i a r
with t h e p o l i c i e s of t h e i r
school d i s t r i c t
o School a d m i n i s t r a t o r s should
r e c e i v e b e t t e r i n s t r u c t i o n i n
t h e a r e a of personnel manage-ment
and s h o u l d d e v e l o p and
implement sound personnel
p r a c t i c e s
Teacher Compensation I s s u e s
The Committee began its d i s -
cussion of t h i s t o p i c by reviewing
t h e s t a r t i n g annual s a l a r i e s of
t e a c h e r s compared t o t h o s e o f f e r e d
r e c e n t c o l l e g e g r a d u a t e s i n other
f i e l d s . A l l of t h e d a t a we
reviewed i n d i c a t e d t h a t t e a c h e r s
s a l a r i e s were among t h e lowest
o f f e r e d .
Among t h e reasons f o r low
s a l a r i e s noted by t h e Committee is
t h e obvious r e l u c t a n c e of t h e pub-l
i c t o pay t e a c h e r s more; t h e
w i l l i n g n e s s of t e a c h e r s t o t a k e
t e n u r e and unpaid summer v a c a t i o n
p e r i o d s i n exchange f o r low
s a l a r i e s , and t h e d e s i r e of t h e
b u s i n e s s community t o keep t a x e s
low. Another f a c t o r is o v e r a l l
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n our s o c i e t y
a g a i n s t women, who have h i s t o r -
i c a l l y dominated a p r o f e s s i o n i n
which remuneration has been
regarded a s no more than a second-a
r y s o u r c e of income. While mem-b
e r s of t h e Committee d i f f e r on
t h e importance of t h e above
f a c t o r s , t h e r e was unanimous
agreement t h a t t e a c h e r s a l a r i e s
a r e too low and must be a d j u s t e d
upward i f we a r e s e r i o u s about
improving t h e q u a l i t y of education
i n Arizona. An i n c r e a s e of ap-proximately
25% i n annual s a l a r y
f o r a l l t e a c h e r s , based on a
s t a t e w i d e average and i n terms of
1983 d o l l a r s , would be r e q u i r e d t o
r a i s e annual s a l a r i e s of t e a c h e r s
t o a r e a s o n a b l e l e v e l .
One of t h e most s e r i o u s con-sequences
of t h e low l e v e l of com-p
e n s a t i o n a v a i l a b l e t o t e a c h e r s is
t h a t few of our g i f t e d c o l l e g e
s t u d e n t s e l e c t t o p u r s u e t e a c h i n g
c a r e e r s . One r e c e n t survey i n d i -
c a t e d t h a t t h e m a j o r i t y of s t u -
d e n t s pursuing education majors i n
c o l l e g e came from t h e bottom quar-ter
of t h e i r c l a s s e s , a s i t u a t i o n
h a r d l y conducive t o r a i s i n g t h e
q u a l i t y of our e d u c a t i o n a l
system. I n l i g h t of t h e compensa-t
i o n t h a t t e a c h e r s r e c e i v e and t h e
esteem i n which they a r e held by
our s o c i e t y , w e a r e f o r t u n a t e t h a t
a l a r g e number of h i g h l y
-
dedicated individuals have chosen
t o continue teaching.
Some Committee members argued
t h a t s a l a r i e s f o r teachers should
be d i f f e r e n t i a t e d on the basis of
what courses are being taught, the
competency of the teacher, and the
preparation time required. Cur-rent
c r i t e r i a for pay increases
are primarily based on longevity
and the additional course c r e d i t s
and academic degrees that a
teacher earns. The Committee
believes that the basis f o r s a l a r y
adjustments should be broadened.
The use of merit pay to
reward exceptional teaching per-formance
received consideration,
although not without objection
from those who f e l t it was a dis-service
t o talk about merit pay
when the overall base pay of
teachers is so low, Concern was
expressed t h a t t h e issue of merit
pay would obscure one of t h e b a s i c
problems i n t h e teaching
profession, namely low s a l a r i e s .
While the Committee recognizes
that low s a l a r i e s are a major
problem, we do believe t h a t a
variety of perf ormance-based
incentives should be considered to
reward outstanding teachers. A
good and f a i r salary system is an
e s s e n t i a l part of any personnel
management program. The salary
system should be used to a t t r a c t
superior individuals, r ewar d
exceptional work and indicate t h a t
inadequate performance is
unacceptable.
I n summary, the Committee
makes the following recommenda-tions
on the subject of teacher
compensation:
3 0
The s a l a r i e s of teachers a t
a l l l e v e l s a r e not s u f f i -
ciently competitive with in-dustry
to a t t r a c t and r e t a i n
teachers in the necessary
numbers to assure a strong
educational system. We
recommend that the s t a t e work
toward a general increase in
s a l a r i e s of teachers to
levels of 25% above those now
i n e f f e c t , and that t h i s in-crease
be implemented over a
thr ee-year per iod
School d i s t r i c t s should be
encouraged to examine teacher
pay scales and the c r i t e r i a
used to determine compensa-t
i o n l e v e l s . In addition to
academic preparation and
longevity, competence and
other performance factors
should enter i n t o s a l a r y
determinations
Awards should be made t o
superior teachers to recog-nize
t h e i r e f f o r t s . We
encourage school boards to
consider mer it Pay I
performance-based bonus
plans, support for summer
projects, accelerated salary
awards, sabbatical leaves and
p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n conferences
as positive ways t o recognize
and encourage outstanding
teachers. The issue of merit
pay must not, however, be
allowed t o obscure the f a c t
that teachers' s a l a r i e s are
too low t o r e c r u i t the best
of our college graduates or
t o keep the f i n e teachers we
now have i n t h e profession
An important p a r t of being a
teacher is t h e f e e l i n g of g r a t i f i -
cation t h a t one receives from
teaching and working with young
people. In recent years we have
placed more and more of a burden
upon our school systems, and we
have asked our schools and
teachers to deal with many of the
problems t h a t plague s o c i e t y .
Despite t h e p r o f e s s i o n ' s often
v a l i a n t e f f o r t s t o respond t o
these demands, the image of the
teacher has d e t e r i o r a t e d . This
d e t e r i o r a t i o n has had a corrosive
e f f e c t on teachers and the profes-sion
and works to the detriment of
our educational system.
We believe t h a t it is impor-t
a n t t h a t a l l c i t i z e n s work toward
elevating the teaching profession
t o a higher s t a t u s in our
s o c i e t y . We a r e e n t r u s t i n g t o
teachers t h e c a r e and education of
our children. It is imperative
t h a t the individuals who receive
t h i s t r u s t be rewarded with an
appr opr i a t e measure of respect .
Quite simply, q u a l i t y education
depends upon the importance we ac-cord
it and its p r a c t i t i o n e r s .
Management and Governance in
Education
Effective educational reforms
cannot occur without high q u a l i t y
school pr i n c i p a l s . The primary
job of a school p r i n c i p a l should
be to function as an educational
leader who spends a s i g n i f i c a n t
amount of time i n t h e classroom
evaluating both tenured and non-tenured
teachers. The p r i n c i p a l
should e s t a b l i s h i n s t r u c t i o n a l
l e v e l s for teachers and academic
expectations f o r s t u d e n t s , Paper-work
should be delegated; t h e
p r i n c i p a l 's job should involve
d i r e c t i n t e r a c t i o n with students
and teachers .
In addition t o having a
strong academic background, a most
important a s s e t t h a t an academic
administrator can have is f a c i l i t y
i n human r e l a t i o n s and
communications. The Committee
believes t h a t the t r a i n i n g pro-vided
t o a d m i n i s t r a t o r s is inade-quate
and does not prepare them t o
deal e f f e c t i v e l y with the chal-lenges
they a r e expected t o meet.
Administrators should be provided
with s p e c i a l t r a i n i n g i n human
r e l a t i o n s , communications, person-nel
management and evaluation
s k i l l s .
The Committee recognizes t h a t
school super intendents have an
e s p e c i a l l y d i f f i c u l t job. They
serve a t the pleasure of the
school board and t h e i r job per-formance
is often circumscribed by
the p o l i t i c s of the school board.
In the event of dissension among
school board mehbers, these
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s may f i n d themselves
drawn i n t o q u a r r e l s t h a t jeopar-dize
t h e i r p o s i t i o n s . The Arizona
School Board Association does pro-vide
an e f f e c t i v e t r a i n i n g program
for school board members. We urge
school board members .to a v a i l
themselves of these t r a i n i n g
opportunities. The Committee
believes it is important t h a t
t h e s e t r a i n i n g programs emphasize
t h e s e n s i t i v i t y as well as the
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of a school board
member's p o s i t i o n .
In the f i e l d of management
and governance, the Committee
recommends t h a t :
o The t r a i n i n g of administra-t
o r s needs t o be i n t e n s i f i e d
t o insure t h a t they have the
s k i l l s necessary t o work con-s
t r u c t i v e l y with people and
t o provide schools with
e f f e c t i v e academic leadership
Parental Involvement
The importance of parental
involvement i n the educational
process should be emphasized over
and over. Parental a t t i t u d e s
about education and the extent of
t h e i r involvement i n the process
have been shown t o have major
impacts upon student performance.
Parents can often mean the
d i f f e r e n c e between success and
f a i l u r e for a student. A respect
for learning and what education
can do for a student i n l a t e r l i f e
w i l l determine how a young person
approaches schooling. Parents
have an o b l i g a t i o n t o understand
what teachers a r e t r y i n g t o
accomplish. They need t o work
with t h e i r children t o assure t h a t
adequate time is being spent on
schoolwork assignments.
Parents a l s o need t o i n s i s t
t h a t schools provide the most
e f f e c t i v e educational opportuni-t
i e s a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e i r
children. They need t o consult
t e a c h e r s r e g u l a r l y and should be
encouraged t o take an i n t e r e s t i n
the a c t i v i t i e s of t h e i r l o c a l
school boards.
Parents a r e both e f f e c t i v e
a l l i e s and c r i t i c s . It is v i t a l
t h a t they be l i s t e n e d t o and u t i -
l i z e d i f educational reforms a r e
t o be achieved.
In conclusion the Committee
believes it should be r e i t e r a t e d
t h a t education is a community
e f f o r t .
School Financinq
The Committee believes t h a t
the subject of school financing
requires c a r e f u l and thorough
reexamination. Study of t h i s com-plex
and c o n t r o v e r s i a l s u b j e c t is
warranted i n order t o accomplish
e f f e c t i v e educational reform.
Although many of the Committee's
recommendations do not require ad-d
i t i o n a l funding, several c r i t i c a l
measures mandate e i t h e r more money
or a d i f f e r e n t a l l o c a t i o n of
e x i s t i n g funds. Moreover, the
current system of school financing
i n Arizona, which l i m i t s the cur-r
e n t y e a r ' s expenditures t o a per-centage
increase over a b a s i s
derived from the prior y e a r ' s
expenditures, is not well
understood.
The r a t i o n a l e f o r , and opera-t
i o n o f , t h e current law a r e
unclear t o many. By urging
reexamination, the Committee is
not suggesting t h a t it would be
wise or d e s i r a b l e t o t o l e r a t e very
l a r g e and p e r s i s t e n t d i s p a r i t i e s
in educational expenditures be-tween
d i f f e r e n t school d i s t r i c t s .
Nor is the Committee i n s e n s i t i v e
to the l e g i s l a t u r e ' s d e s i r e t o
i n s t i l l an a p p r o p r i a t e s e n s e of
f i s c a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y on a s t a t e -
wide b a s i s . These l a s t considera-t
i o n s do not mean, however, t h a t
no v a r i a t i o n s i n e x p e n d i t u r e s from
d i s t r i c t t o d i s t r i c t a r e d e s i r a b l e
or p e r m i s s i b l e , o t h e r than t h o s e
r e f l e c t i n g changes i n school
enrollment or h i s t o r i c spending
p a t t e r n s .
The c u r r e n t law p r o h i b i t s
t a x p a y e r s i n a school d i s t r i c t
from v o l u n t a r i l y t a x i n g themselves
a t a higher r a t e i n order t o pro-v
i d e more d o l l a r s f o r l o c a l school
d i s t r i c t s . The a v a i l a b i l i t y of
budget o v e r r i d e s does not s i g n i f i -
c a n t l y a l t e r t h i s r e s u l t , although
it s l i g h t l y moderates t h e impact
of t h e c u r r e n t law. Some
Arizonans q u e s t i o n t h e d e s i r a b i l -
i t y and wisdom of t h i s s e v e r e
r e s t r i c t i o n on l o c a l o p t i o n s .
The e x i s t i n g law a c t s a s a
d i s i n c e n t i v e t o achieve
e f f i c i e n c y . Rather than being
rewarded f o r its admirable,
cost-saving e f f o r t s , an i n d i v i d u a l
school d i s t r i c t t h a t reduces its
c o s t s is p e r v e r s e l y punished by a
budget r e d u c t i o n t h a t r e s u l t s from
its lower e x p e n d i t u r e s t h e pre-v
i o u s y e a r . The e f f e c t of t h i s
system i n a period of i n f l a t i o n ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y when t h e r i s i n g c o s t s
of f i x e d items such a s u t i l i t i e s
a r e taken i n t o account, is t o
squeeze e d u c a t i o n a l program and
personnel e x p e n d i t u r e s . Moreover,
t h e c u r r e n t system s e v e r e l y
r e s t r i c t s t h e use of l o c a l l y
g e n e r a t e d f u n d s , w i t h t h e r e s u l t
t h a t i n c e n t i v e s t o engage i n
a c t i v i t i e s t h a t g e n e r a t e such
funds, or t o o p e r a t e programs so
t h a t revenues exceed c o s t s , a r e
s e r i o u s l y diminished. The d i f f i -
c u l t y of i d e n t i f y i n g t h e proper
s p h e r e s f o r s t a t e and l o c a l con-t
r o l of education a r e i l l u s t r a t e d
by t h e s e dilemmas.
Although t h e Committee lacked
t h e time t o make recommendations
f o r changing t h e c u r r e n t system of
school f i n a n c i n g , it is u n i t e d i n
t h e b e l i e f t h a t t h e time f o r a
f r e s h look has a r r i v e d .
The Committee recommends
t h a t :
o The i s s u e of how we f i n a n c e
our s c h o o l s is b a s i c t o
determining how t o provide
q u a l i t y e d u c a t i o n . The
i m p l i c a t i o n s of c u r r e n t s t a t e
laws t h a t bear on t h i s t o p i c
should be reexamined by t h e
e x e c u t i v e and l e g i s l a t i v e
branches o f t h e s t a t e
government
The B a s i c Academic Cchnpetencies Appendix I
The Basic Academic Competencies are the broad intellectual
skills essential to effective work in all fields of college
study. They provide a link across the disciplines of know-ledge
although they are not specific to any particular dis-cipline.
The Basic Academic Competencies are reading, writing,
speaking and listening, mathematics, reasoning, and studying.
These competencies are interrelated to and interdependent
with the Basic Academic Subjects. Without such competencies,
knowledge of history, science, language, and all other sub-jects
is unattainable.
The Basic Academic Competencies are developed abilities,
the outcomes of learning and intellectual discourse. There
are different levels of competency; they can be defined in
measurable terms.
Although the Basic Academic Competencies are not always
identified explicitly, spelling them out provides a way to
tell students what is expected of them. Knowledge of what
is expected is crucial to effective learning.
In order to do effective work in college, it is essential
that all students have the following academic competencies.
o The ability to identify and comprehend the main and
subordinate ideas in a written work and to summarize
the ideas in one's own words.
o The ability to recognize different purposes and methods
of writing, to identify a writer's point of view and tone,
and to interpret a writer's meaning inferentially as well
as literally.
o The ability to separate one's personal opinions and as-sumptions
from a writer's.
o The ability to vary one's reading speed and method (survey,
skim, review, question, and master) according to the type
of material and one's purpose for reading.
o The ability to use the features of books and other reference
materials, such as table of contents, preface, introduction,
titles and subtitles, index, glossary, appendix, biblio-graphy
-
o The ability to define unfamiliar words by decoding, using
contextual clues, or by using a dictionary.
o The ability to conceive ideas about a topic for the pur-pose
of writing.
o The ability to organize, select, and relate ideas and to
outline and develop them in coherent paragraphs.
o The ability to write Standard English sentences with correct:
- sentence structure;
- verb forms;
- punctuation, capitalization, possessives, plural forms,
and other matters of mechanics;
- word choice and spelling.
The ability to vary one's writing style, including vocabu-lary
and sentence structure, for different readers grid
purposes.
o The ability to improve one's own writing by restructuring,
correcting errors, and rewriting.
o The ability to gather information from primary and secondary
sources; to write a report using this research; to quote,
paraphrase, and summarize accurately; and to cite sources
properly.
Speaking and Listening
o The ability to engage critically and constructively in
the exchange of ideas, particularly during class discus-sions
and conferences with instructors.
o The ability to answer and ask questions coherently and
concisely, and to follow spoken instructions.
o The ability to identify and comprehend the main and sub-ordinate
ideas in lectures and discussions, and to report
accurately what others have said.
o The ability to conceive and develop ideas about a topic
for the purpose of speaking to a group; to choose and
organize related ideas; to present them clearly in Standard
English; and to evaluate similar presentations by others.
o The ability to vary one's use of spoken language to suit
different situations.
Mathematics
o The ability to perform, with reasonable accuracy, the
computations of addition, subtraction, multiplication,
and division using natural numbers, fractions, decimals,
and integers.
o The ability to make and use measurements in both traditional
and metric units.
o The ability to use effectively the mathematics of:
- integers, fractions, and decimals;
- ratios, proportions, and percentages;
- roots and powers;
- algebra;
- geometry.
The ability to make estimates and approximations, and to
judge the reasonableness of a result.
o The ability to formulate and solve a problem in mathematical
terms.
o The ability to select and use appropriate approaches and
tools in solving problems (mental computation, trial and
error, paper-and-pencil techniques, calculator, and com-puter)
.
o The ability to use elementary concepts of probability and
statistics.
Reasoning
o The ability to identify and formulate problems, as well
as the ability to propose and evaluate ways to solve them.
o The ability to recognize and use inductive and deductive
reasoning, and to recognize fallacies in reasoning.
o The ability to draw reasonable conclusions from information
found in various sources, whether written, spoken, or dis-played
in tables and graphs, and to defend one's conclusions
rationally.
o The ability to comprehend, develop, and use concepts and
generalizations.
o The ability to distinguish between fact and opinion.
Studying
This set of abilities is different in kind from those that
precede it. They are set forth here because they constitute
the key abilities in learning how to learn. Successful study
skills are necessary for acquiring the other five competencies
as well as for achieving the desired outcomes in the Basic
Academic Subjects. Students are unlikely to be efficient in
any part of their work without these study skills.
o The ability to set study goals and priorities consistent
with stated course objectives and one's own progress, to
establish surroundings and habits conducive to learning
independently or with others, and to follow a schedule
that accounts for both short- and long-term projects.
o The ability to locate and use resources external to the
classroom (for example, libraries, computers, interviews,
and direct observation), and to incorporate knowledge
from such sources into the learning process.
o The ability to develop and use general and specialized
vocabularies, and to use them for reading, writing,
speaking, listening, computing, and studying.
o The ability to understand and to follow customary in-structions
for academic work in order to recall, compre-hend,
analyze, summarize, and report the main ideas from
reading, lectures, and other academic experiences; and
to synthesize knowledge and apply it to new situations.
o The ability to prepare for various types of examinations
and to devise strategies for pacing, attempting or omitting
questions, thinking, writing, and editing according to
the type of examination; to satisfy other assessments of
learning in meeting course objectives such as laboratory
performance, class participation, simulation, and students'
evaluations.
o The ability to accept constructive criticism and learn
from it.
by College Entrance Examination Board, New York
The Basic Academic Subjects Appendix I1
I English
Reading and Literature:
o The ability to read critically by asking pertinent questions
about what they have read, by recognizing assumptions and
implications, and by evaluating ideas.
o The ability to read a literary text analytically, seeing
relationships between form and content.
o The ability to read with understanding a range of literature,
rich in quality and representative of different literary
forms and various cultures.
o Interest in and a sense of inquiry about written works.
o The ability to respond actively and imaginatively to
literature.
Writing :
o The recognition that writing is a process involving a
number of elements, including collecting information and
formulating ideas, determining their relationships, drafting,
arranging paragraphs in an appropriate order and building
transitions between them, and revising what has been written.
o The ability to write as a way of discovering and clarifying
ideas.
o The ability to write appropriately for different occasions,
audiences, and purposes (persuading, explaining, describing,
telling a story).
o Skill and assurance in using the conventions of standard
written English.
Speaking and Listening:
o The ability to engage in discussion as both speaker and
listener - interpreting, analyzing, and summarizing.
o The ability to contribute to classroom discussions in a
way that is readily understood by listeners - that is,
succinct and to the point.
o The ability to present an opinion persuasively.
o The ability to recognize the intention of a speaker and
to be aware of the techniques a speaker is using to
affect an audience.
o The ability to recognize and take notes on important
points in lectures and discussions.
o The ability to question inconsistency in logic and to
separate fact from opinion.
Language :
College entrants will also need to understand in some depth
the following principles concerning the English language.
o English, like every other language, operates according
to grammatical systems and patterns of usage.
o English continues to undergo change. I o English is influenced by other languages, both ancient
and modern.
o English has several levels of usage, and consequently
the language appropriate in some situations may not be
appropriate in others.
o English has many dialects. I o English words, like those of other languages, gather
meaning from their context and carry connotation.
Mathematics
o The ability to apply mathematical techniques in the
solution of real-life problems and to recognize when to
apply those techniques.
o Familiarity with the language, notation, and deductive
nature of mathematics and the ability to express quanti-tative
ideas with precision.
o The ability to use computers and calculators.
o Familiarity with the basic concepts of statistics and
statistical reasoning.
o Knowledge in considerable depth and detail of algebra,
geometry, and functions.
More specifically, college entrants will need the following
preparation in mathematics.
Computing:
o Familiarity with computer programming and the use of
prepared computer programs in mathematics.
o The ability to use mental computation and estimation
to evaluate calculator and computer results.
o Familiarity with the methods used to solve mathematical
problems when calculators or computers are the tools.
Statistics:
o The ability to gather and interpret data and to represent
them graphically.
o The ability to apply techniques for summarizing data
using such statistical concepts as average, median, and mode.
o Familiarity with techniques of statistical reasoning and
common misuses of statistics.
Algebra :
o Skill in solving equations and inequalities.
o Skill in operations with real numbers.
o Skill in simplifying algebraic expressions, including
simple rational and radical expressions.
o Familiarity with permutations, combinations, simple
counting problems, and the binomial theorem.
Geometry:
o Knowledge of two- and three-dimensional figures and their
properties.
o The ability to think of two- and three-dimensional figures
in terms of symmetry, congruence, and similarity.
o The ability to use the Pythagorean theorem and special
right triangle relationships.
o The ability to draw geometrical figures and use geometrical
modes of thinking in the solving of problems.
Functions:
o Knowledge of relations, functions, and inverses.
o The ability to graph linear and quadratic functions and
use them in the interpretation and solution of problems.
College entrants expecting to major in science or engineering
or to take advanced courses in mathematics or computer science
will need the following more extensive mathematical proficiency.
Computing:
o The ability to write computer programs to solve a variety
of mathematical problems.
o Familiarity with the methodology of developing computer
programs and with the considerations of design, structure,
and style that are an important part of this methodology.
Statistics:
o Understanding of simulation techniques used to model ex-perimental
situations.
o Knowledge of elementary concepts of probability needed
in the study and understanding of statistics.
Algebra :
o Skill in solving trigonometric, exponential, and loga-rithmic
equations.
o Skill in operations with complex numbers.
o Familiarity with arithmetic and geometric series and with
proofs by mathematical induction.
o Familiarity with simple matrix operations and their relation
to systems of linear equations.
Geometry:
o Appreciation of the role of proofs and axiomatic structure
in mathematics and the ability to write proofs.
o Knowledge of analytic geometry in the plane.
o Knowledge of the conic sections.
o Familiarity with vectors and with the use of polar coordinates.
Functions :
o Knowledge of various types of functions including poly-nomial,
exponential, logarithmic, and circular functions.
o The ability to graph such functions and to use them in the
solution of problems.
Science
Laboratory and ~ield Work:
o The ability to distinguish between scientific evidence
and personal opinion by inquiry and questioning.
o The ability to recognize the role of observation and ex-perimentation
in the development of scientific theories.
o Sufficient familiarity with laboratory and field work to
ask appropriate scientific questions and to recognize
what is involved in experimental approaches to the solu-tions
of such questions.
o The skills to gather scientific information through
laboratory, field, and library work.
o The ability to organize and communicate the results ob-tained
by observation and experimentation.
Mathematical Skills:
o A quantitative understanding of at least one field of
science - an understanding that employs the basic mathe-matical
proficiency for all college entrants outlined
in the foregoing description of learning outcomes in
mathematics.
o The ability to interpret data presented in tabular and
graphic form.
o The ability to draw conclusions or make inferences from
data.
o The ability to select and apply mathematical relation-ships
to scientific problems.
o The ability to use mathematical relationships to
describe results obtained by observation and experi-mentation.
o The ability to interpret, in nonmathematical language,
relationships presented in mathematical form.
Fundamental Concepts:
o Understanding in some depth of the unifying concepts of
the life and physical sciences such as cell theory, geo-logical
evolution, organic evolution, atomic structure,
chemical bonding, and transformations of energy.
Social Studies
o Basic factual knowledge of major political and economic
institutions and their historical development.
o Basic factual knowledge of the social and cultural fields
of history.
o An introductory knowledge of the content and concepts of
the social sciences.
o A grasp of major trends in the contemporary world (for
example, nationalism or urbanization).
o Familiarity with a variety of written, numerical, and
visual forms of data.
o Familiarity with the techniques of quantitative and non-quantitative
analysis.
o Familiarity with diverse interpretations of data.
History:
o College entrants will need certain general knowledge and
skills in political, social, and cultural history.
o Some understanding of the relationship between present
and past, including contrasts between contemporary in-stitutions
and values and those of the past, the reasons
for these contrasts, and leading continuities between past
and present.
o Some understanding of how to approach the problem of
change over time.
o The ability to recognize historical cause and effect.
o The ability to identify major historical turning points.
o Some ability to develop historical interpretations.
More specifically, college entrants will need the following
basic knowledge.
World History, Geography, and Cultures:
o The basic features of major societies and cultures in
the contemporary world: their geography, major economic
and social structures, political systems, and religions.
o The historical developments underlying present connections
and similarities among the world's peoples, and the major
differences dividing them.
o The chronology and significance of major events and move-ments
in world history (for example, the Renaissance, the
Industrial Revolution, and the spread of 1slam).
o The international context of contemporary diplomacy and
economics.
United States History:
o The relationship between events and historical trends in
the United States and trends elsewhere in the world,
developed through analysis of major similarities and
differences.
o The interaction among peoples of different national origins,
races, and cultures and how such interaction has shaped
American history.
o The chronology and impact of political events, development
of governmental and other social institutions, technological
and environmental changes, and changes in social and cul-tural
values.
Social Science :
College entrants will need the following basic knowledge and
skills in the social sciences.
o The ability to understand basic information developed
by the social sciences, including statistical data and
other materials.
o Familiarity with the basic method of the social sciences,
that is, with the framing and empirical testing of hypo-theses.
o A basic understanding of at least one of the social sciences
and of how its practitioners define and solve problems.
o Familiarity with how to explore a social problem or social
institution by means of ideas drawn from several social
sciences.
Reprinted with permission from Academic Preparation for College:
What Students Need to Know And Be Able to Do. Copyright @1983
by College Entrance Examination Board, New York
Major Resources Appendix I11
Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need to
Know and Be Able to Do, Educational EQuality Project;
The College Board Publications, Department A35, Box 886,
New York, New York 10101, 1983. ($20 per 20 copies)
Action for Excellence, Task Force on Education for Economic
Growth, Distribution Center, Education Commission of the
States; 1860 Lincoln, #300, Denver, Colorado 80295, 1983.
($5 per copy)
A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform,
The National Commission on Excellence in Education;
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington D.C. 20402, 1983. ($5 per copy)
The Paideia Proposal, Adler, J. Mortimer, Macmillan Pub-lishing
Co., Inc., New York, 1982