By Sen. Chip Rogers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
December 4, 2012
A few excerpts from Sen. Chip Rogers’ piece on reforming public education in Georgia. Be sure to check out the whole blog here!
The 34 most advanced economies in the world are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Each year the OECD publishes rankings for student achievement among its member nations. It is the most widely recognized standard for judging international student achievement. Current world rankings have U.S. students 14th in Reading, 17th in Science and a dismal 25th in Mathematics. It is important to note China does not give its information to the OECD but international testing agencies admit the Chinese students would be ranked No. 1 if included.
According to the national standard for comparing student achievement, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, since 1984 scores in mathematics have slightly increased, while scores in reading have slightly decreased. During this same time per student spending in the U.S. has doubled, even after adjusting for inflation!
So if money is not the solution, what is?
•Transforming American education to recognize that learning is an individual experience, not a group act
• Acknowledging that sending students to a school based on the parents U.S. postal mailing address is catastrophically dumb
• Offering more options for students is always preferable to fewer options
• Teachers should be paid considerably more in return for quantifiable performance results
• Technology can transform learning in the same manner it has almost every facet of human existence
• True “local control” means parents and students making individual decisions, not just a closer form of government bureaucracy
• Successfully competing in a global marketplace cannot be achieved by simply increasing self-esteem
• Learning can, and should, happen any time, any place, any path, any pace (the motto of Florida’s virtual education)