OKLAHOMA, THE SMART STATE:
GOALS FOR EDUCATION BY 2002

Dr. Floyd Coppedge
Secretary of Education

I believe that education is the key to personal fulfillment for all , and a critical element in my agenda to make Oklahoma rich. A smarter Oklahoma is essential to economic development and to our ability to compete in an economy that is no longer limited to the region and the nation. We now compete worldwide and it is clear that our future will be determined largely by how well our citizens are educated; what we know and are able to do will be important determinants of our successes.

I believe that clear and challenging goals for the state’s educational system will help us work together to achieve educational excellence. The words of Daniel H. Burnham should guide our thinking, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood....Make big plans, aim high in hope and work." Our goals must be sufficiently bold to challenge each of us to work passionately for a better future, one where excellence is the standard for all students. They must acknowledge and build on our present accomplishments without allowing these accomplishments to blind us from seeing the need for a bold new future where Oklahoma is the pacesetter when measured against national and world standards.

Oklahoma’s people are as capable as any in the nation. We should accept nothing less than having one of the best, most highly regarded systems of education in the nation. We should expect our system of education to demonstrate its excellence when measured against generally accepted standards. When it does not measure up, we should correct its weaknesses with a spirit of urgency, knowing that precious human talent is being wasted.

Some of the goals cited below can be achieved by schools immediately without additional legislation and by using existing resources. Others may require more time and resources, some may require legislation. But with good planning, focused allocation of existing and new resources on the priorities, and hard work , all can be achieved by 2002, placing Oklahoma in an enviable position before its 100th birthday in 2007.

STRENGTHS ON WHICH OKLAHOMA CAN BUILD

Sir Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen farther than any other man, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants." Oklahomans have many accomplishments of which we can be proud because of past efforts of great men and women. Like Newton, these accomplishments should give us a better vision of the challenges that lie before us. As we think about excellence, it will be helpful to look objectively at some of our strengths as well as our deficiencies.

Oklahoma has a system of education that provides access to educational opportunities for all its citizens. Access to K-12 education is provided through 1866 schools in 550 districts. Vocational education is provided through 54 area Vo-Tech sites as well as in many of the 472 comprehensive high schools. The higher education system includes 25 public universities and colleges. College courses are available at 38 sites through the use of extension campuses and the OneNet system.

Academic achievement scores of Oklahoma’s elementary and high school students have been increasing. In 1990, Oklahoma passed legislation, HB1017, to improve funding and reform the educational system. As noted above, funding increased rapidly in the ensuing years. The major curriculum reform has been the implementation of a core curriculum, Priority Academic Student Skills. State legislation also required the implementation of a criterion-referenced assessment system to be implemented in grades 5, 8, and 11. This system of testing is known as the Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests. These tests do not provide results that allow comparison to other states and the nation.

A norm-referenced test, Iowa Test of Basic Skills, is administered in grades 3 and 7. Total Composite National Percentile Rank for grade three increased from 55 in 1989-90 to 64 in 1996-97; grade seven rank was 57 in 1989-90 and remained the same in 1996-97.

At the high school level, ACT scores increased from 20.0 in 1989-90 to 20.6 in 1996-97. The national rankings were 20.6 and 21.0 respectively.

Oklahoma has a strong vocational education system. By most standards, Oklahoma’s system of vocational education is considered one of the best in the nation. Its programs are designed to provide students with the education and specific skills that meet business and industry standards for career entry in skilled jobs. Its support of new and existing businesses and industries for employee training has been a boost to the economic welfare of thousands of Oklahomans who have upgraded their skills to maintain their employment or meet requirements for promotion.

Funding for education has generally been a high priority of the citizens, legislators, and governors. State appropriated funds for education have increased substantially and consistently. Appropriations for Common Education, the foundation for all other education, have grown from $881,884,000 in FY90 to $1,609,441,000 in FY98, an increase of 82.5%. Vocational-Technical Education appropriations have increased from $68,095,000 in FY90 to $100,919,000 in FY98, an increase of 48.2%. Higher Education appropriations have increased from $458,589,000 in FY90 to $677,186,000 in FY98, an increase of 47.6%. The people of Oklahoma are supporting their schools with these state appropriations and with substantial additional funds raised through local ad valorem taxes and other forms of revenue. Educators have used the increases to improve facilities and equipment, upgrade staff, and improve library supplies and materials.

QUALITY FOR SOME IS NOT QUALITY FOR ALL - Facing Our Deficiencies

Oklahoma’s challenge is to educate all its students well. We cannot meet the challenge of an excellent education for all students if we do not have the courage to acknowledge the current deficiencies in our system and begin to address them with a degree of urgency. Consider the following:

Ÿ 23% of fifth graders do not read at an acceptable level, and 20% do not meet state standards in math as measured by the 1997 Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests

Ÿ 28% of eighth graders do not read at an acceptable level, and 28% do not meet state standards in math as measured by the 1997 Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests

Ÿ 25% of llth grade students do not read at an acceptable level, and 42% do not perform at an acceptable level in mathematics as measured by the 1997 Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests

Ÿ 15-25% of our high school students do not complete high school by meeting the prescribed curriculum of the state and local boards of education

Ÿ 18% of Oklahoma high schools offer advanced placement courses when the national rate is 53%

Ÿ Oklahoma’s average ACT score is 20.6 when the national average is 21.0

Ÿ 30-35% of the more than 65% of our students who enter college complete a degree in six years

Ÿ 38% of our students require remediation when they enter our colleges and universities

To be comfortable with the knowledge that about 25-30% of our top students receive an excellent education while about 70% of high school students graduate largely unprepared for good jobs or college level study is an abdication of our adult responsibilities. We must not adjust to things we have no business adjusting to - inequality of opportunity brought on by inequality in education.

GOALS TO ACHIEVE BY 2002

The goals which follow are rigorous, but they do not exceed the ability of Oklahoma’s people and its schools to achieve. Achieving them will require the collaborative efforts of students, parents, teachers and administrators, elected and appointed government leaders and agencies, business and industry, and educational professional organizations. There is also a major role that can be met by the churches that are willing to become involved in character education, early intervention programs, mentoring, and volunteering in the schools.

Goal #1. Parents’ involvement in the education of their children will be promoted by affording them the right to send their children to the school they deem best .

It is rather ironic that in a society where we value our freedoms - where we shop, where we attend worship services, from whom and where we receive medical or legal services, where we live, and where we receive higher education - that we are so reluctant to extend the same degree of freedom to parents to choose the school to provide their children’s K-12 education. It is not right to require students to attend a school which they and their parents know is an ineffective school. I do not support requiring students to attend ineffective schools simply because the school might have to close if choice is permitted. The focus must be on students, not on schools.

It is commonly acknowledged by teachers and administrators and supported by surveys and research that students do best when their parents are involved. Monitoring homework, reading to their children, providing good reading materials, limiting the time spent watching TV, visiting museums, attending cultural events, etc. are among the obvious things parents can do to be involved. These forms of parental involvement are of inestimable value to schools, but there is a growing trend among parents for other forms of involvement including: public school choice, private school choice using public tax dollars in the form of vouchers or tax credits, and charter schools.

An increasing number of parents are now supporting their right to be involved in a greater sense by choosing the school their children will attend. The 29th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll Of the Public’s Attitude Toward the Public Schools, reported that the opposition to allowing parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense has lessened each year it has surveyed - 74% in 1993, 65% in 1995, 61% in 1996, and 52% in 1997. When the question was phrased to substitute "government expense" for "public expense," the public was equally divided at 48% in favor and 48% opposed. Strongest support came from blacks (72%), nonwhites (68%), 18-29 year-olds (70%), professional and business persons (53%), and urban residents (59%).

Approximately one-half of the states now offer public school choice either statewide or in some districts, 43 of the nation’s governors support some form of choice, and 30 states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws. The use of vouchers to provide access to any public or private school have been used in Vermont, Maine, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.

Goal #2. All students, except those with documented disabilities which prevent skill acquisition, will acquire reading proficiency at grade level before being promoted to grade four.

It is recognized that the acquisition of the adult level reading proficiency will require continued focus on reading throughout the years of common education, but it is also recognized that promoting students from the primary grades into upper elementary and beyond without acquisition of the reading skills will forever handicap them. Schools, working with parents, must make reading proficiency a top priority.

HB2017, "Reading Sufficiency Act," passed in 1997 requires that school districts assess the acquisition of reading skills of all first and second grade students and provide a reading plan with appropriate assistance to enable all students who are not reading at grade level to acquire grade level reading skills. It also requires that any third grade student not reading at grade level as determined by a nationally recognized assessment be provided a new plan, specialized tutoring and possibly retention in third grade.

Goal #3. All students will graduate from high school having completed a four-year sequence of rigorous high school level studies in English/literature, mathematics, science, social studies (history, government, geography).

All students, not just some, now face a world that demands more knowledge and the ability to use it than at any time in the history of our nation. The strength of Oklahoma’s future as an excellent place to live, work, and rear families is directly related to the level of education of its citizens. Viewed from an individual perspective, this means that every citizen must be educated to compete in a society that is more demanding and more competitive, not simply with other Oklahomans, but with others in the nation and the world.

A high school education that meets this goal will prepare students well for college entry without requiring remediation, for entry into any technical/specialized programs offered in the two year colleges and the vocational-technical schools, and for participation in society as literate citizens. To set lower standards for our students is an abdication of our adult responsibility to help all young people realize their full potential.

To achieve this and still provide enough electives for students who wish to enroll in two or more years of vocational/technical programs, pursue the fine arts, foreign languages, etc., local school districts must have the option of beginning the four-year sequence in grades seven and eight. The awarding of high school credit for work completed in grades seven and eight can be validated by using methods similar to those now used to award college credit for work completed in high school. Local school districts should have the authority to make substitutions of one year each in two of the four areas, provided the courses substituted include subject matter content in the same area as that for which the substitution is made, or where it can be demonstrated that the student’s plan of study, as approved by the student and parents, requires other courses in order to reach the student’s post-high school goals.

Other options that school districts should consider include: 1) Extending the school day or offering block scheduling to allow more courses to be taken by all students, 2) Allowing substitutions of vocational courses for students who complete a career major in programs which include substantial math and science instruction, 3) Providing more classes in summer school. This will make better use of limited laboratory space, allow more students to accelerate in completion of 4 x 4 requirements, and provide more time for electives in the regular academic year, and 4) Making greater use of concurrent enrollment opportunities by allowing students to complete college level courses for both high school and college credit.

Oklahoma currently requires: English - 4, mathematics - 3, science - 2, and social studies - 2.

Goal #4. Schools and colleges will take the lead in collaborating with business and industry and other appropriate agencies in the preparation of the state’s work force.

Statistics from the US Department of Labor show that by the year 2000, only 15% of the jobs will be available to unskilled workers. Of the remaining 85%, 65% will require specific skills

demanding specialized education beyond high school and 20% will require education at the baccalaureate level or higher. It is clear that those without a quality education will not be competitive.

A high school education that has as its foundation a rigorous four-year sequence of courses in English, mathematics, science, and social studies is basic to good work place performance. Schools must ensure that students have mastered these disciplines sufficiently to be able to apply the knowledge gained to meet work place expectations - reading and writing proficiently, solving problems, thinking logically and comprehensively, gathering and using information for making decisions, preparing reports and making oral presentations, and using computers to address work place tasks.

Vocational/Technical Schools and the two-year colleges play a primary role (in addition to offering general education courses) in providing technical/specialized education for students who wish to acquire initial career-entry skills or upgrade their work skills to meet the changes that occur in the industries in which they work. Whether the education occurs on site to address the specific needs of a given industry and group of employees or whether it occurs at an educational institution, it is important that the educational training meet industry standards and that it focuses on preparing our citizens for jobs that offer salaries that support a moderate to high standard of living.

Colleges and universities should ensure that baccalaureate degrees include a rigorous curriculum of general studies associated with a liberal education - languages and communication, mathematics, science, and social sciences. In addition, all degrees must include the mastery of one or more content disciplines. This mastery should provide the foundation required for entry into fields that require advanced degrees or for career entry into the professions or other jobs which require a high level of expertise not generally attainable other than by completion of a baccalaureate.

Goal #5. All high schools will have advanced placement courses available to students, and the percentage of students completing advanced placement courses will be at or above the national average.

Oklahoma students are as capable as any in the nation and must have challenging programs which add to the quality of the high school experience while providing an opportunity for advanced study, and for those who go to college, a head start.

18% of Oklahoma high schools offer advanced placement courses when the national rate is 53%

Goal #6. All students will graduate from high school literate in computer technology

The age of technology and instant communication in which we live mandates computer and related technology be considered essential parts of basic literacy. Electronic communication has evolved into an established universal language in today’s society, and for students to function beyond the school walls, they must be literate in the use of current technology.

Goal #7. A graduation rate (grade nine enrollment compared to grade twelve enrollment) of 100 percent will be achieved.

To achieve a 100% graduation rate, a high school equivalency will be honored, but the highest priority must be given to having all students complete a rigorous program of studies for high school graduation prescribed by the state of Oklahoma and by local boards of education.

Studies of the Southern Regional Education Board High Schools That Work program show that students in high schools which participate in this program actually are less likely to drop out those in schools which require fewer core academic credits. The High Schools That Work curriculum requires three credits in mathematics and science and four credits in English and vocational studies- all taught with college prep rigor. This suggests that increased requirements have a positive effect on dropout rates.

The 1995/96 graduation rate was 75%. The previous four years were: 1994/95 - 75%, 1993/94 - 77.1%, 1992/93 - 77.1%, and 1991/92 - 79.4%.

Goal #8. The average ACT scores will be two or more points above the national average with at least sixty-five percent of students tested.

To achieve this will require much more rigor in the high school graduation requirements than now exists both in terms of the requirements for graduation and the rigor of the courses included in the curriculum. There is ample research evidence that the additional requirements as described below with the added rigor of the curriculum will do much toward achieving this goal.

State (National) ACT composite scores for 1997 were 20.6(21.0). The previous four years were: 1996 - 20.5(20.9), 1995 - 20.3(20.8), 1994 - 20.3(20.8), 1993 - 20.2(20.7).

Goal #9. All schools will have an environment that is focused on learning, free of disruptive influences by students, safe and drug free.

Schools must have the full respect and attention of their students if they are to fulfill their purpose of educating students. Violence and illegal substance abuse in the school is the antithesis of building for the future and will not be tolerated.

Each school district that needs one now has the authority to establish an alternative school for those students who continually disrupt class and hinder others from reaching their potential. Limited special funding is appropriated annually to assist with the establishment of alternative schools.

Goal #10. The development of character will be evident in all aspects of the school environment - discipline policies, relations with parents, athletics programs, social ethics practiced at school, and curriculum.

Character development is as important to the students as academics, for it is on the foundations of character that every other phase in life is based. To live in a civil society and to remain a free society, the fundamental character of young people cannot be taken for granted.

Goal #11. All teachers will have a content specialization in the area(s) in which they teach.

The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future proposed a goal that by the year 2006, America will provide every student with what should be his or her educational birthright: access to competent, caring and qualified teaching. Its report, released in November 1997, shows that 96.2% of Oklahoma’s teachers are fully certified. The report also shows many of these teachers in grades 9-12 have less than a minor in the field in which they teach, e.g., English -18%, history - 52%, math - 31%, life science - 41%, and physical science - 61%. Similar data are not available to show the subject matter concentrations of elementary and middle school teachers, but it is reasonable to conclude that most of them do not have majors in a content area. It is commendable that the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education now require all early childhood, elementary, and special education teachers to have at least a 12 credit hour concentration in English, math, science and social science.

Goal #12. Every teacher will be adequately trained in the use of technology and will have the technology needed to support the delivery of excellent learning opportunities to all students.

Computer hardware and software are now available to assist teachers with many of their most difficult delivery tasks - individualizing instruction, remediation of student weaknesses, and challenging students who are capable of moving more rapidly than the rest of the class. Unfortunately, as reported in "Technology Counts," a November 10, 1997 report by Education Week, Oklahoma has few teachers with adequate training in the use of technology and too few computers available (reported to be about one per twenty-three students). On the brighter side, this picture is changing due to rapid expansion of Oklahoma’s OneNet system, technology related legislation in 1997, and efforts by many school districts to pass bonds and allocate existing resources to improve technology.

Goal #13. The ratio of K-12 non-teaching to teaching staff will be no greater than 40 non-teaching to 60 teaching.

Nationally, the proportion of school staff who are teachers has continued to decline from about 70% in 1950 to about 52% in 1994. Of the 52%, only about 43% are regularly assigned to the classroom. This trend has resulted in higher non-instructional costs and higher ratios of students to teachers. Changing this trend will require visionary teachers and administrators who are willing to implement staffing patterns which place a priority on larger proportions of the staff assigned to classrooms.

Goal #14. All teacher education programs will meet national standards (NCATE).

Accreditation of teacher education programs by the nationally recognized accrediting body, NCATE, should be required as is the case with other professions, i.e. engineering, accounting, various medical programs, etc. This accreditation has also been a major factor in reciprocity of certification as teachers move from one state to another. NCATE sets high standards and uses trained external reviewers to conduct on-site visits to examine institutional and program quality. The report of the on-site team and annual reports from each institution are used by the NCATE Accreditation Board to make judgments regarding accreditation.

Goal #15. College admission standards will require that all students who enter college within five years after high school be prepared to do college level work.

In 1995, 38% of freshmen who entered college directly from high school required remediation. Students who have completed a rigorous high school program of studies that focuses on mastery of the content in English/literature, history/government, mathematics, and science, rather than simply accruing enough credits to graduate, will retain the knowledge into adulthood and will not require remediation upon entry into college. Remediation may still be necessary in some areas for some students who have been out of high school for periods longer than five years and have not used the knowledge and skills acquired while in high school or who may have completed programs of study which were not rigorous and substantial. In such cases, institutions of higher education are encouraged to individualize the remediation programs through the use of diagnostic assessment tools, individualized studies, and continuous progress in order to allow adult students to move from remediation to regular studies rapidly and with minimal cost.

Goal #16. Students transferring from one school to another will not experience difficulty due to having instruction or course content that does not meet generally accepted standards.

State officials should establish minimum standards for general courses to ensure transferability from one institution to another. Minimum standards should also be set for teacher preparation.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education have a program in place that is addressing this matter. They must be encouraged to proceed with all due deliberation and haste.

Goal #17. The college completion rate will be at least 50% for students who enter as freshmen and remain in continuous enrollment for a period of four years.

There are many factors involved in college holding power and completion rates, but it is clear that Oklahoma’s colleges and universities must make giant steps forward in both of these if we are to

achieve the above goal. More attention to college readiness by high school students, fair and rigorous college and university admission standards, attention to advisement and guidance of college students, and a focus on quality instruction for college freshmen should help.

For students entering Oklahoma colleges in 1990, 22% had completed a baccalaureate six years later. The completion rate has steadily been improving, so it is anticipated that classes since 1990 will post higher completion rates.

Goal #18. Oklahoma’s percentage of baccalaureate degree holders will be commensurate with the national and regional averages.

Oklahoma colleges and universities must address the admissions requirements to ensure that students who are admitted have the requisites needed for college success. Once admitted, students must be provided guidance by advisors who assign a high priority to the role of assisting students to acclimate to the rigors of college work and who, upon identifying students who are likely to fail or drop out, intervene to offer appropriate university resources to assist them. Higher education institutions must also ensure that beginning students are taught by the best professors who hold full-time positions, thus eliminating the use of graduate assistants as the principal instructors.

In 1996, persons over 25 years old, 17.8% of Oklahomans held a baccalaureate compared to 20.3% for the US.

Goal #19. Colleges and universities, especially the two comprehensive universities, will place a high priority on the use of research to fuel Oklahoma’s economic development.

Research is one part of the traditional triad that constitutes the work of university professors - teaching, service, and research. Furthermore, research conducted at the universities has been the basis for many of the major advances in agriculture and animal science, engineering, genetics, medicine, technology, etc. This research has benefited mankind through better goods, services, employment opportunities, and improved living conditions.

Oklahoma must direct both effort and resources to enhance its use of research to substantially improve the economy of the state . The emphasis must be on the transfer of research from the laboratory setting to new and improved industries in Oklahoma that focus on advanced technology, require a highly educated work force, and pay wages that will contribute to a much higher per capita income for Oklahomans.

Goal #20. The costs of higher education that are now born by taxpayers due to students repeating courses or requiring remedial courses will be reduced.

Citizens of the state of Oklahoma may reasonably be expected to bear a substantial portion of the cost of public higher education for its citizens, but has no obligation to provide such experiences for those who do not prepare for nor conform to the rigors of college work. The practices of providing remedial education and repeat enrollment in courses at taxpayer expense should be discouraged by shifting the burden for paying the full cost of these to the student.

OUT OF STRUGGLES COME SUCCESSES

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress"; these words of Frederick Douglas should guide our thinking. It is an error of judgment which borders on irresponsibility to allow students to receive less than an excellent education simply because they might have to struggle.

We must not forget the great example of Jaime Escalante, a teacher at Garfield High School, Los Angeles, who guided his once low-achieving students to master enough mathematics to set school records for passing the Advanced Placement exam in calculus. It would have made no sense to Mr. Escalante to tell him that his students were not capable of learning, but he also understood that he would have to work hard as he led his students to levels of excellence which even the testing firm ETS could not understand.

Nor must we forget Leo Hart whose story is told in The Children of the Dust Bowl. His vision, love, hard work, and belief in the potential of the children of the Dust Bowl drove him to build a school for them. Where others saw ignorance, he saw potential for learning locked inside each child that needed only an opportunity to excel. And excel they did, those children of the Okies who were lured to California for jobs which generally did not exist. Their successes continue to have an impact to this day.

Oklahoma has its share of excellent educators in public schools and colleges that are leading the way and demonstrating that excellence is achievable. Some of these, like Leo Hart and Jaime Escalante, are achieving excellent results while working with student populations which some might think could not achieve excellence. About thirty school districts in Oklahoma have achieved the standard of having at least 70% of the students performing satisfactory on all the Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests administered in grades 5, 8, and 11. These school districts are located geographically throughout the state. They are both large and small. They represent families that are poor and wealthy, highly educated and minimally educated. Some are racially diverse; others are relatively homogenous. What is significant is that these school districts have found ways to educate well a high percentage of their students. Some of the districts, or schools within the districts, have 80% or 90% of their students performing at a satisfactory level. The challenge for all schools and school districts must be to have all students performing at the satisfactory level. Anything less means that some students are not mastering the knowledge and skills which are considered essential for Oklahoma students.

To any who doubt the ability of Oklahoma to achieve the goals I have set forth, I offer a bit of philosophy from Aunt Ella’s famous refrain in "Oklahoma": "Now I don’t say that I am better than anybody else, but I’ll be danged if I ain’t just as good." I believe that Oklahoma’s citizens are just as intelligent as those in any other state. I believe that an aggressive effort to achieve the goals I have set forth will establish us as the nation’s leader in educational accomplishments. I invite you to join me in my efforts to make Oklahoma both rich and smart.

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