State needs a 'doer' on education board

There are usually two types of people in every walk of life - the dreamers and the doers. I am a doer - my opponent is a dreamer. This is the fundamental difference between us.

Four years of "dreaming" what could be for Nevada public school students hasn't been effective. Nevada still has the highest dropout rate for high school students in the country - averaging 10 percent. Will another four years of dreaming make a significant difference? I don't think so.

On Sept. 8, 2000, Congressman Jim Gibbons called upon the United States General Accounting Office to initiate a study regarding the cause of the unusually high dropout rates in Nevada. It appears that Congressman Gibbons doesn't think dreaming will make it so and neither do I.

The governance structure of K-12 education in Nevada is fragmented and, at times, dysfunctional. Over the past several years various appointed bodies have been created to make policy and assume responsibility for aspects of K-12 education. This has created a maze-like condition within the state that does not allow consumers of the system (such as students, parents, business leaders, teachers, and community members) to find a single source to hold accountable.

In an era where we are demanding accountability in education, shouldn't we be able to clearly identify who is responsible and accountable for what within a system as large as the K-12 system in Nevada?

The Education Commission of the States recent report, "Governing America's Schools," states, "Without good governance, good schools are the exception, not the rule." I am not surprised to find that Nevada has the highest dropout rate in nation given its educational governance structure, or lack of it.

The issue of standards and accountability in Nevada school is a very important one and one that I take very seriously. If we want this generation of test-taking students and their teachers and schools to meet high standards, then we should insist that the tests they take meet high standards. The use of "high-stake" tests, i.e. high school proficiency exams, cannot be taken lightly by Nevadans.

The key question in the context of standards-based reforms and the use of tests as measures of student accountability has to be: Have all students in Nevada been provided quality instruction, sufficient resources, and the kind of learning environment that would foster success? And, the ultimate question on the use of tests for high-stakes purposes has to be: Is the test valid for the purposes used?

There is no one to hold accountable for these questions in Nevada, but, even if there were, no one could answer either of these questions in the affirmative, and here is the proof:

The Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, has ordered Nevada to review its tests to determine whether they are "valid and reliable." This action came because of a complaint filed with the department. The team leader for Nevada state's standards, curriculum and assessment division stated, after the order was issued, that "This concern was not a new thing. We were concerned about the disparities in performance long before the complaint (with Department of Education) was filed." It is clear that no one within the Nevada State Department of Education or the State Board of Education can answer "yes" to the question of "are the tests being used valid for the purpose used?"

The standards that have been adopted in Nevada are not a result of the State Board of Education being concerned about the need for standards. The standards were mandated by legislation because action wasn't taken at the local school district levels nor at the State Board level.

The State Board did not write the standards, an appointed group did that. The State Board does not even have the option of disapproving the standards, even the ones that are not well-written. The State Board has been mandated to approve the standards regardless of quality.

The high school proficiency exam is not currently tied to the standards. Therefore, no one in the State Department of Education or the State Board of Education can answer yes to the question of whether or not all students have been provided the opportunity to know what was expected of them on the testing. And you, the voting public and consumers of the education system, have not one person you can hold accountable for this situation.

I hope to be elected to the State Board of Education. If I am, I promise you that I will spend the next four years "doing" what it takes to be make myself, and the rest of the State Board of Education and State Department of Education, accountable for the success or failure of Nevada students.

I further promise you, I will not be "dreaming about what could be" because I will have a grandchild ready to enter kindergarten in Nevada at the end of that four years and dreaming will not make the system better for my grandchildren or yours.

Barbara J. Myers is a candidate for the State Board of Education.