I am concerned that schools have problems that will worsen as they fail to adapt to the 21st century. Such problems include high student dropout rates, high teacher dropout rates, low student performance outcomes, discipline problems, and funding problems. Parents recognize the seriousness of these conditions and demand more charter schools, more opportunities for alternative schooling, and vouchers.
Test scores and graduation rates have been relatively flat since the 1970’s while cost/pupil has more than doubled when corrected for inflation. When compared to other countries, the US still ranks near the top in terms of hours in school and cost, but ranks in the teens or twenties in terms of indicators such as test scores and graduation rates.
The most effective solutions will involve treating the students as individuals, not just as a member of an age defined population. Students should be able to progress when they are ready at a rate that is appropriate for them. Students will move more rapidly along areas of their strengths, and using these strengths will help them to fill in areas of weakness and broaden their education.
Appropriate 21st century technologies will facilitate such individualization. New tools for instruction, evaluation, and record keeping will allow teachers and school systems to do things that were not possible before.
Changing the way students are treated will produce fundamental changes in the structure of the educational system. Long term projects include the removal of grade levels, changes in the role of the teachers, and new criteria for standards.
In the short term many other issues will need to be dealt with. Such issues as the teacher effectiveness criteria, educational standards by subject, and fiscal priorities are all items that will need immediate attention.
We can help current funding problems by a full cost accounting and careful cost/benefit analysis of current programs. Some programs show large gains for the money spent but other programs show little gain to sometimes being counterproductive. Careful evaluation of research data to find better ways of doing things can also produce great improvements and potentially reduce costs.
Issues in public policy should be based more on scientific research. We must carefully review data on the quality of the observations and the validity of the conclusions.
Education is a vital investment. The future of our children is at stake, as is the long term future of the state and country. We need well educated people able to work in the technical world of the future. If we fail to provide them appropriate training we will face losing more jobs in the state and the country. Eventually we will lose our standard of living.
I was fortunate to have parents who valued learning and helped provide opportunities beyond school. Many students are not supported at home, but an inexpensive quality public education will help them become productive citizens. We need to develop a robust educational system that will help students to succeed in spite of many personal problems. This is in everyone's best interest.
Over the past 60 years, I have developed many ideas about education, only to find that many others have developed similar philosophies and methods. Standards Based Education, Blended Education, On line Learning, Differentiated Learning, and Team Teaching will probably all contribute to developing more individualized instruction. Just as a cookie is but a blend of the right things processed in the right proportions, our 21st century education will blend the things we know in new combinations and build new tools.
Our complex educational problems affect our entire nation. Many knowledgeable, hardworking, and concerned people want to solve this problem. Solutions are larger than district or state concerns, but Colorado can take a leadership role and facilitate national progress. We have made progress fixing the problems of the 1970’s schools but we need to look ahead to 2020 and 2070 to satisfy the needs of modern technology.
Our educational system needs to change faster. We should recognize these oncoming changes and act appropriately, or we can have disastrous results, as on the Titanic. Thoughtful forecasting of the future will help speed progress and reduce costs.