Standardized tests of reading, science and math place the statewide district operated by the Hawaii Department of Education in the national cellar.
By some measures, we are dead last.
Across the United States, as districts increase in size, per pupil costs rise, standardized test performance falls, and the score gap between children of poor parents and the children of wealthy parents increases. Aggregation of students and resources into large districts intensifies the contest for control of school policy. In small districts, with no large asset at stake, parents win this contest. In large districts, insiders win. When public sector unions, construction contractors, and suppliers take from parents the control of school policy, children of poor and minority parents suffer most. Political control of school harms most the children of the least politically adept parents.
Every debate over reform of the Hawaii DOE is itself an argument for multiple school independent school districts or a voucher-subsidized market in K-12 education services. If we disagree over ultimate goals and values, differences are irreconcilable and a winner-take-all contest for control of a statewide monopoly must create unhappy losers. With "public school choice" and multiple independent districts, or a voucher-subsidized market, unhappy parents may take their children and the taxpayersí K-12 education subsidy to a different institution. If we disagree over matters of fact, where "what works?" is an empirical question, multiple independent districts or a voucher-subsidized market will generate more of the information needed to assess and revise policy than will a Statewide monopoly school system. People may be intelligent, well-intentioned, highly credentialed and wrong. Benign intentions and clever theories must yield to facts.
Joseph Gedanís criticism of DOE reform proposals ("Education reform misguided," The Honolulu Advertiser, 23-Jan.-2004) demonstrates the need for the reform he criticizes. Mr. Gedan offers three determinants of system performance: parent motivation, teacher qualifications and resources. He asks: "What do the principals' union and the number of school boards have to do with parent attitudes and behavior?" A lot. One size does not fit all. One menu does not satisfy all tastes. With multiple districts and "public school choice," motivated parents can place their children in a school that better fits their interests and abilities. Also, the prospect that advocacy will work encourages parents. Today, parents learn that the statewide system does not respond, and so they give up beating their heads against a bureaucratic wall.
Mr. Gedan is correct that variations in teacher quality influence student performance. DOE defenders would have us suppose that good teachers have advanced degrees and cost a lot. Not so. Good teachers have subject-area competence, good communication skills, and empathy. Independent and parochial schools succeed with teachers who lack College of Education credentials. Regarding the Christmas list of goodies which system defenders demand, the economist Eric Hanushek commented, "The performance of students is not systematically related to the amount of money schools spend per student. Differences in class size, education levels of teachers, and experience of teachers -- the traditional focus of much school policy -- are not systematically related to student performance."
Readers may check for themselves. Visit the NCES Web site and browse the Digest of Education Statistics.
Between 1961 and 2001, real (inflation adjusted) US per pupil spending increased from less than $3,000 to over $8,000, while system performance fell. The U.S. spends more than almost every other country, per pupil, and the top-performing countries are not the top spenders. Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong all operate systems with larger class sizes, and achieve higher TIMSS test scores.
Malcolm Kirkpatrick, a Department of Education teacher, who now tutors, can be reached via email at: mailto:malcolmkirkpatrick@yahoo.com
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