Commissioner McWalters' 2002 Address to the General Assembly

Peter McWalters
Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education
Fifth Annual State of Education Address
Delivered March 5, 2002
Before a joint session of the RI General Assembly

 

Speaker Harwood, Majority Leader Irons, Governor Almond, Lt. Governor Fogarty, members of the General Assembly, members of the Board of Regents, it is my pleasure to be here.  Thank you for inviting me.  Tonight marks the fifth time we have gathered in this chamber to address a question we all care deeply about: What is the state of education in Rhode Island?

We are here tonight with as clear and complete an answer to that question as has ever been developed.  This year we have gone from impressionism to realism, from a developing photograph to a sharp, focused image of school performance and district performance.

What we know tonight is the result of actions you took five years ago – actions that, at the time, gave my department instructions that seemed to us educators as challenging as President Kennedy’s clarion call for landing a man on the moon. You set us on a direction to world-class performance standards and a system of annual assessment.  You told us to count every student, test every school, and to report the results publicly.  I would love to be able to tell you tonight that our mission is complete--­or as NASA put it: The Eagle has landed.  But although we are well on the way and our trajectory is true, I do need to tell you tonight: Houston, we’ve got a problem.

It is not yet time to celebrate.  I say this not because we don’t have good teachers, real improvement, and evidence of success.  We do.

But the good news and solid improvements that so encourage us have not yet touched all schools and all classrooms. 

Still, we’ve learned a lot together along the way.  More than ever before, we can look now district by district, school by school, grade by grade and answer the question: Are Rhode Island schools performing?  Just as important – in many cases more important – we can also answer the question: Are Rhode Island schools improving? 

But before we talk about how we measure up, let’s talk about exactly what we measure.

The most important thing to understand is that we have committed to two goals that place Rhode Island among the most aggressive states in the country in pursuit of educational excellence.

First, we have set a very high standard, roughly equivalent to the national standard, and on a par with many international proficiency tests, a standard that only 35-to-40 percent of students in the highest-performing states have achieved. 

Students who meet Rhode Island’s standard can compete anywhere. 

Let me say that again: Our standard is a high standard, our tests are hard tests, and proficiency is hard work; it takes effort from both the child and the teacher. 

That said, our standard is not inflated, and it is not unachievable. 

Some have urged us to, as they put it, “be more realistic.”  They have asked us to consider switching to a standard that is -- frankly -- lower.

Our answer is: Frankly, no.

Setting the bar high and helping schools and districts get there is the reasonable strategy; it is the right strategy. That’s why tracking improvement is so important.  I care as much about progress as I do about performance, as much about “right direction” as I do “right answers.”

Second, we have adopted a policy of accounting for every student.  Many schools have students who never take the state performance tests, not on test day and not on any one of the many available make-up days.  Those students are assigned no score, and that “no score” is counted in the school’s results.

Now as you might imagine, we’ve heard a lot of objections to that policy.  Some argue that principals and teachers shouldn’t be held responsible for truant or disengaged students.  They argue that students who are working hard and studying shouldn’t be lumped in with kids who don’t show up and don’t care.  They ask us: Frankly, why not screen out those kids?

Again, our answer has to be: Frankly, no.

There’s no question that eliminating those kids from the pool would raise the scores.  In some cases, they’d raise them dramatically.  But at what price?  What signal would we be sending if we told 15 year olds – 15 year olds – that we’d already written them off?

To the teachers and administrators who have these kids in their schools and classrooms, who work in high schools where nearly half of the kids didn’t take the test, I say this:  I know these kids are tough to reach.  I know motivating them is hard.  I know what you are up against.  But I don’t absolve you of the responsibility of trying, day after day, to reach these students, open their minds, and help shape their future.

There’s just no way around it -- all kids means all kids.

To the parents of these young people, I say this: I know you take your children’s education seriously. I know, from my own experience as a father of three daughters, that raising kids today is challenging. But I don’t absolve you of the responsibility of knowing how your child is doing and urging your child to take advantage of the single biggest social compact offered to American families: a free public-school education. You work hard to provide for them, but a good education will play the biggest role in their future success. 

I know that your kids might think that they are old enough to make their own decisions. But for 10th graders, attending school should not be optional. 

School should be a must, not a maybe.

And for those of you 10th graders who for whatever reason aren’t showing up for the tests, I’ll tell you this: Showing up is part of life!

If you are not showing up for school on test day, if you are not showing up in general, let me tell you about the future that awaits you. Chances are, at some point you’ll stop coming to school altogether. Chances are, you’ll end up in trouble with the law or in a dead end job or on the welfare rolls. And, most depressing of all, chances are you’ll pass that same legacy on to your children.

So for your own sake and for the sake of us all, show up at school and take your education seriously. You’ll do more, achieve more, and go farther, believe me.

And to you, members of the General Assembly, I say this: Don’t waver.  In past years, I’ve stood at this podium and I have urged you to stay the course, and you have.  You have challenged me to count all kids, to leave no child behind, and I’ve heard you.  A decision now to not count all kids would be a public-policy statement that not all of our young people matter.  It would be a decision to sweep under the rug our truancy problems and our discipline problems and the failure of our schools and communities to engage each and every student.

The fact is, all of our young people count, which is why we are counting all of them.

Now, against that backdrop – high standards, all kids – let’s talk about the results.

First, the good news:

There’s no question that the most encouraging results are in our elementary schools.

Nearly 50% of our elementary schools are high performing.  A high-performing school is one in which over a three-year period, across all the tests, half or more of the kids met the standard.  It is perhaps even more important to point out that nearly 50% of our elementary schools are improving. An improving school is one that consistently hit its improvement targets and moved kids both into the top group and out of the bottom. 

Your targeted investments in early-childhood education are paying off. Your investments in early literacy, full-day kindergarten, in reading coaches--they are all paying off.

Your investments that support kids in partnership with schools are also paying off. Your investments in high-quality child-care, RIte Care expansion, lead-abatement efforts, Child Opportunity Zones -- all have children arrive at school ready to learn.

We should all feel proud of the performance of our elementary-school students and the teachers that support them. 

How proud? Think of it this way. If we got all of our kids performing at the level of our elementary schools, we would be outperforming every other New England state in educational achievement.

The other good news is that urban elementary schools are beating the odds; there are a dozen schools in our poorest districts that are challenging conventional wisdom. These schools, in West Warwick, Providence, and Pawtucket, are demonstrating tremendous improvement across the board – in math, language arts, and writing. And remember -- improvement means they are moving kids both into the top and out of the bottom.

Among these schools are those that I think of kind of as the “fabulous four” – the Vartan Gregorian School at Fox Point, the Carl G. Lauro School, and the Sackett Street School, in Providence, and the Maisie E. Quinn School, in West Warwick. These schools have met improvement targets on all tests, in every subject area, across the board. These are the only schools in the entire state to do so.

Conventional wisdom holds that urban students will never meet the standard – after all, they are poor, transient, and they face too many challenges. Well, let me tell you, folks: 350 nine year olds can’t be wrong. These bright-eyed 4th graders, by their simple act of demonstrating improvement and closing in on the goal, challenge the notion that urban kids can’t perform, and can’t improve. They can, and these schools prove it.

Conventional wisdom isn’t always right.  The Education Trust, an organization that compares national test results across the country, recently reported that Latino 4th graders in Rhode Island have made more progress on the math test than their peers in almost every other state. African-American 4th graders in Rhode Island have made more progress in reading than their peers in any other state. 

We can learn from these results just as our middle and high schools can learn from the success of the elementary schools.

Middle schools have a long way to go.  Still, the middle-school results show us that there are bright spots out there that identify the strategies that work and guide the direction for the rest. While there are only a few middle schools in the state that are high performing, the ones that are have all followed the same winning approach.  They are systematically paying attention to reorganizing around their students.  They are creating teams where teachers work together and students are well known.  They are analyzing student results, adjusting their content, and changing their teaching strategies to improve those results. Principals and teachers have shared their success and concerns with their colleagues in other schools and districts.

They have heard the wake-up call! 

As a result, they have moved their scores. I’d like to acknowledge one of your own, the assistant principal of one of those winning middle schools, Rhode Island’s Assistant Principal of the Year, Representative Joe Amaral.  Representative Amaral, congratulations.

It is terribly important to celebrate our successes, and we have many of them. 

But we also must acknowledge and confront the bad news.  Virtually every one of you represents a community that has at least one high school.  High schools represent a vital bridge in the continuum of education – they connect grade school to college, childhood to young adulthood, and educational basics to higher-level reasoning and more sophisticated analysis. 

In your communities, with too few exceptions, that bridge is broken.

The fact is, students in Rhode Island are traveling up the down staircase. 

As they advance in grades, as their schoolwork gets more complex, as they get closer to the world of work and higher education the quality of the education they receive spirals downward for far too many students. Middle schools are a step down from elementary schools. High schools are a step down from middle schools. The longer you’re in, the worse it gets.

Don’t get me wrong -- there are high-performing high schools, high schools that are leading the way. This year’s Teacher of the Year, David Neves, is from one such high school, Scituate High School. David Neves, please stand up and be recognized. 

There are high schools that are exceptional – not perfect, but very good.  There are others that aren’t performing well yet, but have heard the message and are improving. For example, recently you may have read about school districts that awarded Rhode Island’s first “Certificates of Initial Mastery” to high-school students who have stepped up to the plate to meet exceptionally demanding performance standards. These kids now have a certificate that says they can meet industry standards and college standards today!

We have to pick up on these successes and make them the norm, not the exception, at the high-school level. Too many high schools are simply mired in the status quo.

Most high schools, as they are currently organized, simply cannot meet the challenge. Schoolwork should be hard, but getting access to a good education shouldn’t be.

We need to fix our high schools.

I said it last year, and I’m saying it again: We need high schools that relentlessly look at results and use them to rethink content, improve teaching, and focus on the hardest-to-reach students.

Three days from now, we will hold our second High School Summit, where the regents, community leaders, and educators will grapple with purposeful graduation requirements, knowing and being responsible for students, and continuing to teach reading, writing, and math at the high-school level.

Our work doesn’t begin and end with the summit.  In the coming weeks and months, I will be meeting with college presidents, business leaders, teachers, labor unions, parents, and religious leaders to globally reexamine the way we do business in high schools. 

I’m also going to need your support in the coming months. I’ve talked about this before, but the time for talk is over. Now is the time for me to get directive, because too many high schools continue to turn their backs to low performance; too many high schools cling to the familiar notion of seven forty-minute periods of missed opportunity;  too many high schools are trapped in the numbing, empty ritual of yesterday’s approach:  impersonal, unconnected, and unaccountable. 

Four years of cold, hard data tell us that yesterday’s approach not only isn’t working today, it didn’t work yesterday, either. On this mission, failure just is not an option. Continue to practice business as usual, and you’ll find yourself out of business. It’s that simple.

I am heartened to see that most educators and school-committee members are rejecting business as usual and know that new approaches are needed.  This is true at the elementary-, middle-, and high-school level.  In communities across the state, the test results are being viewed for what they are: a road map to areas where there is need for improvement, a call to action.

At the end of that road is a vision where we are organized around children, where children are well-known, and where teachers are supported in getting the child to the next level. Where the school climate is nurturing and supportive, while also teaching children to be self-disciplined enough to take their schooling seriously. Where students are given the time they need to master their task and where teachers are given the time they need to improve their craft. Where every child counts and is ready for the next challenge, whether that is the next class or graduation. 

Each of us has a role in making this vision a reality. School committees need to be advocates in their communities for child-centered education policy.  School districts need to organize themselves around supporting school performance.  Principals must be leaders and community builders.  Teachers must make learning happen. Parents -- our students’ first teachers -- must be partners in reinforcing the importance of school. Community members must know and support their schools. Businesses must be connected to schools and open their doors to students. Labor unions must be committed to student-centered solutions. Students must show up and take responsibility for their own learning. 

Students are why we are all here.

Members of the General Assembly, you have a role, too. Some have already been up to this building telling you that realizing this vision is going to require more money. You cannot afford to ignore them.

Although money alone will not improve these schools, in overburdened districts, money will have to be part of the solution. I know this is a difficult year to tell you that, but improving school performance can’t wait.

We’re not waiting, either. 

Starting next week, we are meeting with districts and schools to work out what’s next for every low-performing school. Just as you’ve directed, we will review action plans and will develop and in some cases direct strategies for school improvement. 

I need you to understand that this involves a larger state role.  We are at that point. We must act now, building on successful programs and directing other schools to learn from them.

We can’t wait , because the future won’t wait.

From your vantage point as lawmakers , you are able to glimpse the Rhode Island that our students will inherit. You see the businesses and industries that will shape our state’s future. You know that the world of work has changed radically since you and I were in school.  Even the jobs we think we all  understand have changed in ways that we never imagined.

Firefighting, for example, is a profession that twenty years ago required three things: a high-school diploma, a first-aid card, and the ability to pass what was called an “agility test.” Oh, and you needed lots of guts.

Today, you still need lots of guts; you still need a high-school diploma. You still need to pass what’s now called a “physical-performance assessment.”   But today you also need to pass a general-aptitude test that covers writing skills, math skills, and science, including chemistry and physics.  That’s to become a firefighter.

Once on the job, and especially in order to move up the ranks, the training and education requirements intensify. Computing technology, environmental science, and the chemistry of fire all come into play.  In fact, fire service requires a working knowledge of 21 major industries, from architecture to law, from structural engineering to emergency medicine. I imagine that the several firefighters who serve in this chamber know what I’m talking about.  In the 21st century, a good education is not an option. It’s the price of admission.

My colleague Bill Holland has lived this reality every day as commissioner of higher education, and I know that I speak for all of us when I say: Thank you for a job well done. Bill, I’ll miss you.

So to the students, I say: Show up.  Take these tests seriously.  Take your education seriously. You’re going to need it!

To teachers and principals, I say: Keep it up. You’ve been handed a clear picture of your school and your students. If you’re willing to commit to high standards and all kids, you can count on my help, in your classroom and in the trenches. 

But for those of you who think these tests are the latest fad and that this, too, shall pass, I must say:  We’re serious about this.  Step up, or step aside.

To lawmakers, I say: Buckle up. Improvement is tough to achieve, and schools today are turbulent places. The fasten-seatbelt sign is going to be on for a while. 

It may be a while before we achieve that moon landing, but giving in to doubters will only cause us to lose our way.  Lowering our standards is how we’ll shortchange our children, our economy, and our state’s future.

And, finally, I want to say something to the many dedicated teachers, principals, superintendents, and school-committee members who are here with us tonight. Whether or not you realize it, you now have something in common with the men and women who serve in the General Assembly. Like them, you know the feeling of having your performance judged publicly and of being held accountable by those you serve, even though they may understand only a small part of what you tackle every day. 

In the end, the road to improvement starts and ends with you, with that unique alchemy of inspiration, guidance, and challenge that is the recipe for good teaching.  Thank you for being here, thank you for returning to the classroom tomorrow morning, and thank you for embracing this challenge.

To you I say: Please stand up, and be recognized.

Teachers and lawmakers alike, you have your work cut out for you.  Educational excellence – excellence that lasts, and becomes embedded in who we are – is hard to achieve.  It is a foundation built brick by brick over time, with the determination and hard work that requires a work ethic matched to the task. 

To find that determination, that ethic, we need look no further than Rhode Island’s proud working-class history, to the seamstresses and textile workers and stonemasons that built Rhode Island, sparked the Industrial Revolution, and taught us by example that any job worth doing is worth doing well. 

They taught us that mastering knowledge of a craft takes real effort--not just talent, not even mostly talent, but real effort.  They taught us to be proud of our work and to stand by its quality. They taught us to show up, work hard, persevere, and do what needs to be done.

Our working-class ancestors knew that the best way to guarantee a better life for their children was to hold them to a high standard. To meet the challenges of Rhode Island’s tomorrow, there is no better guide than the wisdom and work ethic of Rhode Island’s yesterday.

We’re on the right track, but that is not enough. As Will Rogers once said, “Even when you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

So, let’s leave this chamber tonight with a common vision.  Let us leave here committed to high standards, committed to all kids, and sobered by the fact that real improvement takes real time and real work.

Don’t blink. Demand hard work of the schools, demand it of the children, demand it of us. This challenge, this vision is rooted in both the American Dream and the Rhode Island Experience.  By reaching, believing, and persevering, we will land there.