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Education at the Crossroads

Educators today are being pulled in several directions. On the one hand, they are expected to provide ever more rigorous educational standards, and to find ways to quantify and demonstrate that both good teaching and good learning have taken place. At the same time, they feel pressured by businesses to produce students who are ready to take a productive place in the workforce. For those students who will not go on to college or vocational training, high school will be the pinnacle of their education. Do we want their education to reflect measurable, quantifiable learning only, or do intangible experiences, such as those acquired by guided work within the community, also contribute both to their education and their future employability? Can education accomplish both goals? Are they compatible, or do they conflict with each other?

There are several ways to attempt to meet the varying goals of public school systems. One approach is to emphasize academic accountability, but other school districts are looking to analyze their programs to make sure their educational program ultimately meets their students' final vocational needs. Those districts are looking closely at their vocational programs (Hull, 2000).

The state of Florida has an educational plan they call their "A+ Plan." It emphasizes accountability, raised standards and more training for teachers, along with improved school safety and reduced truancy (Florida DOE, 2002). Their plans include rewards for success in meeting these standards and negative consequences for schools or districts that fail to meet the goals (Florida DOE, 2002). Florida views its changes as plans "that have one thing in common; they are all designed to improve student learning." (Florida DOE, 2002) The state expects that all students will gain one year's growth for each year in school. Readers of this plan might wonder if this is a reasonable goal for all students, since student abilities vary. The state of Florida intends to implement achievement testing every year to measure whether this progress is being made or not (Florida DOE, 2002). So Florida's emphasis is on accountability as measured by tests.

The educational organization CORD, which tracks high school vocational programs, recognizes that vocational high schools are caught up in the quest for greater achievement along with accountability for student progress. They note a shift to an "information-based economy" (Hull, 2000) where the ability to work as part of a team is as important as one's skills and knowledge acquired in school. They note that current employers need employees who can reason and problem-solve. The demands on high school workers entering the workforce today are often considerably higher than they were on their grandparents, who could get a factory job, receive simple on-the-job training as needed, and provide for his or her family well with a basic education.

CORD notes that technical and vocational education might be served well by coordinating their efforts with the junior college and vocational schools in the area to avoid duplication (Hull, 2000). This would free up more time for other instruction. They recognize that students will have to graduate with strong enough academic skills to continue with their education throughout their lives in an ever-changing job market.

Florida's emphasis on measurable achievement is understandable. Ever since the government report, A Nation at Risk, was published, school districts have had concrete evidence that their students were not where they needed to be academically. However, many teachers feel that too much focus on test scores may be counter-productive in the long run.

One teacher from Seattle noted significant learning made by his students while observing dramatic events in that city. In the late fall of 1999, the World Trade Organization held an international meeting in Seattle. The meeting was picketed, and protesters of the WTO held a massive rally that got attention around the world (Au, 2000). Some of this teacher's students attended the rally. He found that some of his students learned important lessons about life, including a poignant story about one young lady with a difficult home life who learned that her actions could have something she viewed as a positive effect. She learned she could make a difference. The teacher made the point that this kind of lesson holds the potential to improve the rest of her life (Au, 2000). It changed her academic progress for the better, but it won't be measurable on any achievement test. Not everything important that takes place in our schools can be measured on an achievement test.