FW: O'Connell "Distressed, Disappointed" over SBE Vote to Implement Gov's Algebra 1 Plan

[George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>]

In case you missed this.


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Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell's response to the reported
8-1 vote by the State Board of Education on the plan to mandate Algebra 1 for 8th
graders.....


SCHOOLS CHIEF JACK O'CONNELL ISSUES STATEMENT FOLLOWING STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
VOTE MANDATING ALGEBRA FOR EIGHTH GRADERS



SACRAMENTO ? State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today
issued the following statement regarding action by the State Board of Education
to adopt Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger?s proposal to require all eighth grade
students to take and be assessed in Algebra I.

?I'm very distressed and more than disappointed that the State Board of Education
has voted to implement Governor Schwarzenegger?s proposal regarding eighth grade
algebra that would severely impact students and schools without any discussion
beforehand with educators in the field and with completely inadequate public
notice.

?The Governor announced his position and gave direction to the members of the
State Board late last night ? less than 24 hours before a publicly noticed State
Board meeting. The Board has been publicly considering a solution for alignment
of an eighth grade mathematics test for more than three months. During that time,
the Governor had ample time to communicate an opinion that we would have been
able to notice, consider, discuss, and debate in open forum. Instead, he chose to
remain silent until the 11th hour.

?It is quite distressing that the Governor would forward a proposal that would
have significant impact on thousands and thousands of children with literally
less than 24 hours notice so as to guarantee those affected most ? teachers,
students, and parents ? would have virtually no opportunity to engage in the
discussion.

?In addition, I have serious concerns with this proposal on its merits. I
strongly disagree with the Governor?s proposal to require all eighth graders to
take algebra within three years without also offering any of the support for our
school districts and schools to successfully make this major change.

?I agree with the Governor in that we can be proud that our accountability model
and algebra graduation requirement have pushed for more rigor in our system, and
have indeed led to significantly greater numbers of students taking algebra. I
truly believe that with enough support, all students can succeed in algebra in
the eighth grade.

?If the Governor had consulted an eighth grade teacher, principal, or district
superintendent or reviewed data about eighth grade achievement in math, what he
would have heard and seen is that while the number of students taking algebra has
greatly increased, proficiency has not. Our system simply has more work to do to
put in place the necessary tools to ensure every child is ready to participate
and succeed in algebra.

?What I found interesting is what the Governor hasn't said. He has offered no
specifics about additional support or resources to our public school system to
prepare all eighth grade students to succeed in algebra. Let?s not forget, while
the State Board met today, local school boards across the state are cutting
programs because of our state budget crisis.

?Today, educators throughout the state have placed almost half of our eighth
grade students in General Mathematics despite the fact that doing so has negative
implications for their schools in our accountability system. But, they do it
because it is a more educationally appropriate choice for certain students. And
for that roughly half of the eighth grade population deemed by teachers,
principals and parents not to be ready for algebra, a disturbingly low 23 percent
are proficient or advanced on what amounts to seventh grade standards.

?When we disaggregate this data, we also find disturbing achievement gaps with
African Americans at 13 percent proficiency and Hispanics at 16 percent.
In fact, if you look at all eighth grade students taking both Algebra 1 and
General Mathematics, less than 12 percent of California?s Hispanic students in
the eighth grade are proficient and less than 10 percent of African Americans are
proficient.

?These numbers tell us that quality instruction, resources, and time matters
greatly in preparing students to succeed. Just putting all students in algebra,
regardless what the data tell us, is not a responsible course of action. Clearly,
different strategies need to be put in place if we expect all students to succeed
in eighth grade algebra. I am very disappointed that the Governor is advocating a
proposal that does not address those issues or offer any additional assistance.

?One leading urban superintendent I respect, for example, told me he thought he
could come close to meeting the expectation to prepare all eighth grade students
to take Algebra 1, but only if he were allowed to waive history or science in the
lower grades so as to give him more time to teach math. Are we willing to offer
that flexibility? Is that a good idea? Should we discuss it? These are the kinds
of tough choices our districts would have to make if we impose this requirement
with as little thought or discussion as is proposed today.

?If we are going to put this new expectation on our schools, we need to put
appropriate resources into place. Otherwise, let?s be honest: we?re just setting
our schools up for failure. We need to ensure subject matter expertise at every
grade level. We need consistent, high-quality standards-aligned professional
development, and our schools need a minimum available amount of instructional
minutes for mathematics. We cannot expect our students to succeed when we adults
have not done our part.

?I understand that some are suggesting we don't need to worry about these
consequences ? that the likelihood is we'll have a new administration in
Washington before any of them come to pass. But that is a cynical and insincere
way of making public policy, and is tremendously risky for our students and
schools.

?In pushing for this major change in education policy, the Governor has committed
to provide additional resources to schools. He has made such commitments to our
schools before and then in response to state budget crisis, he broke his word. By
forcing this mandate on schools without first guaranteeing resources or a plan
for implementation, the Governor has gambled the education of thousands of school
children; I pray the kids win.?

George Sheridan