ERIC ED401076: The "New" Federal and State Education Agenda.

12 Pages·1994·0.23 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 401 076
RC 020 800
AUTHOR
Stephens, E. Robert
The "New" Federal and State Education Agenda.
TITLE
94
PUB DATE
11p.; In: Toward the 21st Century: A Rural Education
NOTE
Anthology. Rural School Development Outreach Project.
Volume 1; see RC 020 797.
Viewpoints
PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070)
(Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.)
(120)
Descriptive (141)
Reports
EDRS PRICE
MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage.
Accountability; Diversity (Institutional);
DESCRIPTORS
*Educational Change; *Educational Legislation;
Educational Objectives; *Educational Policy;
Educational Technology; Elementary Secondary
Education; Federal Government; Federal Legislation;
*Government Role; *Rural Education; Rural Schools;
*School Role; Standards; State Government
Goals 2000; *Systemic Change
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
Understanding the education agendas being promoted by
state and federal politicians is critical in comprehending the
factors affecting rural education. Equally important is developing an
effective rural school improvement strategy that is viewed favorably
by policymakers. Five areas represent the focal points of state and
(1) restatement and subsequent
federal education agendas:
institutionalization of the national interest in education as
(2) creation of a rigorous
evidenced by adoption of Goals 2000;
accountability system linked to federal funding that involves
development of national standards for curriculum content, student
performance, school responsibility for providing conditions necessary
to achieve proficiency in the content standards, and teachers' and
administrators' professional development;
(3) emphasis on states
pursuing systemic reform encompassing standards, curriculum,
assessment and accountability, governance, professional development,
higher education, finance, cross-agency collaboration, and diversity;
(4) development of a national educational technology policy and
creation of an Office of Educational Technology; and (5) renewed
interest in addressing diversity in public education. Developments
associated with state and federal education agendas will likely
result in significant benefits to rural schools. For example, greater
use of technology could improve instructional programming and
staffing features of rural schools, greater involvement of
postsecondary institutions could result in programs designed
specifically for teachers and staff specialists working in rural
school systems, and rural schools could become community learning and
service centers designed to meet the needs of rural communities.
(LP)
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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
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t. -
THE "NEW" FEDERAL AND STATE
EDUCATION AGENDA
by E. Robert Stephens
Department of Education Policy, Planning, and Administration
University of Maryland, College Park
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research
and Improvement
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
This document has been
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State
The "New" Federal and
Education Agenda
E. Robert Stephens
Department of Education Policy,
Planning, and Administration
University of Maryland, College Park
Introduction
corporate sector" (p. 3) represent the "big
The education agenda of the federal and
three" interest groups in the field.
state policy and school improvement
communities is now fairly well formed.
Yet, as helpful as these observations are,
While debate continues to rage over some
they appear to be incomplete in that they do
of the tactical features of this country's
the relatively
not adequately acknowledge
decade-old school reform movement, a
by state governors
new and effective activism
political consensus about what ails educa-
and state legislatures. These state-level
tion and how best to fix it seems to be
actorsthough not acting aloneare now
emerging. Before addressing the agenda
extremely visible in establishing much of
itself, however, I want to stress that attaining
the nation's education agenda. If one sub-
such a political consensus is what really
scribes to the adage that agenda-setting is
of the
counts nowadays and that the nature
forms of political
one of the most effective
political actors involved in this consensus
that this shift in the
power, then one can see
is equally important.
locus of educational control to state and fed-
eral political actors is one of the most pro-
A new set of actors is calling the policy
found changes in educationnot just in the
shots. To give some historical perspective,
past decade, but perhaps in the century.
Timor (1989) suggests that the dominance
tri-
in the 1960s and 1970s of the "old iron
The task is to uncover the agenda being
angle," comprising schools of education,
promoted in these policy circles, and this
and NEA
state departments of education,
task is especially important if we want to
affiliates, has erodedalthough it continues
understand the forces affecting rural educa-
the state
to have influence, especially at
tion. From our understanding of this
level. Guthrie and Reed (1991) emphasize
agenda, we can frame a rural school improve-
0
the importance at the federal level of the
but
ment strategy that not only is effective,
0
"new iron triangle," which comprises educa-
also will be viewed favorably.
tion agencies of the executive branch, con-
gressional committees, and interest groups
(p. 107). And Spring (1993) argues that
O
"the foundations, teachers unions, and the
Page 51
state-specific goals. At the federal level,
The Focal Points of the
the six goals became federal policy in the
"New" Education Agenda
1991 U.S. Department of Education report
believe
I have singled out five areas that I
AMERICA 2000: An Education Strategy.
the education
represent the focal points of
They will be further institutionalized and
agenda:
perhaps even expanded as federal policy
with the expected enactment of the Clinton
The restatement and subsequent institu-
major education proposal,
tionalization of the national (not federal)
Administration
Act,1 and the
interest in education
Goals 2000: Educate America
Improving America's Schools Act of 1993
The redirection of the school reform
the massive amendments to the Elementary
rigorous
movement, Phase I: new, more
and Secondary Education Act.
accountability
The institutionsii72tion of the six national
The redirection of the school reform
education goals as federal policy represents
of
movement, Phase II: systemic reform
the federal interest
a fundamental expansion of
the educational system
in education that historically has centered
The development of a national educa-
and training
on the protection of civil rights
tional technology "policy"
deemed essential for the national welfare (the
traditional role argued by Valente (1994)),
The renewed interest in addressing diver-
educational produc-
or the enhancement of
sity in public education
tivity, the equalization of educational oppor-
tunity, and the enhancement of liberty (the
This short list contains few surprises,
characterization of the federal interest pre-
since the issues have been present for some
ferred by Guthrie and Reed (1991)).
time. Therefore, my use of the term "new"
agenda should not be taken literally. What
Clearly, one of the core features of the
these
I mean by "new" is that approaches to
"new" education agenda is the pursuit of
five areas suggest a new urgency, a new
the six national education goals. The national
and, in some
energy, a new commitment,
interest in education thus has been broadened
direction.
cases, a discernible new
to include preparing children to come to
school ready to learn (goal 1); an increase
Restatement and Institutionalization of
National Interest in Education
in high school graduation rates (goal 2);
student mastery of content in English,
The formal adoption in 1990 of the now
mathematics, science, history, geography,
familiar six national education goals by the
represents a
and citizenship (goal 3); world class
governors and the President
achievement in science and mathematics
turning point in the national interest in edu-
(goal 4); the eradication of illiteracy (goal 5);,
cation. Most states soon adopted the six
and the establishment of drug-free and safe
goals as state goals, with a number comple-
schools (goal 6).2
menting these national goals with additional
America Act became law.
Since this paper was written, Goals 2000: Educate
professional development for teachers and promote parental
2
In the final law, goals were added to ensure
law is attached.
participation. A copy of the goals as they appear in the
Page 52
Redirection of the School
ability system in the field of education.
Reform MovementPhase I
While implementation issues have yet to be
Certainly one of the core features of the
resolved, it seems clear that strong bi-partisan
just about
new agenda that would be on
support exists for three of the four features
everyone's short list is creating a more
and that this support is not likely to dissipate
rigorous accountability system. The main
in the future. The exception is the opportu-
nity-to-learn standards, which are opposed
tactics being employed to achieve this policy
goal are quite familiar and include the
by some political actors, especially the
National Governors Association.
following:
Redirection of the School Reform
The press for developing voluntary national
MovementPhase II
content standards in the curricular areas
specified in goal 3 of the national educa-
This country has gone through several
tion standards
well-documented phases in its now decade-
long efforts to reform education. Emphasis
A parallel press for the development of
in the early stage was clearly on the use of
voluntary national student performance
state mandates, followed in the late 1980s
standards that are aligned with the con-
and early 1990s by a focus on restructuring.
tent standardsi.e., measurement-driven
instruction (MDI)
Today, support for systemic reform is
dominant. As Clume (1991) has observed,
A similar emphasis on the development
advocates of systemic reform argue that the
of voluntary national opportunity-to-learn
standards that will hold schools responsi-
focus should be on moving the entire system
ble for giving students the conditions
of education to higher levels of excellence.
the
necessary to achieve proficiency in
The central thesis of the systemic reform
content standards
movement is that the policies and programs
of all parts of the education system must be
A similar emphasis on holding schools
integrated if meaningful progress is to be
responsible for giving teachers and admin-
achieved. That is, all parts of the system
istrators the opportunity to acquire skills
must behave as a system.
and competencies necessary to provide
meaningful instructional programs in the
Though this basic premise has found
content areas
widespread agreement, a broad range of
proposals (a number of which are incompat-
Mandates calling for these four rigorous
ible, at least to me) are being pushed under
accountability features are included in both
the rubric of systemic reform. This concern
the proposed Goals 2000: Educate America
notwithstanding, perhaps one of the best
Act and the amendments to the Elementary
short-hand ways to illustrate how the concept
and Secondary Education Act. States will
is being described is to cite a recent state-
be required to honor the intent of these four
ment of the Education Commission of the
features as a condition of eligibility to receive
States (ECS), Building a Framework for
funds from the two legislative proposals.
Education Reform (1992), which identifies
Together, these four approaches represent a
eight high-leverage policy areas that states
major evolution of this country's decades-
should consider in pursuing systemic reform:
long struggle to create an effective account-
5
Page 53
of its themes are already being implemented
Standards/curriculum (e.g., create stand-
across the country.
ards and develop curriculum frameworks
and guidelines)
Because of the loose way in which
Assessment/accountability (e.g., develop
systemic reform often is defined, the term
assessments tied to new standards)
its prede-
may become nonfunctional, like
indiscriminate
cessor, restructuring. The
Governance (e.g., mandate or encourage
raised the
use of the word restructuring
site-based management or collaborative
legitimate concern that if restructuring
decision-making, put state and district
means so many different things to so many
services in the hands of school councils,
different people, then it must mean nothing.
and restructure the state education agency)
As Elmore (1990) observed, "school restruc-
Professional development (e.g., align pro-
turing has many of the characteristics of
fessional development with standards,
what political and organizational theorists
regulate the training and licensing of
call a 'garbage can' concept" (p. 4).
teachers, increase initial and continuing
certification requirements, require profes-
It would be a mistake, however, to dismiss
sional development schools, and encourage
ECS's conceptu-
a number of the features of
K-12 and university partnerships)
alization of systemic reform, whether labelled
correctly or not. It seems clear that there is
Higher education (e.g., engage higher
strong support for the following:
education in reform and form K-12 and
university collaboratives)
A restructuring of the governance of
education, such as some form of site-
Finance (e.g., redesign formulas to focus
based management, charter schools, the
expand
on excellence as well as equity,
restructuring of local boards, and the
the definition of equity to include out-
restructuring of the role of the state
comes and opportunities, and shift more
education agency
budget authority to schools)
Restructuring of the way we prepare and
Cross-agency collaboration (e.g., provide
certify teachers and administrators
incentives for health, social, and youth-
serving agencies and schools to collabo-
More meaningful engagement of postsec-
rate and increase family involvement in
ondary institutions in the school reform
schools)
movement
Diversity/options (e.g., create and support
Greater collaboration between other
alternative forms of learning and teaching,
youth serving agencies and education
create more public school choices for
parents, create more magnet schools,
create "tech-prep" programs)
The continued search for parental choice
Many of the features of ECS's conceptu-
options, such as both infra- and interdis-
alization of systemic reform enjoy wide-
trict choice and vouchers that will with-
spread support in the national, state, and
stand constitutional challenges
local policy communities. Moreover, some
diversity issue is the growing recognition
National Education Technology
"Policy" and Plan
that public schools should no longer be
viewed as a monolith, but as a minimum of
the
The fourth major agenda item is
three distinct components: an urban compo-
development of a national education
rural
its
nent, a suburban component, and a
technology "policy" and a plan for
implementation once enacted. With the
component.
accelerated pace of the advances in technol-
An awareness of the difficulties confront-
sign of abating, the
ogy, which shows no
ing large urban systems is certainly not new
creation of an "information superhighway"
subject
and has for several decades been the
is at hand.
of a long list of federal and state fiscal meas-
initiatives. But a
ures and programmatic
Title III of the proposed amendments to
renewed interest in addressing this issue is
Education
the Elementary and Secondary
of
Act mandates that the U.S. Department
clearly apparent.
Education create an Office of Educational
The unique characteristics of the nation's
Technology and further charges the Secretary
rural school systems also have been recog-
national,
of Education to develop a cohesive,
nized for a long time by states that have
long-range plan to ensure the use of tech-
supported special fiscal and programmatic
nology to promote achievement of the
initiatives to address rural school problems.
national education goals (H.R. 3130, p. 150).
set-asides
At the federal level, rural school
This pending action by Congress should
in some of the big-ticket federal formula
facilitate the development of cohesive fed-
1980s.
grants began to appear in the late
eral and state policies that place education
Moreover, rural schools were specially
the
in the middlenot on the sidelinesof
targeted in still other recent federal initia-
standards
current debates over transmission
tives. The most prominent is the "Rural
the
and the funding, acquisition, and use of
Initiative" that provided additional monies
tools of transmission.
laboratories to
to the regional educational
devote attention to rural education. As I
That these debates are likely to be heated
have stated on other occasions, I believe
is a given. Of high interest in the field are
that the best work in rural education is taking
questions such as who will define the national
infrastructure necessary for creating the
place in the regional laboratories.
information superhighway, and where will
Additional evidence of this growing
education fit in these rapidly unfolding
education
awareness of diversity in public
developments?
is the decision by major national profes-
Addressing Diversity in Public Schools
sional associations to create special rural
task forces, rural caucuses, or rural and/or
list
The fifth and final issue on the short
in
small school committees. Rural interests
of "new" agenda items is diversity. Two
of states are
a rapidly growing number
widely recognized aspects of this issue are
forming their own separately organized
changes in the racial and ethnic composition
education.
state groups to promote rural
of the school-age population and pronounced
One of the principal reasons for the move-
differences in the socioeconomic status of
urban, and
ment is the perception that rural,
children and youth. A third aspect of the
7
Page 55
with you my brief prognostication of what
suburban schools hive such diverse needs
the five agenda items mean.
existing
that reaching consensus within the
"umbrella" state interest groups is too
My overall assessment is that rural educa-
difficult (Stephens & Haughey, 1993). A
tion in particular will realize benefits if the
number of the states in NCREL's service
scenario I have suggested plays out. That
region now have formally constituted rural
is, though there are several ominous trends
interest groups. In my judgment, Minnesota
that could exacerbate long-term, inherent
and Iowa have two of the more outstanding
problems facing rural schools, other devel-
the
of the 20 or more state organizations in
opments not only have the potential for
country.
neutralizing the negative effects of these
negative trends, but also offer new, highly
The growing recognition of diversity in
significant positive effects.
the public schools has contributed to rapid
developments in policy analysis tools and
Perhaps one useful shorthand way to
techniques that will clearly raise the level
illustrate why I am guardedly hopeful about
of debate about diversity. We now have
the future is to concentrate on the concept
the ability, for example, to generate a rela-
of the institutional capacity of rural schools.
tively comprehensive socioeconomic, fiscal,
My working definition of the construct is
student, staffing, and programming profile
as follows:
of every local school district in the nation.
A consideration of the governance,
Largely unresolved at this pointbut an
instructional, student, staffing, finan-
issue that will surely heat up in the future
cial, and community support subsys-
is the use that is to be made of these technical
tems, will embrace most of the
advances. That is, to what extent will our
important indicators or measures of
vastly expanded ability to understand the
the health and performance of an edu-
uniqueness and sameness of public schools
shape federal and state policies that are
cational organization.
responsive, and
more equitable, adequate,
I will use this construct as a way to
appropriate than they have been in the past?
organize the following brief defense, which
will consist of several lines of argument.
Likely Consequences
for Rural Schools
First, the renewed emphasis on creating a
that
What are the likely consequences for rural
more rigorous accountability system
schools of these five big agenda items?
includes content standards and student
performance standards will exacerbate long-
Will the rural districts in the NCREL region
benefit in meaningful ways or will they
standing problems facing many rural sys-
experience further hardship as a result of
temsproblems that are inherent in
small-scale operations. Moreover, the socio-
these developments.
economic trends that continue to have an
Forecasting, of course, is at best highly
impact on rural America are alone sufficient
problematic. Nonetheless, let me share
cause of great concern in many nonmetro-
politan areas. Nonetheless, the parallel
8
Page 56
community learning and
rural school as the
opportunity-to-learn standards sug-
push for
benefits of
service center. The potential
entering a new era in
gests that we are
strong, healthy
this concept for sustaining a
of local communi-
which the accountability
rural America
educational infrastructure in
well as the local district,
ties and the state, as
seem indisputable.
clearly established. If
can now be more
is valid, then I, for
this line of reasoning
the promise
Finally, I would single out
with
the new accountability
one, welcome
of our increased
for rural school systems
in the public
open arms.
ability to describe diversity
the technical ability
schools. We now have
noted earlier
Similarly, developments
benefits of using any
to test the costs and
the possible negative
should not only offset
define a rural system.
number of criteria to
the development of content
consequences of
definition or small
The lack of a common
performance standards,
standards and student
long hampered
number of definitions has
benefits as well.
but should have other
of the equity, adequacy,
our understanding
the bene-
Especially noteworthy for me are
of fed-
responsiveness, and appropriateness
fits discussed below.
and programs for rural
eral and state policies
led to pointless
of a national
school systems. It has
The first is the development
that have resulted
"policy" that, as sug-
charges and countercharges
education technology
sophisticated
education in the
in little good. That more
gested earlier, could put
will now occur is
sidelinesof the activi-
inquiries of these types
middlenot on the
will be the big
accepted. Rural systems
information super-
ties that will create the
developments.
winners of these
will greatly
highway. Such a policy
technology for improving
facilitate the use of
programming and staffing
Concluding Comments
the instructional
attempted to do two
features of rural schools.
In this paper, I have
brief outline
things. First, I have provided a
growing pressure
Another benefit is the
the five focal points of
of what I believe are
postsecondary
and incentives to engage
education
the "new" federal and state
in the
institutions in more meaningful ways
will continue to
agenda that occupies and
has to
reform movement. This movement
and energies of the
occupy the attention
if it results in
be encouraging, especially
short list, though
education profession. My
institutions of
the participation of more
busy, does not
sufficient to keep most of us
both teacher and
higher learning, designing
facing the pro-
include other policy issues
equip profes-
staff specialist programs to
attention.
fession that will also warrant
rewarding experi-
sionals better to achieve a
mention of a
Omitted, for example, was
school systems.
ence in rural
issues, such as ability
host of instructional
in the early grades,
grouping, graded classes
push toward
Moreover, the tremendous
between the assimi-
the renewed controversy
between education
greater collaboration
concern-
lationalists and accommodationists
agencies, plus the
and other youth serving
education, and the
ing the role of public
technology, should
advances being made in
Fundamentalist
early stages of the "Christian
has significant
help achieve a goal that
the debate over
Movement." And certainly
systemsthe
long-term benefits for rural
9
Page 57
future. It is true that many foreboding
state school finance will have huge conse-
signs have appeared on the horizon for
quences for rural systems.
rural schools. Nonetheless, I stand by my
Second, I have observed that the five
prediction that in the years ahead rural inter-
developments associated with the focal
ests will witness substantial progress.
points of this agenda are likely to result in
significant benefits to rural schools in the
i0
Page 58