Tony and Mitch target Social Promotion

Governor Daniels State of the State speech proposed legislation to end social promotion in Indiana's public schools, at least for third graders who can't read. What would happen to the kids who are now getting socially promoted through the middle schools and devastating the high schools isn't clear but presumably holding back kids in elementary school would reduce size of the problem later on.

So why does this proposal have to come from the state? Why doesn't FWCS (or Karen Frisco for that matter) talk about, let alone acknowledge the problem and propose some solutions instead of abdicating its responsibility to the State? Because it's politically uncomfortable. Most of the kids held back would be minorities and rather than "doing the right thing" and facing the flack for holding them back, they push them through and give them a "diploma" they can't read. Because they would have had to give up cherished but expensive and ineffective programs like "Reading Recovery" a long time ago, back when board member Kurt Walborne was going against Wendy's and the teacher's union's grain by telling them it didn't work.

Reform proposals have to come from the state and the feds because FWCS hasn't been willing to do anything that would cause discomfort to the teachers union (even though in this case social promotion is the number one complaint among high school teachers) or the parents. None of the ballyhooed items to improve test scores praised in last Sunday's JG editorial put anyone in a strain, least of all the teacher's union. There will be no real reform without pain. And for Public Education the only motivation for reform is money for jobs. They can go through all the gyrations they want but nothing significant will change until their funding is threatened. So don't tell us compliance with "Race to the Top" isn't about getting Arne's money. The failing schools that are being "reinvented" should have been targeted a long time ago, not just when there's federal money at stake.