Education reform should be results-based

Invaluable: Valuable beyond estimation — having worth in terms of other than market value. (Merriam Webster)

Ponder what is invaluable in your life, like family, (grandkids, kids, spouse, parents), faith and certain attributes (love, joy, peace).

What about education? As I get older, I realize what I have learned in life is indeed invaluable. What I have learned from life’s lessons is invaluable to me (even though I would go about learning some of it in a different way if I had it to do over again). Every preschooler is proof positive that God designed us to have an insatiable desire to learn. “Terrible 2s” is what we call the age when a child cannot resist touching, tasting and dismantling, limited only by external restraint (parents or guardians).

So, what happens between the terrible 2s and the 40 percent dropout rate from the very institutions that have the responsibility to nurture every child’s innate drive to learn? That dichotomy is ludicrous. We all know our schools are filled with caring professionals who teach and administrate. We have beautiful and safe school buildings, and we work very hard to make sure no child gets left behind. We live in a time when unprecedented information and communication is at our fingertips on the Internet. Yet, the 60 percent who do make it through our K-12 system are often not prepared well enough for post-secondary training or employment and do not compare well globally. We need to address this challenge.

It is a waste of time to get into blame games beyond self-examination. Parents, K-12 professionals, leaders — we all need to move quickly past incriminations of self and others and look for effective next steps to address the problem. Our present K-12 education policy needs comprehensive review and reform if it is to produce more and better graduates.

As a starting point, we need to openly acknowledge there are many very good things that exist in the K-12 system that have only indirect effects on education outcomes. They are not only good things, they are things we insist on for justifiable reasons. Schools provide a safe day care system for our children so both parents can work. Schools provide some of the best jobs. School facilities become community centers and house great sports programs. Schools inject dollars into local economies all over Alaska.

I recently voted against an education funding bill (House Bill 273) because it only justifies spending in the context of preserving the good things — things not directly related to education outcomes (results). In that sense it is a regressive funding bill. I did not vote against the bill because I do not want us to have the good things. I voted against it because the increase ($180 million over three years) may make it more difficult to make us accountable for improved outcomes. I have seen no evidence that more money automatically produces better education outcomes.

As follow-up, I have introduced a bill, HB 384, that will require schools to change their record-keeping to create a teaching tool. It gives the state Department of Education the task of establishing technical standards so electronic education records (EERs) can be owned by students, yet easily transferred among teachers and schools. The bill also takes an initial step toward a merit-based scholarship program to help raise the bar. I fear that my bill — focused totally on education outcomes (results) — will not get much traction because of the funding package preceding it. We will soon see.

Many of my respected colleagues supported the funding bill I voted against. I believe, in most cases, alternatives were not visible. The good news is that technological advances are producing cost-efficient teaching tools we could not conceive of even 10 years ago. Technology enables affordable diagnostics and prescriptive teaching for each student as an individual. I believe there is hope for our education system if we can respond quickly enough to use these new tools.

Rep. Wes Keller represents District 14 in the state House of Representatives.