GOVERNOR: STANDARDS ARE TOUGHER

SCOTT CITY -- Students in Missouri will get a better education when local districts and legislators work together to improve the system, said Gov. Mel Carnahan Friday during a visit to Scott City Schools.

Lawmakers can talk about bills and budgets, but seeing students at work is what education is all about, he said. "Everything about school reform is not money."

Some of the reforms might make school harder for the students, Carnahan told sixth-grade students at the Scott City Elementary School. "I tease them about making school harder and they grin and are courteous," he said. "But we want them to work harder and achieve higher levels."

The state Board of Education unanimously approved the Show Me Standards last fall. The standards measure student performance based on application of concepts not simply on rote knowledge like dates and facts.

Under the Show-Me Standards, students will have to meet new education requirements in four areas: gathering and understanding information, communication, solving problems and making responsible decisions.

But Carnahan insisted the standards aren't anchored in Outcomes Based Education ideas. They are only recommendations from the state.

"You've got a board to decide how to use them and what will be judged," he said.

State Rep. Joe Heckemeyer agreed: "The standards were made by teachers, administrators and people like you and I. They are not dictatorial mandates from the state."

Carnahan's programs and dedication to education "truly make him the first education Governor of Missouri," Heckemeyer said.

Even under changes in SB 380, the Scott City district had local control over how money was spent. "We've had freedom and flexibility, it's not just about changes in technology," said Superintendent Doug Berry.