MISSOURI WATCH: ENEMY SIGHTED: LOOKS FAMILIAR

Despite numerous attempts over the years to achieve success, most Missourians agree -that school reform measures have not succeeded in finding the answer to poor student achievement. Even as you read this, legislators in Jefferson City debate the efficacy of several proposals claiming educational progress, and this session's agenda is filled with plans, proposals and reforms on this most critical subject.

Not surprisingly, the answer most often supplied by our elected officials is more revenue to local schools. Indeed, this is often the measuring stick used to compare Missouri's public school program with those in other states. Do we rank 48th or do we rank 24th? The answer to the question is believed to hold the truth about what Johnny and Janie are learning in their classrooms.

Educational reform, coupled with its ancillary solution of increased funding, may never provide the answer of why Johnny and Janie's peers do so badly in statewide testing. Not that new methodology and adequate funding are not important. They are. But do these two components really determine the quality of learning for all the Johnnys and Janies in the state? Not if this statement from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education means what we think it means: "The overall results (of statewide testing) this year (1996), for all students combined, show little or no change in any of the subjects or grade levels tested." Well, at least our state school experts are honest.

"Little or no change" means that all the claims that have been made about school reform, increased funding for the school foundation program and other bells and whistles added to curriculum enhancements have proved to be of little value to the overall goal of making Johnny and Janie smarter and better equipped to face their future.

Does this mean Missouri's public education system is doomed to mediocrity and little or no change? It means exactly that if we insist in only looking for answers in what schools do -- and don't do -- and ignore the part that students and their attitudes and values play in the equation.

It is not unusual, however, the hear voices being raised that nothing is wrong with public education in Missouri. Then are the declining scores noted above simply myths? Well, answers the rose-colored glasses crowd, the problem is mainly to be found among poor minority students. This leads to another false answer: more and more programs designed to improve the minds of the educational failures. Which, by the way, also doesn't work, at least if test scores are any indication.

Frankly, this blame-placing is misplaced. The reality is that SAT scores have been dropping for everyone, not just poor, minority kids, and NAEP scores remain flat. Furthermore, scandalously few students achieve top NAEP levels, which are not very demanding -- including middle class students who are supposed to be doing just fine. Comparisons of even Missouri's very best students with those in other nations are discouraging.

There is every reason to believe that the widely held view that poor student achievement is chiefly, or even entirely, the fault of the schools is wrong. A few widely respected observers of U.S. education are beginning to note a pervasive attitude among students to do the minimum necessary to get by. Not only is there little room in most schools for the academically oriented, there is substantial peer pressure on students to underachieve. Students are beginning to admit they are afraid to try to do a good job in school for fear of what their friends will think. It's called peer pressure, folks.

Academic achievement appears to be so little valued that when asked in a recent national test which crowd they would like to be part of, many more students chose the "druggies" (one in six) than the "brains" (one in 10). Even the brains didn't think much of their position: half wished they were in a different crowd. As a result, many students said they go to school to hang out with their friends and don't take either school or their studies seriously.

Homework? Forget it. American students spend four hours per week on it. Compare this with four hours per day by students in other industrialized countries. Half of the U.S. students questioned said they don't bother with homework assignments at all. Few read for pleasure, but two-thirds have after-school jobs involving more than 15 hours a week. To compensate, many said they take easier classes; others admitted being so tired that they were unable to do their schoolwork.

As far as students can see, their attitudes toward academic achievement are right in line with those of the adult world. Students believe that their parents are largely indifferent to how well their children do in school. And they can't help but get that message from most colleges and employers.

Are schools blameless? Of course not. But as most studies make clear, it is absurd and dangerous to hold the schools entirely responsible. As long as we do, we will be unable to see the problem clearly---or find the remedies that have eluded us. The fact is it makes little difference how we teach our children if they are unwilling to learn. We can dress them up in uniforms or send them to special schools but if they have no incentive to learn, these reforms will be no more effective than the ones in the past or those now being promoted.

Missourians are spending $3.5 billion annually on K-12 education. The question is not whether we are getting our money's worth (we aren't) nor how much more we are willing to spend. The question is whether we will assess our efforts from a different perspective and attack problems that remain out of view because we purposefully ignore or fail to address them. If we choose to disregard this reality, test scores will continue to be as calamitous as they are now. The enemy looks familiar!

~Jack Stapleton of Kennett is the editor of Missouri News and Editorial Service.