THIS IS REFORM?

Senate Bill 380 -- the Outstanding Schools Act -- promised sweeping school reforms in Missouri. Those reforms are being crystallized at the local level as each district devises its own set of school standards patterned after state guidelines.

After all the rhetoric, posturing and a whopping $300 million-plus tax increase, it is local school districts that the so-called reforms sift down to educating our children. It is here the ambiguous nature of these new performance standards becomes crystal clear.

A 40-member committee and dozens of local teachers have developed a set of local standards for the Cape Girardeau public schools. Now the public's input is being sought.

Some educators think the standards offer a clear picture of what to expect from students. But that seems improbable considering the vague and bureaucratic nature of these standards.

Students are expected to "demonstrate within and integrate across all content areas the ability to:"

-- Discover and evaluate patterns and relationships in information, ideas and structures.

-- Apply acquired information, ideas and skills to different contexts as students, workers and consumers.

-- Develop improved listening skills by emphasizing interpretation of information.

-- Reason inductively from a set of specific facts and deductively from general premises.

These are just a few of a long list of educational mumbo jumbo that takes a lot of words to say very little.

These standards will add considerable paperwork for teachers without ensuring enhanced instruction. And such vague standards open the door to outcomes-based education.

The Cape Girardeau Academic Standards Committee revised several of the Show-Me Standards adopted by the State Board of Education and added some additional standards. But they still must work within the flawed statewide framework.

Parents and taxpayers should examine proposed school standards and relay their feelings to local boards of education. Copies of the draft of Cape Girardeau standards are available at the school board office, 61 N. Clark. The performance committee will next gather the third week in March to discuss comments made and to see what changes are needed. The committee plans to present the standards to the Cape Girardeau Board of Education in April.

These ambiguous performance standards will be difficult for teachers to judge. Show Me Standards won't ensure what Missourians want most: better educated students, well-grounded in the basics and well-prepared for a changing world.