The Truth About Education cont.
Sowell’s book is important because it offers a reliable guide in
deciphering through the thicket of rhetoric in the area of “education
reform”. The latest silent epidemic to afflict the consciousness
of social commentators and political agitators is the high school
dropout rate in the US. A recent study by the respected research
institution, The Urban Institute, estimates that less than 70 percent of
high school seniors are graduating on time. The graduation rate
for minority kids is an abysmal 50 percent and for young black men a
shocking figure of 42 percent.
Despite economic mobility and income gains by black American households,
the academic performance gap between white and black students continue
to widen not shrink. The landmark legislation No Child Left Behind
(NCLB) has implemented much needed accountability but the promises of
improved student performance appear to be a fleeting goal. AME
Church-supported institutions of higher education no longer attract high
achieving black high school students. In fact, few of our AME
leaders have their own children enrolled in AME colleges. When
compared with their international counterparts, US students in grades
8-12 are pulling up the rear end among industrialized nations as
measured by competencies in mathematics, English, geography, history and
science. In short, we seems to be running real fast but oddly not
making much progress in our forward pursuits of educational excellence.
This stagnation in educational performance is shaping and defining the
platforms for the three leading 2008 Presidential contenders.
Obama, Clinton and McCain have each argued, in one form or another that
our educational underachievement is due to inadequate resources.
However, is a dearth of money the primary reason for why US students and
minority students in particular, are underperforming? For example,
in Tallahassee, Florida, Nims Middle School has the highest per pupil
expenditure for all middle schools in Leon County yet their performance
last year resulted in the school receiving an “F” grade by state
officials. In contrast, a relatively resource-poor state like
South Dakota ranks at the bottom of per pupil expenditure yet their
students are some of highest achieving students as measured on national
performance tests.
As Professor Sowell observes, our obsession with reforming education is
based on the fallacy that more money for schools and teacher salaries
are the causal links for higher student academic performance. The
results (facts) unfortunately are incompatible with the fairy-tale
diagnoses. If the degree of causality between money and student
performance is not as strong as the superstitious practitioners would
lead us to believe, what then are our alternatives?
An interesting economic experiment by the gifted Harvard University
economist Roland Fryer is showing how economic incentives can directly
impact student performance. Fryer’s study uses the carrot approach
by offering low performing students in urban school districts with cash,
conditional on their ability to receive As and Bs. Yes, that’s not
a misprint. Students who get As and Bs are financially rewarded.
Those who do not get good grades do not get paid. The Fryer
experiment, financed by private grants, is nothing more than a variation
of what some parents (including this author) do now when they reward
their children for excellence. What makes the Fryer experiment
interesting is that the incentives go directly to the student who in
turns responds positively as economic theory would predict. This
is a fact-based not fallacies-induced outcome.
Professor Fryer’s intriguing economic experiment addresses the role of
positive incentives on academic outcomes. However, he
doesn’t go far enough. Equal consideration should be given to
parents of failing students to pay a special tax for the negative
externality created by their kids’ non-commitment to educational
excellence. Parents of low performing students who fail to attend
teacher meetings should be publicly displayed in this newspaper like
individuals described in the Crime Stoppers section. The AME
Church should be encouraging more success stories like Rev. Earl Harris’
Richard Allen Academies in Dayton, Ohio. The academic rigor and
creative educational programs implemented by Harris’ private-run schools
has resulted in his grade school students ranking at the top of Ohio’s
student learning performance index. At this critical point in our
history we need more private-run AME-supported secondary schools, longer
school days, year-long sessions (one month only for summer school),
elimination of free breakfast and MORE not less national testing as
required under NCLB. Many educational reformists will likely
reject the above economic proposals as preposterous and untenable.
Given America’s diminishing influence as a global leader our choice is
clear: Either we make bold, fundamental reforms or we accept the
inevitable outcome of our students not being able to compete in a global
market. That is fact, not fiction.
Bill Dickens
Economist
dickensb@comcast.net