Columnist Bill Hanlon: Take politics out of all decisions concerning education

Bill Hanlon

Saturday, May 2, 1998 | 8:52 a.m.

BILL HANLON is a school district administrator and a member of the State Board of Education. He can be reached on the Internet at bhanlon@ accessnv.com.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE turning in the same paper to three different experts and receiving three completely different grades for your work? That's exactly what is happening when states have their educational standards graded by national experts.

Education Week did an analysis of the three major reviewers of state educational standards and found disparities in the way those standards were rated. More than half the states' marks in mathematics differed by two letter grades for the same standards across the three reports.

The report cited Michigan as an example of the problems with identifying more rigorous academic standards by the three Washington, D.C.-based groups, Michigan earned a C from the American Federation of Teachers for its standards. The Council for Basic Education gave the same standards a B plus, while the Fordham Foundation gave them an F.

Another example, New Jersey's standards in mathematics received a grade of D from the teachers federation, an A from the council and a C from Fordham. What does that mean? These inconsistencies are causing a great deal of confusion and allowing politics to play too great a role in education.

Nevada's newly created Council to Establish Academic Standards contracted the council for $130,000 to help write academic standards over the next two years. However, as I said last week, the council has requested an additional $80,000. The council has been criticized because it seems to support early use of calculators and de-emphasizes memorization and mastery of basic arithmetic facts and procedures.

As state legislatures have implemented educational reforms in about 35 states, they also have turned to outside consultants to create more rigorous academic standards. That -- without knowing who they are getting, along with condemning state educational agencies for weak standards and paying hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars to outsiders -- may begin to seem like political nonsense.

Politicizing education is a reality in Nevada. Charter schools are a Republican initiative, while Democrats have fought against increasing teacher licensure standards. We all know class-size reduction was made a partisan issue, as was whole language vs. phonics and the memorization of the basic arithmetic facts. Under these circumstances, sound bites take precedence over what is good for students.

Right now, if someone were to ask about the strength of Nevada's academic standards, the answer would really depend on who you talk to.

The nation's governors are playing a dangerous game by politicizing education. In the New Jersey race for governor, the incumbent embraced one report card, the challenger cited another. Let's just say that can be confusing for the citizens and will probably result in less support of public education. After all, if the national experts cannot agree on what constitutes strong academic standards in the core curriculum, how will the average guy?

The Nevada Legislature established an elected, nonpartisan State Board of Education to avoid this situation. The idea was simple: Take the politics out of such an important arena and debate issues openly and intelligently.

Although it went against the national trend, it was state board members who demanded that phonics, grammar, spelling, vocabulary and basic math facts be put in the state course of study. These issues need to be discussed openly and void of partisan politics.

With about half the state budget going to public education, our legislators should be concerned about education. But the importance of education to the success of an individual, a community, state and nation might suggest that politicizing it is counterproductive.

Educational policy, as well as academic standards, should be determined on the merit of the issues -- not on whether you are a Democrat or Republican and certainly not on an evening sound bite. The issues are tough enough to address without partisan politics. If we are to improve public education, then issues, not party affiliation, must be focus of the debate.