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Federal program will demand performance at the local level

Nearly everyone has heard about Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS), which former State School Superintendent, Lisa Graham Keegan, implemented several years ago. It is considered by many to be the most difficult and demanding set of state standards in the entire nation.

This is evidenced by the fact that over 80 percent of Arizona students were unable to successfully complete all three components of the test. Curiously, many of the same students who failed the AIMS, scored very well on other assessments such as traditional high school final exams, nationally based achievement tests, and college entrance exams.

After several years of dismal results, it appears that most of the public officials who supported the so-called “high stakes” testing, have finally succumbed to certain realities. As educators and members of the public have been saying from the beginning, high academic standards are vital to a good educational system, but requiring 100 percent of our students to master the equivalent of college level coursework in order to earn a high school diploma is unrealistic.

Considering that recent reports indicate Arizona still ranks dead last among the 50 states in per pupil expenditures for education, the position is even more nonsensical. Expecting teachers and parents to produce the best educated children in the nation with the lowest level of financial support is like telling an auto manufacturer to fabricate a Roles Royce with the same money it takes to make a Volkswagen.

Conversely, imagine the public outcry if Arizona had the highest paid teachers in the country but ranked at the bottom among all states in student academic performance.

Our new Arizona Superintendent of Schools, Jaime Molera, appears to be taking a more balanced approach. He is advocating that we continue to adhere to high standards, but we will offer students several options to demonstrate mastery.

Among the proposed alternatives will be satisfactory completion of a revised version of the AIMS. In addition, each school district will be invited to develop their own testing instruments to assess mastery of the standards.

It is proposed that these district-sponsored tests must first be approved by the Department of Education and must cover the content contained in the state standards. Although they will remain very challenging, the students will be able to take them in separate sections at more frequent intervals. This approach will better enable the students to demonstrate what they remember instead of what they have forgotten. In addition, projects and portfolios may be used to evidence mastery of certain standards.

Simply stated, the AIMS may change but is unlikely to go away. Despite the fact that the impact of AIMS will be felt most strongly at the high school level, it is imperative that we take action in the earliest grades. Fortunately, at the federal level, President Bush has announced plans to implement the “Leave No Child Behind,” initiative. This concept is targeted at improving the performance of students in the elementary grades.

Consistent with virtually all state or federal educational proposals, it is heavily embedded in accountability measures and demands for better performance. However, it differs from most in that it actually contains significant funding to help schools attain their goals.

Currently, public schools receive roughly two thirds of the total projected federal funding. In our district, virtually all of this money is committed to hiring classroom aides and reading specialists. In spite of their dedicated efforts, our school district is among the vast majority of schools nationwide that fail to meet all facets of the federally mandated performance objectives. In fact, according to Coconino County School Superintendent Cecilia Owen, the Grand Canyon School District is the only district in our county to meet the federal requirements at all grade levels.

Since assuming the position, Ms. Owen has tirelessly pursued ways in which she can provide assistance to her constituent districts that are above and beyond the traditional duties of her office. Perhaps most notably, it was through her efforts to develop a rather complex formula to distribute forest fee revenue that our community was able to secure a fair share.


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