POLITICAL ISSUE #402: FALLING EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS

PRESENT CONDITION: Basic educational achievement levels in terms of literacy, math skills and basic knowledge are falling.

DIRECTION OF IMPROVEMENT: Basic educational achievement levels should be increasing.

ISSUE JUSTIFICATION: The increasing mechanization of modern society is both creating a more prosperous society with more opportunities for intellectually stimulating careers and at the same time eliminating many of the menial tasks in society that formerly employed less educated individuals. This two edged sword of automation requires a higher level of educational achievement to fully participate in modern society. This means both a higher level of fundamental educational skills and competence in many more new skills.

AUTHOR: UWSA SANTA CLARA CO EMAIL:humphrey@aimnet.com

OPTIONS FOR ISSUE # 402: FALLING EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS

REVIEW PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS ISSUE

REVIEW CURRENT VOTING RESULTS ON THIS ISSUE

COMMENT ON THIS ISSUE YOURSELF

VOTE ON THIS ISSUE

RETURN TO THIS ISSUE/SOLUTION MENU

CHOOSE ANOTHER CATEGORY 400 ISSUE

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The United States will offer a publicly funded, but privately run system of secondary education with equal expenditures for all students. Participating schools must not discriminate on the basis of race, creed or sex in their admissions programs. However schools may have ability based admissions and offer special programs oriented towards different segments of the student population. These admissions standards shall be publically documented and open to public review. Public funding will be based on student enrollment and each participating school must agree to accept said public funding as payment in full for all educational services provided. Schools will administer a state provided standard test annually to all students. A public agency will annually rate each school in key academic areas and publish the standard test results by school and grade. However parents shall be totally free to send their students to the schools of their choice.

JUSTIFICATION: The monopoly of large publicly run secondary education has prevented students and parents from exercising their voices as educational consumers. The result has been a lowest common denominator of mediocrity with seniority based teaching, minimal educational innovation, breakdown of discipline in the classrooms and degrees that are simply attendance certificates. Socialism doesn't work in industry and it doesn't work in education either. As a society we must fund equal educational opportunities for all students, but we must let the private sector competitively deliver those services.

AUTHOR: UWSA SANTA CLARA CO EMAIL:humphrey@aimnet.com

OPTIONS FOR SOLUTION # 402.1 "PAYMENT IN FULL VOUCHER" PUBLIC CHOICE EDUCATION"

REVIEW PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS SOLUTION

REVIEW CURRENT VOTING RESULTS ON THIS SOLUTION

COMMENT ON THIS SOLUTION YOURSELF

VOTE ON THIS SOLUTION

RETURN TO THIS ISSUE/SOLUTION MENU

PROPOSE AN AMENDMENT TO THIS SOLUTION

---

SOLUTION DEFINITION STATEMENT
FOR
SOLUTION # 402.2 NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TESTS

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The United States shall prepare national achievement tests for secondary education in both verbal and math skills at three grade levels to measure achievement for elementary, junior high school and high school graduation. These tests shall be administered to all students in grades 6, 9 and 12 respectively. The individual results shall be kept in a confidential file by each state board of education, the averaged results shall be published by school. Individual states may set their own standards for graduation. Individuals may retake these tests after graduation and the results of these retests shall be added to their records. Employers may set minimum test scores as criteria for different positions, but these employment criteria must be a public record. Employers can require that prospective employees instruct their state education office to verify that tests scores meet those standards.

JUSTIFICATION: The decline in educational standards is due in part to the decline in concrete benefits for educational achievement. Requiring a national standard test forces schools and school districts to address substandard performance. Requiring students to carry their test scores into the workplace provides an incentive for educational achievement.

AUTHOR: UWSA SANTA CLARA CO EMAIL:humphrey@aimnet.com

OPTIONS FOR SOLUTION # 402.2 NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TESTS

REVIEW PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS SOLUTION

REVIEW CURRENT VOTING RESULTS ON THIS SOLUTION

COMMENT ON THIS SOLUTION YOURSELF

VOTE ON THIS SOLUTION

RETURN TO THIS ISSUE/SOLUTION MENU

PROPOSE AN AMENDMENT TO THIS SOLUTION

---

SOLUTION DEFINITION STATEMENT
FOR
SOLUTION # 402.3 SEPARATE PROBLEM STUDENTS

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: School districts shall establish separate schools for students with disciplinary problems. The objective of these schools shall be to both enable the majority of students to receive a good education free of disciplinary distractions from a few disruptive students and to provide special attention to students with displinary problems. The goal would be to return these students to the main school and if not to graduate them from a program that would enable them to be productive adults in society. Rather than suspend a student from school for a discipline problem, he/she would be sent to the first level of disciplinary school for a period depending on his infraction.

JUSTIFICATION: Order and a reasonable level of discipline are fundamental requirements for the educational process. Students that disrupt class, threaten other students or teachers or bring weapons or drugs to school need to be separated from other students and then worked with. Students with degraded home situations may need a Monday - Friday live-in school situation. As a society we should make this investment for the sake of both the normal and problem students early rather than invest in prisons and suffer the cost of crime later.

AUTHOR: UWSA SANTA CLARA CO EMAIL:humphrey@aimnet.com

OPTIONS FOR SOLUTION # 402.3 SEPARATE PROBLEM STUDENTS

REVIEW PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS SOLUTION

REVIEW CURRENT VOTING RESULTS ON THIS SOLUTION

COMMENT ON THIS SOLUTION YOURSELF

VOTE ON THIS SOLUTION

RETURN TO THIS ISSUE/SOLUTION MENU

PROPOSE AN AMENDMENT TO THIS SOLUTION

---