The following is the text of a speech given by CRCSD Superintendent Lew Finch to the Rotary Club. I am disturbed by the misinformation in this speech, and my comments accompany the text in red.  Dr. Finch's comments are in black.

Kendall Myers

• 25% of the state's population resides in 4 counties, Dallas, Johnson, Linn and Polk
• In 1950, there were 4,652 school districts in Iowa – today there are 371
  1. 27% of the Iowa students are enrolled in eight of these school districts
  2. 70% of the minority students are enrolled in these eight school districts

   Minority status is only weakly related to achievement. The major predictor of achievement is socioeconomic status, NOT race or ethnicity. While there is an association between race and socioeconomic status, the emphasis should be on SES. Cedar Rapids does NOT have a disproportionate number of low SES students. In fact, compared to the rest of the state, and the rest of the Urban Network, Cedar Rapids has a LOWER proportion of low SES students. Here is a comparison of percent of low SES students Cedar Rapids to the other seven districts in the Urban Network:

The percent of students receiving free and reduced lunch has been quite stable over the past 10 years.

How does Cedar Rapids compare to these school districts on standardized test scores? Unfortunately, we don't have that information. This is one of the strengths of the NCLB Act; all districts will have to report scores in a way that makes it easy to make comparisons. And these comparisons are entirely valid, IF we also have data about variables such as SES, number of students taking the test, etc. Reporting these variables will also be required by NCLB.

• From 1985 to 2002, the number of English Language Learner students in Iowa increased more than 300%.
  • In the CR metro area, we now serve students from 22 countries, 5 continents, with 21 languages.

  Let's be clear about the actual numbers here. For example: Out of 1361 fourth graders in the district, we have a whopping total of 14 English Language Learners, just over 1% of the total. This translates to approximately 1 fourth grade ELL student per every 1.5 schools. While they undoubtedly require additional services, this is not what I would call a huge burden. Out of 1319 fourth graders taking the ITBS, 5 were ELL. This is a red herring.

   

America's high school graduation rate, when considering the student's who fulfill the requirements though GED, night school, etc. is about 85%, and is among the best in the world.

1. The public schools can hardly take credit for students that go to night school or take the GED.

2.The reality: only 74 percent of students of the typical age of high school graduation in the United States finished high school in 2000, while 97 percent did in Hungary and 94 percent did in Japan.  Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Sweden all graduated higher proportions of their high-school-age students than did the United States.

The much-publicized decline in SAT scores misrepresents the true story. The decline arises from the fact that more students in the bottom half of the class are taking the SAT today than in years past.

Nearly 60% of today's youth attempt post-secondary studies, and eventually, one in four will obtain at least a bachelor's degree. These rates are highest in the world.

Real increases in K12 "regular education" expenditures have been modest; most of the increased cost of public school education over the past 20 years has been in special education.

Very few companies point to inadequate academic preparation of new employees but rather cite the absence of such social skills as punctuality and personal appearance.

There is indisputable evidence that Iowa's public schools remain among the very best in the nation.

Is Dr. Finch taking credit for Iowa schools? Cedar Rapids did not fare well in comparison to the rest of the state on the ITBS.

• We are serving a greater proportion of the student population that at any time in the history of the state.

In fact, it can justly be claimed that public schools throughout the U.S. and Iowa are as good or better than at any time in the history of the country.

Based on what objective criteria?

While this may be good news that goes relatively unreported, take heed:

Never mind that the U.S. Constitution fails to mention education, or

-that less than 5% of the funding for public K-12 education is provided by the Federal government, or

-that the Federal government is notorious for imposing mandates with little or no accompanying funding.

"I'm here from Washington, DC and to help you!" carries an ominous ring.

The "No Child Left Behind" Act is a political term assigned to the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

It arrives as a beautiful package, wrapped in the compelling concept of leaving no child behind, a concept that every public school district in America can readily support.

However, once the package is opened, we find the NCLB Act to be the most onerous, prescriptive Federal intrusion into America's classrooms in the history of public education.

Necessary because schools have historically been wholly unresponsive to the desires of parents and the community.

Most disconcerting are the limited definition of learning and the punitive nature of the Act.

We can ill-afford high school graduates that are simply drones, capable only of regurgitating what has been forced into them for 13 years.

        Since when does educating children to higher standards turn them into drones?

Rather, we need graduates who are well grounded in the basic skills, but who are able to apply and transfer knowledge to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world, who have good decision-making skills, who are problem solvers, and, yes, who appreciate the beauty of the arts.

Of course we do. But what makes Dr. Finch believe we are doing that now? In order to problem solve and make decisions, students need a broad foundation of content knowledge, sadly lacking in today's public school system. This hostility to content is one of the fundamental problems in public education. Without the building blocks students can’t make informed decisions, solve problems or apply and transfer knowledge.

And if we fall short in these areas, but could assure that every graduate leaves our schools instilled with a burning desire to learn, and a commitment to lifelong learning, we will have been successful.

No, we are not successful if a graduate wants to learn but is unable because the school failed to teach him to read.  And just how do we measure this? How will we know if we are successful? Wouldn't it be better to give them a solid knowledge base to build upon?

In short, folks, we must embrace the concept of "No Child Left Behind" by retaining the high expectations for student learning for which we Iowans are justly proud.

High expectations for learning? Let's take a look at the Cedar Rapids standards (using math as an example) for third grade and compare them to California's (far superior) standards. (See table at the end of the document) Notice the CRCSD standards emphasis on the ambiguous terms "strategies" "explore" and "describe". (In fact, the very first "strategy" they suggest children use to solve a math problem is to "guess". No wonder the kids aren’t able to compute!) Compare them to California’s very explicit and measurable standards, which expect the children to solve problems, learn facts to automaticity, and develop mastery.

The CRCSD has two major student achievement goals:

1. For every student to demonstrate a minimum of one-year of growth every year (growth is our value added)

2. To close the achievement gap, i.e., close the gap between the current level of achievement, and where the student's achievement should be.

These two goals are representative of the goals of most public school districts.

Given:

• the increasing diversity of our student population,
• the realization that the level of achievement necessary to be proficient continues to rise, (Not true) and
• the fact that we turn no student away,

leaves us with a most daunting challenge.

Unlike a good deal of the political rhetoric that we've heard over the last couple of months, Superintendents and board members are unable to promise the excellence in education that we all desire, and simultaneously reduce your taxes. The two are simply incompatible. Financial resources are required.

At times, we must have the courage to speak out on such issues, even when the message may be less than popular.

Although in good conscience Superintendents and board members cannot promise to lower taxes, we can assure you that we will be very judicious in the use of the resources available to us, and that we should be held accountable for how the resources are used.

In addition to funding, a commitment on the part of boards of education and school district staff to continual improvement is a must, and that means change. We, and the entire community, may very well have to challenge some long held beliefs.

Generally regarded as the single most important skill to be learned by students.

But what often is not as well acknowledged is that reading:

• is one of the most complex of skills to be learned, and
• children will learn to read at differing rates and with a variety of instructional modes

Beware of those who would declare that all children should be reading at grade level by the 3^rd grade, or even the 4^th grade.

The percent of students who qualify for free or reduced price lunch ranges from 4% to 82% among the CR metro area schools, and folks, poverty has a profound influence on the readiness skills with which children come to school.

However, poverty must not be used by our schools as an excuse for low performance, but it must be recognized and properly addressed.

It is important to recognize poverty, but it is something over which the schools have no control.  Instead of the constant blaming of lack of achievement on poverty, the schools must shift to concentrating on that which they can control, namely, teaching methods that have been shown to work, curricular choices, and concentrating on academic subject matter. 

This challenge to improve America’s schools can be met, and when this happens, it will be in Iowa and particularly the greater CR area.

Here's what we have going for us:

Cooperation and mutual support are common

• Metro school district cooperation
• Community/business partnerships

• CR Area Chamber
• Learning Alliance

Other than parenting or the ministry, serving in the public schools of America is the greatest calling one can accept.

Dedicated public school teachers, principals and support staff literally perform miracles every day in our schools as they work with our most valued and precious of resources, our children.

We are fortunate to have excellent, dedicated teachers. Let's allow them to do their job to their fullest potential by giving them appropriate curricula and high content standards.

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