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To fully appreciate the GOALS 2000 approach to education, it helps to examine two states that launched similar efforts prior to the 1994 act. In both Maryland and Kentucky--after six years of sustained effort and commitment to high standards--students are showing achievement gains.
In 1990, the Kentucky State Legislature passed the comprehensive Kentucky Education Reform Act. A central feature of the act is high academic standards for all students.
Accountability. State assessments tied to high standards have been in place since 1992. Every year, schools are held accountable for student learning through a school performance reporting system that includes rewards for outstanding schools and interventions for low-performing ones--ranging from technical assistance to state takeover. At the same time, schools have been given greater autonomy and authority to manage themselves through school-based decision-making councils that include teachers, parents and community members.
Financial Equity. A new financing system brought greater equity across districts. Teachers now get more training to teach to high standards, and schools have better access to educational technology in their classrooms. Also, more students enter school ready to learn due to expanded preschool programs, family resource centers, and extended school services for those who need additional support to achieve high standards.
GOALS 2000 Helps. Kentucky has targeted its GOALS 2000 funds toward accelerating local reforms, with a particular emphasis on strengthening parent involvement in schools through, for example, homework hotlines, alternatives to on-site school visits such as "video visits," and training for teachers in utilizing parents as instructional volunteers in the classroom.
Results. Comprehensive reform is beginning to pay off in Kentucky, with students showing gains in academic achievement.
Maryland also launched a comprehensive reform effort--Schools for Success--after the Charlottesville Education Summit in 1989. The cornerstone of Maryland's reform effort is its accountability system, which establishes high standards for student achievement and related statewide assessments of student progress toward meeting the high standards.
Accountability. More than 3,000 teachers have been involved in designing and scoring test items for grades 3, 5, and 8 as part of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP). Every year the state reports school progress along such indicators as student achievement in relation to the state's standards and school attendance and dropout rates. Low-performing schools receive interventions such as training, consultations and grants, and, if performance does not improve, they can ultimately face reconstitution which may involve changing a school's administration, staff, organization, and/or instructional program.
Curriculum Frameworks. The state has also developed curriculum frameworks designed to assist administrators and teachers in planning, developing, and implementing local curricula and assessments that help in achieving state standards. Schools are forming school improvement teams--comprising the principal, school staff, parents, and business and community members--that develop and implement school improvement plans.
GOALS 2000 Helps. Maryland chose to use GOALS 2000 money to comprehensively review and refine its Schools for Success initiative. A 54-member statewide planning panel--co-chaired by a local educator and a business partner--reviewed current school reform activities and developed strategies to fill in gaps. In particular, GOALS 2000 funds are being used for local improvement initiatives, to increase public involvement in education, accelerate the development of a high school performance assessment, and develop strategies to improve educational technology throughout the schools.
Results. Maryland reforms are also showing positive results:
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