News from Raleigh

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Kay Hagan's report on Secretary of Education Riley's visit to Raleigh.

Posted February 29, 2000

I have been meeting this week in Raleigh with the Education Oversight Committee and had the good fortune to attend Secretary of Education Richard Riley's State of American Education 2000 address. It was an excellent speech, and I have provided a brief synopsis of his remarks. Look for C-Span's schedule if you want to hear the entire speech.

According to Secretary Riley, we "have an old agrarian schedule, an outdated factory model and an antiquated wage system." He outlined five guiding principles for improvement in education:

1. Have a healthy, ongoing dialogue between parents and teachers. (Note that this is a dialogue, not a one-way communication.)

2. Set challenging standards that are high but reachable by more than a few students. States must raise the bar gradually and insure that children who are struggling get the extra help they need to succeed.

3. Use quality assessment tools. We can not improve something that can't be measured. We must not "teach to the test," or we will lose quality teachers. Also, multiple assessment tools are mandatory. Looking at portfolios, essays, speeches, and other performance assessments will give us a better picture of what our students are learning than a one-time, multiple-choice test.

5. Insist on real accountability for results. We can't wait for the perfect tests before we hold schools accountable. For progress to be made each year, we must act now to reward progress and give help to struggling schools. After trying to help failing schools, states shouldn't be afraid to close failing schools.

Secretary Riley issued several challenges that states need to begin discussing:

1. Teacher Compensation - States should begin discussing making teaching a year round and better paid profession. A person with a master's degree not working in the teaching profession makes $32,000 more per year by retirement. The state of Connecticut pays the highest teacher salaries and sets the highest teacher standards. He noted that students in Connecticut lead the nation in reading, math, and writing scores.

2. Maternity Leave - Expanding maternity leave in the US would be good for children in the 21st Century.

3. Health Insurance - All children should have access to preventive medical care through Medicaid or through a program like the CHIP insurance program in North Carolina.

4. Teacher Shortage - The US will need 2 million teachers over the next 10 years. John Glenn is currently chairing a commission to address the shortage of math and science teachers and will report to Congress.

5. Minority Achievement Gap- Secretary Riley recommends universal free pre-kindergarten. Strong states are going to provide this.

6. Reading to Children - Secretary Riley noted that if parents read to their children for 30 minutes every day, it will make a powerful difference.

As I have said before, education is the most important service that our state government provides to its citizens, for it will insure our future.