Changes on the way
"There may be some changes that we need to make to our program to comply with it, but it’s doable," said Franklin education professor Beth Moore.
She also said that all schools, not just low performing schools, should be held accountable.
"I think accountability in any business, any profession, is very important not only in low performing schools, it should be in every school," Moore said. "Accountability is key."
Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, speaking at a media day for college reporters, discussed the decision to cut the previously untouchable education budget. These cuts spell change for the future of the teaching field.
"It was our last area of all of state government to be cut," Skillman said. "When we had such a revenue shortfall, there was nowhere else to go."
In order to combat the funding cuts for education, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett entered Indiana in the Race to the Top competition for federal education dollars. These grants are given to states as a reward for their success in education.
Indiana’s plan for Race to the Top is called Indiana Fast Forward. The Fast Forward program ensures that standards are met throughout Indiana to make sure the state is eligible to apply for Race to the Top dollars.
"We are going after money that’s available at the federal level that only states that have high-performing schools can go after," Skillman said.
One of the standards is the idea of providing incentives for good teachers to work at low-performing schools. The idea of using student achievement growth to measure teachers’ and schools’ effectiveness is another concept that is being brought up, as are the requirements and standards for education licensing and accountability for low performing schools.
"That’s just a number of ways that we continue to work on student achievement, [and] raising our state up so that our students can be competitive around the globe," said Skillman after sharing the new standards.
Moore said that reform and change can be good, and that the leadership within state government has done a good job, for the most part, of listening to the people’s recommendations.
She said that incentives for good teachers to work at low-performing schools need to be well thought out before it is implemented. She said that in some instances, a low-performing school is low performing not just because of the teachers, but because of the group effort of parents, administration and teachers working together in an inefficient way.
When it comes to measuring teacher and school academic improvements by student achievement, Moore said that there are too many factors that teachers simply cannot control.
"To judge me as a teacher based upon test scores, I have a problem with that," Moore said. "I think it’s because…you can’t control the students that you get, or when they enter your classroom where they are because they are going to be at all different levels."
As these changes in education take effect, Skillman said that college students need to take an interest in state government not only for education but for all new legislation.
"What happens here in this building (the Indiana Statehouse) is going to affect your daily lives much more so than what happens at Congress," Skillman said. "It’s part of being a proactive citizen. I mean you’re old enough to vote so you should have the desire to know what the policy makers are doing and how that’s going to affect your lives."
While funding for public education drops, reform in public schools is on the rise. These changes have the potential to affect education majors beginning with their course of study and licensing process. The changes, also known as REPA (Revisions for Educator Preparation and Accountability), could change Franklin College education standards depending on the final form of the requirements at the state level.
