Governor targets education during state address Tuesday
Incompetence will no longer be a byproduct of Utah schools if Gov. Michael Leavitt has his way.
Leavitt addressed problems with the education system, as well as the creation of new jobs throughout Utah, in his annual State of the State Address on Tuesday night.
The governor introduced a new phrase to Utah residents: “competency standard,” which he said is a big deal.
“Two weeks ago, the state school board announced that they plan to adopt a competency standard for high school graduation in Utah,” he said. “If you’re a student, this is going to affect your life. If you’re a parent with a child in school, you need to know about this.
“If you’re an employer who may hire a Utah student, you will want to know the term “competency standard,” the governor said.
Leavitt illustrated the problem with Utah’s education system with anecdotal evidence:
“A friend of mine made an observation that illustrates why this is such a landmark. He pointed out to me that in life you get what you value. He said, ‘If my child misses first period at school, within an hour I get a call. But it’s six weeks before we find out that he failed a test.’
“Why? Because funding for the school is based on attendance, and it’s no surprise that we get 95 percent attendance, because that is what we value.”
Leavitt said students are receiving a message that attendance is mandatory but learning is optional.
Utah schools currently operate under a 100-year-old system called the Carnegie credit system.
“The whole system is based on the measurement of time,” he said. “It organizes schools like a factory.”
Leavitt explained that under the Carnegie system, when a student has spent about 120 hours studying a particular subject, he is issued a credit by the school. When a student has 24 Carnegie credits, he can trade that for a high school diploma.
“Some would say, ‘yes, but the student has to pass the class to get the credit,’ but what’s the standard of competence to receive the credit? It’s a D-,” he said. “That is no standard; that’s a disservice.”
The governor said the state has become so accustomed to the clock in education that it isn’t seen as a problem anymore.
“What parent isn’t bothered that textbooks are turned in days before the end of the school year?” Leavitt asked. “To parents, it feels like misplaced priorities; to high school seniors, it’s a free ride.
“If they pass their classes with a D- or better in the first three years, they have nearly all the credits they need to graduate, and they waste their senior year,” Leavitt said. “Our current system doesn’t just allow it; it enables it.”
The education system will need more than just tinkering, he said. Utah needs a new system entirely.
The governor compared what would need to happen for an educational overhaul to be successful to Europe converting its monetary units to the euro.
“It began with a well-framed idea and progressed to a vision slowly refined and implemented,” he said. “It was controversial and in many ways disruptive, but it has changed Europe in a historic way.
“For our schools, changing to a competency-measured system is just as significant as changing the monetary system in Europe. It will transform the schools, because it changes the value system.”
Leavitt said the state school board could be ready to act on this overhaul by next fall. He also proposed a meeting of faculty, administrators and parents to assist in learning more about the plans.
“I invite you to join with me this summer in organizing a summit meeting where leaders of every school district and educational governing body can join with parents and academics to discuss and learn together how to implement this vision,” he said.
See Friday’s Statesman for more information on Leavitt’s plan, as well as possible impacts to Utah higher-education funding.
–str@cc.usu.edu