Face the State

State brought end to "social promotion," loosened rules for teacher licensure
Face The State Staff Report

The latest national test scores suggest a path of education policy for Colorado to follow, a leading researcher in the field has observed.

According to Dr. Matthew Ladner, vice president of research for the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute for Public Policy, Florida’s tremendous gains on reading and math assessments are a result of the state’s uniquely comprehensive reforms during former Gov. Jeb Bush's tenure. Most significant are the Sunshine State’s improved results among poor and minority students.

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Government-gathered data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that Florida has outpaced Colorado and the national average in nearly every measure of math and reading proficiency. NAEP scores are widely accepted as the most reliable comparisons of academic achievement among states and over time.

Ladner says the effects of Bush’s education reforms best can be seen by using 1998 as the benchmark year, just before the programs began to be implemented. Though well behind in the 1998 reading scores, Florida’s low-income fourth-graders since have moved past their Colorado and national peers.

Florida’s rate of fourth grade students statewide who fail to reach basic NAEP reading proficiency has dropped by more than a third in the past decade. Colorado has shown only slight gains, its progress lagging the national average.

Nearly half of Florida’s students are poor enough to qualify for the federal government's subsidized lunch program, compared to about a third in Colorado. Nevertheless, the two states’ overall fourth grade reading scores are now even.

“Fourth grade reading is the keystone to everything, because of all the research we have on literacy,” Ladner said. “If you’re at the end of the fourth grade and can’t read, you are in trouble. You tend to fall further and further behind grade level.”

During his eight years in office, former Gov. Bush made a hallmark of promoting deep and broad-based education reforms.

Most notably, Bush led the charge to create and expand school choice. Today, Florida has the most generous program for funding private tuition scholarships through corporate tax credit donations. The state’s McKay Scholarship program for special-needs students is by far the largest and most successful of its kind. And Florida has one of only eight state charter school laws to receive an A rating from the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Education Reform.

Ladner says one of the keys to Florida’s tremendous NAEP progress likely stems from enforcing accountability to promote choice. The A-Plus Accountability Act, which passed early under Bush’s watch, has the strictest consequences for underperforming public schools of any state.

“If you fail, your kids are eligible for vouchers,” said Ladner.

Pam Benigno, director of education policy at the Independence Institute, says credit also should be given to Bush’s instructional reforms.

“Accountability and choice may be important factors in Florida’s increase in student achievement, but so may Jeb Bush’s establishment of The Florida Center for Reading Research,” Benigno said.

Founded in 2002, FCRR has brought a widespread emphasis to scientifically-proven reading instruction through technical assistance to the state’s schools and education department.

Benigno highlighted disturbing 2005 research by Dr. Jeannette Cornier that found many Colorado public school teachers lack basic understanding of English language structures needed to help students learn to read.

“Colorado has a great need for effective teacher training in reading instruction,” said Benigno.

Ladner believes instructional and choice reforms are not exclusive and can be combined effectively.

“We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he said.

Other successful Florida reforms include loosening of teacher certification requirements and the end of social promotion for third-graders who lack basic skills.

Ladner is finalizing a report, scheduled to be released this spring, that will analyze the success of Bush's education policies. He believes the Florida experience offers some key lessons to other states.

“They’re the ones who have done it right, and they have the results to show for it,” Ladner said. “They did accountability right, and they did parental choice right.”