Policy Update: Oregon: Rough Waters Ahead

Vital Statistics
219	Public school districts
1,222	Public schools
541,000	K-12 enrollment
15.4%	Minority students
16%	Children in poverty
11%	Students with disabilities
$3.5 billion	Annual K-12 expenditures (all revenue sources)

Students who don't earn a certificate can still receive diplomas if they've accumulated enough course credits, but the special recognition of accomplishment is expected to be valued by employers and college admissions officers.

"We have to help prepare parents and students and the public for this," says Jean Thorne, Gov. John Kitzhaber's education aide. "Dealing with the potential fallout from this is going to be a huge issue."

The failure rates are expected to decline as schools and students adjust to the rigorous standards.

Last August, the state launched a $1 million campaign to inform Oregonians about the higher expectations for students, partly in response to polls suggesting that voters still know very little about the changes occurring in schools as a result of the law passed in 1991. The measure raised academic standards, required alternative learning environments for students who do not meet the standards, expanded preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, and created a site council at every school.

It requires Oregon's school districts to provide extra help to students who don't meet the standards the first time out, and gives students several opportunities to take the tests. As a last resort, students could transfer to another school or even to another district, if both districts agreed. The requirements for certificates of initial mastery in other academic subjects will be phased in over the next four years.

advanced mastery," based on 12th grade performance standards, including such "career-related" standards as the ability to work in teams. All students also must begin to develop useful knowledge and skills in at least one career field to earn an advanced certificate. The state is now providing technical assistance to help schools devise related curricula and instruction.

But none of this will work if Oregon's teachers aren't ready for the new standards, and state education officials are seeking huge increases in spending on teacher training. The state school board has asked the governor to include about $22 million for professional development in the 1999-2001 two-year budget cycle, up from $1 million this biennium. Most of the money would be used to restore a mentoring program for beginning teachers that the legislature dropped three years ago. The money would also support a Saturday school, where teachers could receive training on the weekends, and help create a statewide cadre of master teachers who would serve as coaches.

Not everyone, though, agrees with the state board's proposal. John Marshall, the director of legislative services for the Oregon School Boards Association, says local districts should be able to decide how to spend any extra money to best meet their needs. "I think with . . . the diversity we have in the state, it would be a mistake to say that teacher training is the key, when, in some circumstances and some schools, it may not be," he says.

Gov. Kitzhaber has proposed creating a school improvement fund of approximately $200 million, with the additional money tied to results. Districts would have flexibility about how to spend the money, which would be awarded on a per-pupil basis, but it would have to go toward programs and efforts known to improve student learning. Districts would be measured on how effectively they used the funds.

The Democratic governor's emphasis on accountability is likely to be shared by the Republican-controlled legislature.

Though the new certificates have increased the pressure on Oregon's children to perform, at present there's little at stake for either educators or schools when students crack open their state tests. Under a 1997 law, the state must devise an incentive system to reward schools for student gains, but the legislature has yet to put any money behind it. Under the plan, schools could choose whether to apply for the rewards, which would be a minimum of $1,000 for each full-time teacher. Teachers could decide whether to use the money for classroom enhancements or professional training.

Lawmakers did not appropriate funding for the provision in the current biennium, but they are expected to revisit it this year. The legislature also eliminated lifetime tenure for teachers in its last session and replaced it with two-year, renewable contracts in hopes of making it easier to hold teachers accountable for performance. But observers say the change has yet to have a noticeable effect.