Giving in instead of digging in

Once upon a time, not many years ago, North Carolina had a dream. A dream shared by parents and politicians, by citizens and educators. We boldly dreamed our state would achieve excellence in public education. Not content to be average, we wanted to be in the top tier of states. Large numbers of us believed educating our youth was the most important function of state government.

We never achieved that dream, but we did make great progress and student achievement improved significantly.

Now we must acknowledge that our state no longer has that big hairy dream for being a state of excellent public education. There are some who still do, but they are no longer the majority, nor are they the people making critical decisions about public education.

The luster began waning just before the turn of the century, as student achievement improvement slowed while North Carolina’s population rapidly increased. To experiment with new approaches to public education our state allowed Charter Schools to implement new concepts and methods in 1997, allowing them to avoid regulations and oversight traditional schools had to follow. Initially, the number of charters was limited but those limits were eased, even though consistent conclusive results of their value was not known.

The recession took focus away from education and the pandemic was a major roadblock, but the real game changer took place when the political philosophy of our state changed. The prevalent attitude became more of giving in to problems rather than digging in to overcome them to achieve excellence.

There is data to support this assertion. Spending money doesn’t necessarily equate with academic excellence, but it is a strong indicator. In 1984, 43.7 percent of North Carolina’s budget was allocated to k-12 education. This has steadily declined and in the 23-25 budget it was only 39 percent…a lot of dollars. We have slipped to 48^th among the states in the amount of money we appropriate per pupil, lower than all surrounding states and $3,500 below the national average. Our state made great strides in rewarding our teachers in the 80s and 90s, even paying them close to the national average. Now we’ve dropped to 43^rd in the U.S.

Student achievement has slowed or declined. NAEP, the nation’s report card for public education says our students rank 35^th in reading scores. Only 62 percent of our 8^th grade students perform at or above the basic level for math; only 32 percent are at or above the proficient level. Our graduating high school seniors score 86 points below the national average in SAT (college entrance) test scores.

Our legislature, the leaders who make policy, laws and appropriate funding, appears to have given up on public education. Last year they passed a law reducing the number of credits high school students needed to graduate to 22. Many counties, like Wake required 26 credits; now all must comply with the new requirement.

In May, the NC House voted to reduce the number of high school math requirements. The bill’s sponsor conceded the reason was too many students are not succeeding in high school math. The traditional curriculum included three courses: Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry. Now, if a student does not pass the 8^th grade end of grade math requirement, that student will take Algebra I and, if failing it, will take “Foundations of Math 2,” instead Algebra II. Instead of Geometry, Math 3 will become a computer science course. This new math requirement doesn’t meet the minimum admission requirements for University of North Carolina System schools, so the bill would require state-supported universities to lower their admission standards.

But the greatest evidence that legislative leaders have given up on traditional k-12 education is their increasing insistence on funding vouchers for students to attend private schools, taking focus and dollars away from traditional public schools. These mostly religious private schools don’t have the same rules and regulations to follow as traditional or even charter schools and, while private schools must administer end of grade tests to students, they don’t have to report to the state test results. The majority of those receiving vouchers are middle income white students. Students of color, from lower income families or with special needs don’t seem to matter.

North Carolina has abandoned its long-held quest for excellence in education and is now content to dumb down and give up on that dream.

What does this say about our state’s future? What does it say about our future workforce? Are we no longer a state willing to take big challenges like RTP, the Biotechnology Center or other big advancements. And how will this education strategy play out in our search for new businesses to locate to our state? Will they find a qualified workforce or look elsewhere?

Wouldn’t we much prefer to be known as a state that digs in, rather than giving in?

Tom Campbell is a Hall of Fame North Carolina broadcaster and columnist who has covered North Carolina public policy issues since 1965.  Contact him at tomcamp@carolinabroadcasting.com