Parents who get involved with their children's education soon learn that the criticisms they may have been aiming at teachers and schools should be shared by the parents themselves. Parents who never get involved are often those who blame teachers and the schools when children don't do as well as expected.
A while ago, this column decried grade inflation. In my experience and judging from education research, there are too many straight-A students out there who don't deserve the perfect record -- so many, in fact, that the A grade no longer means what it should.After that column was published, I got a number of responses from teachers who said they got so much pressure from parents to give students higher grades than they had earned that they often capitulated. Those teachers also said this kind of "parental involvement" was sometimes the only communication they had had with these parents.
So, teachers aim deserved criticism at some parents, and parents often criticize teachers -- sometimes with good reason. And everybody has cringed about the fact Utah spends less money per student on education than almost all other states.
But both groups could take comfort in the fact that, despite the low expenditure, Utah students have consistently scored well in national standardized tests.
Until this week.
Results of Stanford Achievement Tests taken by fifth-, eighth- and 11th-graders show Utah children have slipped below the national average in two areas -- reading and language.
Statewide, average scores dropped or remained the same in every subtest of the state-mandated assessment, with fifth-graders' reading and language scores of 47 and 44, respectively, slipping further below the national median score of 50.
Fifth-grade science scores stayed at the 60th percentile mark, meaning the Utah average was better than 60 percent of all those taking the test. But the drop in reading and language is frightening.
Though test scores are only one indicator of achievement and should never be regarded as the last word on a particular educational system, they can mean something is amiss and should be taken seriously.
In Utah's case, the drop in scores should prompt another look at how much money is being spent on education and how that money is divvied up. There are too many overcrowded classes and not enough books in libraries.
Several new high schools featured in a television news program recently sported pricey decorative items at the expense of understocked libraries. The principals excused the problem by saying books come out of a different fund, so they were not robbing educational resources to make the schools look nice. If that's the case, there is a real need for a reallocation of funds.
An assessment of schools across the country done by the Pew Charitable Trusts 10 months ago gave Utah a failing grade in "school climate" -- and they weren't considering the schools' appearance. The category included class size, parental involvement and whether the state allows charter schools.
Utah also got a C- in quality of teaching and resources, including books.
Such assessments have their failings. Test scores ignore other measurements of achievement. But when various indicators begin to line up on the same side, somebody should pay attention.
However, finger-pointing among parents and teachers isn't the answer. Improvements can happen only when parents are consistently involved in education, not just meeting with teachers to harass them over grades.
There are heartbreaking situations when parents simply don't care or when they are so overwhelmed with just trying to survive that there is no chance to get involved at their children's school.
But most parents care about education and most can make time to get involved, at home as well as at school.
Parents of students at Washington Elementary were upset a few months ago because teachers answered the children's questions about sex during a "maturation" discussion. Perhaps it's not appropriate for teachers to talk about such things, but the fact is the children had questions and obviously hadn't asked their parents or hadn't gotten straight answers from them.
The children's questions should be answered -- by their parents. And sex education isn't the only topic that should be discussed at home. Geography, politics, current events, science -- even math -- are extremely appropriate subjects for child-parent conversations.
It's not time to panic, but it is time for action -- on everybody's part.
Deseret News features editor Marilyn Karras may be reached by e-mail at karras@desnews.com