Innovation and accountability are two qualities identified with most successful businesses. Companies that don't adapt in today's rapidly changing marketplace are tomorrow's failures.
The same holds true for education. It therefore is gratifying that many Utah residents feel the need to hold the state education system to that same standard.
According to a recent Deseret News poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates, close to 50 percent of the state's residents believe school districts or individual teachers should be financially rewarded based on student success. The same holds for whether parents should be able to use income tax credits for private school tuition.
The poll found that 49 percent believe parents putting their children in private schools should get income tax credits and/or vouchers redeemed at the schools for public money. Forty-seven percent believe individual public schools and school districts should be rewarded if their students do well and financially punished if they don't, and 49 percent believe that public schoolteachers should be financially rewarded or punished depending on how their students do.
What is becoming clear is that "business as usual" in education is no longer satisfactory.
The desire for new approaches such as vouchers, tax credits and charter schools is not confined to Utah. States throughout the nation are going through a similar metamorphosis with varying degrees of success. Texas, for example, has implemented accountability models that grade schools based on test performance, and Florida provides private-school vouchers to parents in schools that repeatedly receive failing grades.
But what works in Texas and Florida may not in Utah. Each state has its own unique circumstances. In New York, for example, an attempt at accountability went horribly awry when some teachers were accused of helping students cheat on tests in order to meet a certain standard.
Changes in Utah's educational program are needed to maximize the use of taxpayers' dollars. But those changes must be appropriate and relevant. It is true, for example, that students perform differently based on socio-economic factors, English proficiency and other things. An accountability system must take these factors into account and measure success against reasonable expectations. However, those factors are no excuse to reject the idea of accountability.
Studies and surveys show that maintaining the status quo is a formula for diminishing returns. To educate students in the 21st century requires a 21st century approach.