Gov. Mike Leavitt's State of the State address Tuesday night is to outline an ambitious overhaul of the Utah education system — a nine-month plan that would make significant shifts in how schools are funded and how students progress through the system.
The plan, which has the general approval of the Utah State Board of Education and Utah Board of Regents, marks a milestone of cooperation among the major players that involves beefing up high school graduation requirements and putting less emphasis on "seat time" and more on how much a student knows about a subject — or, as the groups have called it, competency-based education.
"We're in a state budget and education crisis," Leavitt's spokeswoman Natalie Gochnour said. "Sometimes you get the most meaningful change when your back's against the wall."
Gochnour gave a brief preview of Leavitt's major policy initiative, which he was to address tonight in his speech, carried live at 6 p.m. on all three major networks.
Competency-based education is logical on its face. It simply means students who demonstrate a high level of proficiency in a subject don't have to do the "seat time" in class. They can pass off the subject and move up to a higher level.
"This is driven by 10 years of trying to make meaningful change in the education system," Gochnour said. "The root of the challenge is overcoming the measure of attendance in our schools, not mastery of skills."
The plan details a nine-month path that includes a statewide conference in July on competency-based education and new high school graduation requirements. The State Board of Education, spurred by chairman Kim Burningham, for months has discussed raising the bar in math, English and science, plus ways students might show what they know, rather than be forced to sit through years of classes.
At the juncture where public and higher education meet, much discussion is needed, said Commissioner for Higher Education Cecelia Foxley. "This is going to take awhile." She said she sees a slow and methodical implementation of the concepts and has suggested a pilot program to test how the competency approach will translate into credits that can be accepted at higher education institutions. Teachers from both levels are meeting to discuss the issues in English and math, she said.
The approach has been the standard in the Utah College of Applied Technology, with students enrolling at will and leaving programs when they have mastered the content. The state's universities and academic colleges have provided some opportunities for students to gain credit without seat time but have moved more slowly toward implementation of competency-based formats.
Students can gain credit through a national test or can ask to challenge some courses through testing. Those opportunities probably will be expanded, Foxley said.
Under the agreement Leavitt has been working to forge with Utah education leaders, key subjects such as algebra, language arts, social studies and natural science would be the first fields emphasized in competency-based education.
Students who choose to take a full class, however, have to pass off on a test as well — demonstrating they've been doing more than dozing in the back of the room.
"You can no longer get a D and pass the class," said Richard Kendell, the governor's deputy of education.
The plan allows for a more seamless transition from public school to college and lets what students are learning in school more easily translate into college credits, both here and out of state.
Kendell said much of the philosophy behind moving to this type of education system is driven by the need to return schools to the basics of education — and make sure students are competent to survive in the business world.
"Too many kids are leaving public education without having mastered the skills," Kendell said, adding that the business community has grown dismayed over students' inability to write or complete simple mathematical equations.
A report recently released by the Employers Education Coalition, a group empaneled by Leavitt to take a serious look at education in the state, says that employers in general are not satisfied with what is coming out of Utah schools.
"Schools can get distracted from their primary mission" to emphasize the basics, Kendell said.
"Kids are being very creative in the classes that they take," he said. By the time senior year rolls around, it is not uncommon for a student's course work to be filled with electives like choir, cheerleading and football. Higher graduation standards would make that final year more productive and relevant, education leaders say.
Kendell said the challenge will be overcoming the "tradition" and moving educators away from systems that fund only on the basis of attendance. "No system changes until the money changes." Regents have been lobbying for more discretion in distributing higher education money so they can fund these kinds of initiatives.
In public education, Leavitt's proposal involves eventually breaking away from current constraints of the state's basic per-student funding formula, the weighted pupil unit, which is now based on attendance.
The State Board of Education this month suggested giving schools one WPU for every 4.5 graduation credits a student earns. That would let students with full loads graduate more quickly while giving schools the same funding the student would bring for a full four years of high school.
At the heart of the sticking points, however, is having colleges and universities recognize that the competency exams count for credit. Grade point averages have been important in enrolling college students, and the colleges need a way to gauge the quality of work a student has done beyond a simple declaration of mastery, Foxley said.
Tracking competency, rather than having classes all at the same stage of a course, is a different challenge for instructors, and there is some resistance among college faculty, higher education leaders say.
E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com