Measuring Education - What a Noble Nobel Thought

Discussions on public school education are far more likely to focus on statistics now than such a dialogue would have twenty years ago. At some point amid the conversations of facts and figures one may hear a faint, cautionary reference to DRIP – Data Rich, Information Poor. One of my favorite authors, Malcolm Gladwell, wrote the following in his best seller, Blink:

“The key to decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter.”

I am not averse to developing metrics to gauge progress toward stated goals. But, the tremendous amount of data collected by countless people and organizations in their quest to measure the status of public school education does not necessarily translate into practical information that can leverage success. The mere existence of a mountain of data does not move us ahead in our efforts, and perhaps confuses and constricts our direction. It is information and understanding that we desire, not inert data fueling swirling rhetoric wielded by those not charged with applying strategies designed to improve performance levels.

I wonder if we have charged forward without a clear understanding of what our objective is. We can probably all agree that we want better schools and there is no lack of critics of public schools, but the disagreement begins at the definition of what “better” means. Is it high school graduations rates? College acceptance rates? Overall grade point averages? Scores of state assessments? Is it better when everyone succeeds at pre-determined standards of performance (albeit within a society that subscribes to the bell shape curve to define/discriminate?)

What is “better”? More importantly, who decides the meaning of “better”?

The results of the Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) scores in math and science are typically employed to demonstrate that the US lags behind their industrialized nations in educational output. That is but one measure, but certainly one shared by those decrying the current state of public school education in our country. If that is the measure of “better” then we must re-direct our focus and subsequent strategies. And, to a large extent we have, with No Child Left Behind and Race To The Top and the myriad assessments and accountability measures (as much as one can glean from a fill-in-the-bubble test format) that have emerged in their wake.

But, what if we reframed the way we measure “better”? What if we opted for an impartially determined form of measurement rather than one that may evolve from a political or philosophical or financial basis? One that wasn’t designed to affirm someone’s prefixed values or interests.

What if instead of using the TIMMS we used another world-wide measure of excellence? One that speaks to our viability as a nation to sustain progress and contend with future social, economic, technological, and political challenges?

What if we examined and valued contributions made each year in the best interests of mankind and used that guideline as a yardstick of our expansive educational system involving all stages and ages– from public, private, parochial, and home-schooled enterprises; from pre-K through PhD? For example, what if we identified the following areas:   

"the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics;

the most important chemical discovery or improvement;

the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine;

the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction;

the most important breakthrough in economics

and, finally, the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace;"

What would you say about that form of measurement to assess overall educational outputs?

Well, you might say we already have those parameters in place. In fact, except for economics which was added as a prize in 1968, the world has already attached a fair amount of significance to these very same standards and criteria in the form of the Nobel Prize awards.

Here’s the text of the will of Alfred Nobel that served in 1901 as the foundation of these prestigious honors that are sources of national pride and financial windfalls of the recipients.

"The whole of my remaining realizable estate shall be dealt with in the following way: the capital, invested in safe securities by my executors, shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: one part to the person who shall have made; one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine; one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

Now, let’s look at how the US ranks in these vital areas of critical importance to our future.

Nobel Prizes by Country (we’ll examine several large European/Asian nations)

France                                   65

Germany                            101

United Kingdom               119

Russia                                   27

China                                      8

India                                       7

South Korea                          1

Japan                                    20

Total                                   348

Wow!!! That’s a lot of Nobel Prize awards!!

In fact, that collective amount from several of the largest nations in the world is only ten more than what the US has earned alone by its distinguished citizens and graduates.

USA                                     338

I wonder how the recipients of these outstanding awards think of the rigid and frequent fill-in-the-bubble assessments that our politicians promote and our children must endure to prove their competence. I wonder what the 1921 Nobel Prize winner in Physics would think –

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Alfred Einstein, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1921

 

 

Once There Was A School

Green Island Union Free School District superintendent Dr. Michael Mugits has invested 36 years of his life into public school administration.
During that time, he has served as a principal at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels in rural, suburban, and urban environments. This resume makes him qualified to assess some of the major changes facing public education today.
Dr. Mugits recently wrote a book entitled From Once There Was a School: To A School Was Once There detailing some of the numerous challenges facing school districts across the state including the Common Core Learning Standards, APPR, the tax cap and equitable funding. The book is written in the style of a children’s book, with creative words in rhyme with detailed illustrations.

http://educationspeaks.org/2013/09/ny-superintendent-pens-book-on-realities-of-education-today/


“I just wanted to express myself,” Mugits said. “I wanted to take the experiences, ideas and feelings I’ve had and reflect on them in a venue now that’s compressed in time, money and ever-increasing expectations."

The book is available on Amazon. Click here for more.

Value of an Education

The Value of an Education  http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/How-to-earn-400-000-4789076.php

 On the first day of the school year, we spoke to learners in grades 5-12 about the last day of their Heatly career – graduation. We want every learner to make the choices and the commitment necessary to walk across... the stage and receive a high school diploma.
As parents, we want the best for our children. I’m sure that all of the learners have heard their parents, teachers, and other adults encourage them to acquire an education that at least includes a high school diploma. However, I’m not so sure how much of that message they retain weeks and months later. The focus on the day to day activities at times can interfere with the ability of a fifth or sixth grader to project into the future, several years ahead of their current grade. In addition, the more times they hear a phrase the more likely it may suffer from overload and be casually cast aside.

 With that in mind, we wanted to provide a visual cue that might have a lasting impact on our learners as they start the school year. In September of last year Jason Breslow prepared a news article for the Public Broadcasting Service’s Frontline reports entitled, By the Numbers: Dropping Out of High School. The article shared statistics related to some of the challenges faced by those who have dropped out of school. The most notable figure for me was the difference in the average annual incomes of people with a high school diploma and people who dropped out of school. According to the data, those without a high school diploma generally earn, on the average, $10,386 less each year than someone who received their high school diploma.
 
Now, assuming that two people, one with a high school diploma and one without a high school diploma, entered the workforce at age eighteen and worked until they retired at age fifty-five, that yearly gap of $10,386 multiplied by thirty-seven years now becomes a difference of $384,282. Wow!!
 
So, after discussing a bit of reality by way of the classified section of the newspaper - few jobs available at a time of economic decline, the cost of apartments, transportation, food…, - and reminding them that reality is not an app on their cell phones, a cart was wheeled into the gymnasium loaded with $384,282 neatly wrapped in transparent plastic bags. That money represents what they may potentially be losing during the course of their working career if they do not earn their high school diploma.

 One drop-out is too much. We are committed to supporting all learners in their quest to successfully complete high school.