In Failing Grade: Crisis and Reform in the Oakland Unified School District, Pacific Research charted one of the worst cases of educational failure in California and the nation. District officials acknowledged the crisis and responded by saying that they had recently hired a new superintendent, Dennis Chaconas, who has proposed a reform plan with the mission of “preparing all students to be productive citizens and workers for the 21st century. To that end, we will provide excellent and equitable opportunities to meet those expectations.”

The superintendent is working to change the culture of the district, has established new achievement targets for the 2000–2001 school year, and encourages teachers and students to believe they can attain them. This works to counteract the paralyzing defeatist attitude that has plagued the district for so long.

After years of neglect, negativity, and quackery such as ebonics, many are heartened to see someone at the helm of the district intent on implementing reform. But since the release of Failing Grade in July, new performance indicators have become available for Oakland, placing the current reform efforts in sharp focus.

SAT-9 and SAT Scores: Below-Average Results

In 1999, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) defied the state mandate that all children, regardless of English fluency, should be tested under the STAR program when it exempted Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) students from taking the test. This year, however, OUSD complied and tested all of its students. However, this testing discrepancy makes comparisons between LEP and non-LEP students difficult. If one focuses just on the non-LEP students, the scores paint a grim picture for the district. (See Charts 1 and 2.) The average difference between the mean Oakland and state reading scores is 25.1 percent. Oakland is slightly closer to the state in math, but the average difference is still 21 percent.

In July, Oakland administrators admitted they knew district scores would fall this year in comparison to last year. However, their stated logic implies they believe the only reason test scores fell was because LEP student scores would now be included. Isolating the test scores of non-LEP children in 1999 and 2000 (the non-LEP breakdown is not available for 1998), however, shows that only in a few instances did Oakland’s

non-LEP public school children improve (see Charts 3 and 4). In fact, the SAT-9 reading scores improved in only three grade levels, remained the same in two, and actually fell in six. In math they were somewhat better, improving in five grade levels, but still falling in six.

On the SAT exam, the best indicator of college success, Oakland students continued to perform well below state averages. Fifty percent of Oakland students chose to take the test, above the 49-percent statewide average. However, while the mean score for California seniors on the verbal portion of the exam was 497, Oakland trailed with an average of 403. In 1998, Oakland’s average verbal score was 416, showing that SAT scores, in fact, have not improved.

The same holds true for Oakland math scores. In 1998, the average Oakland math score was 443. This year, the average math score was 435. This compares unfavorably with the California average of 518. When these scores are broken down into sub-groups, an even bleaker picture appears for some of Oakland students.

On the math portion of the SAT, the mean score for African Americans was only 392, the lowest of all sub-groups. On the verbal portion there was only a scant difference, with African-American students scoring 395. The combined score for OUSD’s African-American students was 787 out of 1600.

Curriculum Changes

Superintendent Chaconas has identified OUSD’s lack of clear curriculum guidelines as a significant stumbling block to district improvement, contributing, no doubt, to the high dropout rate, 24.1 percent, which is more than twice the state average of 11.1 percent. He has, therefore, established a “coordinated literacy program” for the district, using the phonics-based “Open Court” curriculum in grades K–3 with a plan to phase the 5th and 6th grades into the program in the coming years. Such phonics-based programs have been proven to increase student reading ability and achievement scores.

Chaconas is also establishing intervention programs for struggling math and reading students, and placing a greater emphasis on pre-algebra and algebra. This step toward a rigorous curriculum has been desperately needed in the district. It is coupled with student assessment plans with the intent to ensure no student is left behind. As with any new reform plan, however, the proof will be in seeing these reforms enacted districtwide and the results they produce.

Retaining and Rewarding Incompetent Teachers

Chaconas demonstrated the teeth in his reform plan this summer by firing several Oakland principals and shuffling many more. As one veteran teacher said, “Nothing means business like a new principal.” This action will most certainly bring changes to the schools impacted, and inspiration to those not directly touched. He has also reduced staff at the district level, cutting back on the bureaucracy. But while these changes are positive, they do not significantly affect under-performing tenured teachers.

Indeed, one facet of the new district action plan is to “develop and implement ongoing assessment of district personnel to ensure all students achieve a quality education.” The trouble is that with teacher tenure laws and the stranglehold of the unions upon the district, it is nearly impossible to fire a teacher. In fact, according to the Office of Administrative Hearings, since 1990 dismissal procedures have only been initiated against nine Oakland teachers. Six of these cases were settled outside of the standard dismissal process.

The difficulty in firing teachers stems from collective bargaining agreements. And while teachers can initiate their own transfers in which “the wishes of the teacher will be given strong consideration,” the principal has little power to remove an underperforming teacher.

Due to this structure, poorly performing teachers can remain in the classroom, failing to educate their students. Recent studies show that an effective teacher is the most important factor in a child’s educational achievement. While Chaconas’s measures address part of the problem within each school, even he cannot fight against the wishes of the teacher union. And unfortunately, rather than fighting the unions, he has rewarded them.

This summer, the superintendent and school board gave across-the-board raises to Oakland teachers. Prior to these raises, Oakland teachers bemoaned their poor pay. In fact, in 1998-99 Oakland’s beginning teachers were already making more than the state average. With the new increase, beginning teachers now earn $38,000, up from $29,260, with a salary cap at $68,144 rather than the previous $55,009.

These raises, given to all teachers regardless of their record, provide little incentive to improve classroom performance. A better system of merit pay has been proposed for Los Angeles Unified School District, where teachers are given bonuses corresponding to student achievement.

Another option to the blanket raises would be to enact a differential pay scale, where the district, which is in such desperate need of qualified math and science teachers, could offer more money to those willing to teach such desired subjects. Through such a pay system, Oakland could pave the way for the rest of California, and quite possibly provide more incentive for talented math and science scholars to enter the teaching profession.

Opposition to Choice

Sixty-seven percent of all of Oakland’s SAT test-takers come from homes where parental income is less than $30,000. While many families may want to move to another district with better schools, or simply send the children to private schools, such options are simply not economically feasible. A recent study by Harvard researcher Paul Peterson points to another way.

The study, released in August, evaluates publicly-funded voucher programs in three cities: Milwaukee, Cleveland, and New York. The study shows statistically significant improvement in test scores of African-American students receiving vouchers. In fact, the study extrapolates that “the black-white test gap could be eliminated in subsequent years of education for black students who use a voucher to switch from public to private school.” This is especially poignant for Oakland where such incredible differences between black and white students exist.

And in an era where class-size reduction has become a panacea, the study shows the difference for those receiving the vouchers is nearly twice as great as the students in the much-touted Tennessee class-size reduction program. Despite the greater success of voucher programs, Oakland officials oppose parental choice in education, unwilling to trust parents to make the best decisions for their children.

Intentions versus Results

As long as Oakland officials refuse to submit their reform plan to the test of competition, parents, educators, the media, and legislators have every right to apply greater scrutiny to a district that combines above-average spending with below-average results.

While many in Oakland applaud the reform program, a gap continues to exist between intentions and actions, between rhetoric and results. There is little evidence that Oakland students are reaping the benefits of existing reforms. There is much evidence that deeper reforms are needed before Oakland students receive the education and brighter future they deserve.