SACRAMENTO, CA -- When Gray Davis takes office as California’s next governor, one of the most important
issues he will have to face will be how the state’s new education standards will be implemented. There is
nearly unanimous agreement that California’s new standards in math, reading, science, and history are
among the best and most rigorous in the nation. Excellent though they may be, however, the new
standards will have little effect on student performance in the classroom if the state does not adopt a wise implementation and accountability plan.

Any such plan must address three main issues. First, the test aligned to the standards must be as rigorous
as the standards themselves. Californians may recall the old CLAS test which, among other failings,
contained a significant number of questions that were open-ended and had no right or wrong answer. There have been rumors that key advisors to Governor-elect Davis support a similar type of test. If such a test is
adopted, then the standards will become much less effective because teachers will have less incentive to
teach to the standards since students won’t necessarily have to display standards-based knowledge on the test.

Second, the new standards must be accompanied by sound performance standards. Performance standards designate the achievement levels on the state test (e.g., "advanced," "proficient," "basic," and "below basic")
and what the cut-off scores for the achievement levels will be on the test (e.g., the cut off for the "advanced" level is 90 out of 100, the cut off for the "proficient" level is 80 out of 100, etc.). It’s important that the cut-off scores not be pegged artificially low so that, for example, more students score at the "advanced" level than is warranted by the students’ actual knowledge.

Finally, a high-stakes implementation and accountability system must be put in place that will give local school districts an incentive to make sure that the standards actually make it into the classroom. Such a system can’t consist of more money thrown at districts which underperform. Rather, districts where students fail to meet the standards should be targeted for reforms guaranteed to shake the status quo. Here’s a sampling of such reforms: 1) independent firms could be contracted to deliver education services, such as teaching, with the stipulation that the firm achieve improvements in student performance; 2) merit pay for teachers could be linked to student performance on the standards-aligned test; and 3) poorly performing districts could become automatic candidates for school-choice demonstration programs. Further, California State University teacher training programs and professional development programs for current teachers should all be overhauled to emphasize teacher understanding of the academic content of the new standards.

Standards expert Denis Doyle says that if standards are to achieve their goal of improving student performance,
"A new triptych must emerge: Standards set, standards met, consequences." Here in California, good standards
have been set, the only question is whether they will be met by our students and what consequences will occur
if they aren’t.

--Lance T. Izumi