Success in Public Education

Tuesday I had the privilege of talking with Larry Shumway, Superintendent of the Tooele School District. He showed me one of the coolest charts I have ever seen. It showed that 3rd- and 5th-graders in his district are off the chart in reading tests. It showed that 8th- and 11th-graders are doing okay. He asked me what I thought. I told him it looked like his 8th- and 11th-graders could use some work. He told me I was missing the point.

Four years ago, Tooele decided that it could make significant gains by better focusing its efforts and limited resources. It decided it would focus on K-5 reading, reasoning that other things (e.g., math, science, grades 6 - 12) could better take care of themselves, if the students developed excellent reading skills early on. The tests show their efforts are succeeding. The elementary school kids are super readers. If the district keeps this focus, as the students progress through the system, 8th-grade scores will soon reflect the success. Next, 11th-grade scores will reflect the success. In short order, the whole system will be thriving.

But what about current students in the higher grades? Aren't they being forgotten? It seems to me, that this focus does not hurt them. Had the district stayed on the path it was on, those students, I would guess, would be doing the same as they are right now. The difference would be that the other grades would not be having the success they are; instead, they, too, would be doing just okay. No grade would be super -- as all seem to be right now in the Tooele County elementary schools.