Former Florida governor Jeb Bush’s endorsement of Gov. Bob
McDonnell’s bill to grade Virginia’s public schools on an A-to-F scale marks a
very public start to what could be a symbiotic back-slapping political routine.[1]
As Bob McDonnell readies himself to leave the executive mansion
in Virginia, he undoubtedly has his eyes set on other political opportunities.
For dear ol’ Jeb, the same is almost certainly true.
After his own departure from the Florida governorship, Jeb
Bush’s political future has been a wide topic of debate in conservative and
liberal political circles. Most recently, Jeb Bush has been talked about as the
next and best of the 2016 Republican presidential candidates.[2]
Bush’s endorsement of McDonnell’s A-to-F public school
grading system is also relevant because Jeb Bush also oversaw the
implementation of such a grading system in 1999 when he was governor of Florida.
According to Bush, public schools have become complacent and are
underperforming. A public school grading system can galvanize community
engagement in the public school system and increase overall performance in
school, according to Bush.[3]
Bush added that the A-to-F grading scale would give parents
and others a greater understanding of how their schools are doing relative to
the ratings like “accredited with warning” or “accredited.”[4]
But in these overly contentious political times, it is unlikely
that definitions for grades A through F will be unanimously decided upon. That
is, what does it mean for a school to be given a “C”? What about a “D”?
Virginia could use other state models such as Florida’s
A-to-F grading scale, but this seems less likely because it would diminish Gov.
McDonnell’s own legacy on education as governor of Virginia. Do you remember
who created improvements for the telephone? What about the actual invention of
the telephone?
What is abundantly clear is that the old No Child Left
Behind policies and the current rating system in Virginia have done little to
boost the performance of public schools.
For educators and the educated, a real problem inherent to
ratings like “accredited” are the criteria which underlie them. That is, the
evaluative criteria used to judge the performance of public schools[5]
has taken the fun out of learning for both teachers and the taught. And as
Americans, we like having fun while learning.
There are no easy solutions to the problem of raising public
school performance. But one of the most critical elements that we need as a
society is the belief in our nation’s educators and students alongside the
consequent political support necessary to meet their educational needs.
Education is an investment in time, money, energy, and
trust. We’ll need all of these elements to succeed, not just a partial list.
[1] http://www.nbc12.com/story/20937526/jeb-bush-promotes-mcdonnell-school-grading-plan
[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/us/politics/jeb-bush-in-2016-its-not-too-early-for-chatter.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
[3] http://www.nbc12.com/story/20937526/jeb-bush-promotes-mcdonnell-school-grading-plan
[4] http://www.nbc12.com/story/20937526/jeb-bush-promotes-mcdonnell-school-grading-plan
[5] http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/accreditation/index.shtml
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