OPINION: Not Just a Race; It’s a Marathon: Perry, Spellings Take Vital Lead on Education Funding Past High School
By William McKenzie, The Dallas Morning News
Feb. 6–When Rick Perry delivers his State of the State speech this morning, you’ll hear a theme that’s also getting airtime in Washington. And it gets to the heart of whether our state and nation can produce enough creative thinkers.
Can we, as the governor suggests, improve our colleges so they graduate more students, on time and in disciplines like engineering that the economy demands? Let’s hope so, because 90 percent of the fastest-growing jobs require education beyond high school.
Along with stepping up the pace in elementary and secondary schools, which the No Child Left Behind Act is about, this challenge is part of the marathon to produce more students with higher-order thinking skills. College grads will be lost without them in a world with economic competitors all around the globe, not just across the street.
If its students are lost, America will be sunk.
In my book, this education race, which starts in kindergarten and runs through college, is our second most important challenge, behind understanding why so many people around the world hate us and how we can stop them from blowing us up.
Education, at least, is within our control. That’s why it’s encouraging to hear leaders like Mr. Perry and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings ramp up the discussion about colleges. We can do something about this.
Ms. Spellings spoke last week in North Carolina and focused on three points: making college more accessible for high schoolers, making it more affordable for families, and making it more accountable to those who foot the bill.
— Accessibility is a huge issue because so many high school graduates aren’t ready for college. According to Ms. Spellings, fewer than half clear the 12th grade ready for college-level math and science.
The answer lies largely in digging down into seventh, eighth and ninth grades, when too many kids start losing interest. Texas legislators recognized this last year by giving schools money to launch programs aimed at those pivotal years. And this is why renewing No Child Left Behind this year is key. It could lead to more resources aimed at kids in dropout-prone years.
— Affordability is worth a discussion because Ms. Spellings reports that tuition rates have jumped 35 percent in the last five years. Texans know this reality down to their bones, as their rates have leapt as much as 40 percent since 2003.
Part of the answer is Congress funding the Pell Grant hike President Bush proposes in his budget. He wants the largest such increase in 30 years, which would benefit the many needy students who use Pell Grants to finance their educations.
The answer also comes with Texas legislators doing what Mr. Perry proposes: bundling together the confusing array of state college assistance programs and boosting their overall funding by 60 percent.
— Accountability is the new buzz because lawmakers and parents have started wondering exactly what colleges and universities are doing with their cash. Mr. Perry will hit this in several interesting ways.
For one, he would reward colleges with extra funds for graduating students on time, graduating at-risk students on time, and producing graduates in critical areas like the sciences. If schools want more money, they have to perform.
He also wants universities to open their financial books so taxpayers and families can see where their money is going. He wants budgets spelled out more clearly, which is similar to what Ms. Spellings called for in North Carolina.
When you step away from the PowerPoint aspect of this discussion, the message is simple: Are we ready?
Not ready to clobber some other nations’ brains out, like blood sports for geeks. Rather, are we ready to keep America abreast of the driving forces of the global economy? We know China, India and other new economic powers are taking aim at the future.
I’m not saying America is not. We just can’t let up. That’s why we need a laser focus on colleges.
That’s what is important about Mr. Perry’s message. That’s what matters about Ms. Spellings’ speech. And that’s why University of Texas Chancellor Mark Yudof is right: We need to “revision” higher education. For our own good.
William McKenzie is a Dallas Morning News editorial columnist. His e-mail address is wmckenzie@dallasnews.com.
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