In last Thursday's State of the State address, Gov. John Engler introduced the Michigan Merit Award - his promise to give any Michigan high school student who passes all four sections of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test $2,500 for college. Engler additionally promised an extra $500 for students who also passed all four sections of the seventh and eighth grade versions of the MEAP test. While the program sounds good, it's only one step in the right direction - one step of many that Engler needs to take to ensure a better education for Michigan students. Although Engler's Michigan Merit Award is a positive program, it hinges on one obvious factor - students have to pass the MEAP test in order to get its funding. In startling numbers, some schools produce far better MEAP scores than others. Schools with higher scores tend to have more educational resources and financial support from their community. Engler's program is rewarding students for living in a district with good schools - probably the students who need help the least.
Instead, Engler's program should grant money not based on success on the MEAP but on relative success in a student's school. Engler would be wise to follow the lead of California Gov. Gray Davis and rate a student's achievement based on their class rank, which gives the variety of public schools, wealthy or poor, a more equal opportunity. This method would reward students for performing well in their school and would not punish students because their school does not have the educational advantages of others.
While distributing money based on class rank instead of MEAP scores will help give equal opportunities for all students, it is a long way from solving the problems many public schools face today.
A report announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley last Thursday revealed that only one in five full-time public school teachers felt confident teaching in today's classroom. Only 20 percent of teachers reported feeling comfortable teaching students with disabilities or from diverse backgrounds; the same percentage felt comfortable using modern technology. Finally, less than half of the 4,049 public school teachers surveyed nationwide felt well-prepared for the challenges facing public schools.
These are alarming statistics - ones that Engler should take note of. With the money coming in from tobacco settlements and large amounts of money being sent into the prison system, Engler must allocate more funds to provide quality public education for Michigan students. For example, money could be sent to the schools to establish programs educating the teachers on how to effectively integrate computers into everyday classroom work.
Undoubtedly, the students who are affected most by the statistics in the report are the students from poor districts. The education they receive is not good enough to help them compete in today's job market. Education is the key to helping lower-income students receive the tools necessary to achieve greater career success, thus breaking the vicious cycle of poverty. Engler is positioned to increase the chances for underprivileged students to receive a college education - a crucial opportunity. Granting money based on class rank instead of MEAP scores would be one small step in helping these students - improving their schools would be a much larger one.
02-02-99
| Previous Article | Next Article |
should be sent to: daily.letters@umich.edu | should be sent to: online.daily@umich.edu |