Posted on: Friday, January 7, 2005

EDITORIAL
State good 'standards' grade just half of story

News that a respected educational publication has given Hawai'i's public school system relatively high marks for improvement in standards and accountability should be a matter of pride for local educators.

But it is important to recognize that standards and accountability are a means, not an end in and of themselves.

Setting strong standards and then holding schools and teachers accountable for meeting those standards is a tool that helps us improve the quality of education. But the highest standards in the nation and the toughest set of accountability rules mean little if they don't produce better teaching and better learning.

The latest rating came from the publication Education Week. Using assessments by the American Federation of Teachers, the publication gave Hawai'i a "B+" for its standards and accountability measures.

That's a fairly dramatic turnaround from the "D+" the state received just two years ago.

But as good as our marks are, they simply represent acknowledgement that we know what we want and have clear ways of measuring whether we are getting it. What happens next will be the real test of whether our schools can make the grade.

The focus should now turn to what matters most: quality curriculum and learning materials, and qualified, well-paid educators teaching in orderly and safe classrooms.