PASS Commission Report News Conference
August 29, 1997
I want to especially recognize our outstanding PASS Commissioners. During the State of the State in January, I charged this group with one of the most revolutionary tasks in the history of our state's education system.
They were to figure out what it would take to get South Carolina schools off the bottom...and move them toward the highest standards of excellence.
It was a tough job. These folks worked hard. But today they've given us a road map for a whole new direction in South Carolina education.
Anyone who saw the story on SAT scores this week knows we sure need one! It's the same story we've read over and over for the past 25 years: South Carolina lagging behind the nation in education.
I don't know about you, but I'm ready to throw that story out once and for all and write a new one!
So I'm coming here today a man on a mission. No, I'm more than just a man on a mission. I'm a dad on a mission.
I've got school-aged children. And just like any father, I'm bound and determined that they're going to have the best.
You'd think that spending $2 billion dollars a year on education would buy our kids the best. But as much as we've tap-danced around with program after program...EIA, EFA, Target 2000...we never said plainly and simply to children, teachers and parents:
This is what every student should know and learn, and our local schools are going to make sure they learn it!
This is the first major reform that actually gets through the classroom door and lands squarely on the desks of South Carolina schoolchildren.
The PASS report, first and foremost, sets clear and rigorous standards in the core subjects of math, science and English.
Yes, the standards already on the books are a start, but the PASS Commission's standards take us where we need to be.
They're specific to each grade. They're measurable. And they're written in a way that teachers, parents and students can all understand.
Let me show you exactly what I mean. Here's a current English standard for a high school student...for any grade between 9 and 12...which says ³Read and interpret a variety of written and oral language.²
The PASS Commission recommends for high school juniors that they should be able to "read and analyze relationships among American literature, history and culture." But under that standard, they've also got to be able to "contrast periods in American lit," "describe the major themes," "describe contributions of different cultures to its development"....and a whole list of other concepts.
Our standards don't leave any question as to what a high school junior should be learning. There's no second-guessing. It's all spelled out in a concise, readable format.
From those standards, we're going to test students at every grade level. Then we will report to parents and taxpayers how schools are doing against those standards.
Behind all these initiatives is a simple premise: Students in South Carolina can do better. They deserve better. And the 21st century demands better.
Today we are blazing a new trail in South Carolina education. But we're paving that road...not with more good intentions...but with world-class standards.
Quite simply, in five years time, we must see that every child leaving first grade can read. It's that simple. It's non-negotiable. And it's absolutely critical for everything else to follow.
In twelve years from now, I want us to see a state that's improved faster than any other...and one that's ranked in the top half of all the states in the nation.
Yes, there are plenty of South Carolina schools that are doing well.
But the cold hard truth is that we can keep on doing what weıve been doing making baby-step progress and still stay at the bottom...because every other state is making progress too.
Our challenge is to take a bold leap off the treadmill and keep on running.
You'll notice, though, that while the commission sets the standards, it stops short of telling school districts how to reach them.
This isn't just the PASS Commission's system to fix. And it's not just the Beasley Administration's or the General Assembly's. Ownership of education rests in the hands of the people.
Parents are ultimately responsible for their children's education. And those on the local level...those who talk to and hear from and work with parents...know best how to meet the standards the commission has set forth.
I know that schools will rally...that they'll do whatever it takes to help their students not just survive, but thrive, in the century ahead.
Our teachers work extremely hard, but theyıre getting too many mixed messages.
Teachers deserve clear direction on what their mission is, and they need full support in achieving it: and that's teaching our children how to read and write and solve equations. Before we do anything else, we've got to teach the basics well. So teachers need time and direction to devote to subjects that matter...and principals need the autonomy to run their own schools.
We also hear a lot of talk about "parental involvement" these days. Well, I'm here to tell you -- as a parent -- that we must be more than involved in our children's education. We are responsible for it.
That's our God-given and inalienable duty...which means we have the right to make sure schools do their part, and we're also responsible to do our part.
That requires a whole lot more from us than just dropping our kids off at school and into the laps of teachers.
We've got to read to them, make sure they do their homework, and make sure they've got all the love and support they need to grow. No government official, no principal or teacher can fill those shoes in your childıs life.
The same kind of reformation we've been calling for in our culture...a reclaiming of responsibility and a renewal of our civic virtue...also has to take place in education.
I'm talking about a change of attitude that says, "As a parent, it's my responsibility to make sure my child is learning."
It's a renewal of purpose for our educators that says, "Academic achievement matters to us more than anything else."
It's a vision that businesses will be able to say, "We have smart, skilled employees who can handle any job."
And most importantly, it's a change of direction so our students can finally hold that diploma and say, "I can do whatever I can dream."
South Carolina demanded change. PASS delivered. Now I ask every leader, every parent, every educator, everyone who cares about South Carolina's future to join me in making these standards a reality.
State Board, make the standards official. General Assembly, support it through the necessary legislation.
Families donıt care about partisan boundaries and philosophies. They just want their children to learn and succeed. That's what we should all care about.
And getting us off the bottom is going to take all of us pushing for the top.
That's our mission. That's our trail to blaze...with high standards and with bright hope for all South Carolina will be when this mission is complete.