Eliminate 11th and 12th Grades

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction recently hosted a meeting that he calls, “Moving from the Model T.” He wants to take the delivery of education for Michigan’s children to a new place. He, or we, don’t know what that place is but it’s not where we are now. This started from a group of schools in Southeast Michigan putting on a full court press to have the state fund an adequacy study for the current system. According to the Superintendent, that would be a waste of time and resources because the way we’re delivering education now isn’t working.

So, we have met a few times to listen to different ideas. The most recent was from Dr. Mark Tucker from the National Center on Education and the Economy.

Of course we listen to why America’s schools are failing and resources should be moved to pre-school education. This proposal funds that shift in funding by moving out most sixteen year-olds to the community college system and taking those resources to fund pre-school.

Here’s part of his outline:

First Principles
• Recruit teachers from the top third
• Let students go on when ready
• Reprogram funds for higher payoff
• Create lean, performance-oriented management system
• Create incentives for schools to perform
• Give schools room to innovate First Principles,
• Create a fair financing system so all students have a shot at success, and those who need the most resources get them
• Reform our 19th C. governance system to reflect 21st C. realities
• Use fewer, much higher quality tests
• Create the same opportunities for adults
Step 1: Assume we will do the job right the first time
• Benchmark: Countries that are sending most of their high school students to college ready to do college-level work at the age of 16
• Design criteria:
– 60% of 16-year olds ready for college without remediation
– 95% of 18-year olds ready for college without remediation
Step 1: cont’d
• Create high quality examination set to standard of “ready for college without remediation”
• Students automatically admitted to state community and technical colleges when they meet the standard
• If they pass a higher level, can stay in high school to prepare for admission to selective colleges (AP, IB, similar programs)
Step 2: Make much more efficient use of our resources
Step 3: Invest in High Quality Early Childhood Education

Below is his power point.