Education money is wasted

Let’s first look at the numbers: At over $8, 000 per student yearly, education funding comes to a whopping $200,000 per year for an average class of 25 students.This is a ton of money to do the job, but less than half the funds are actually reaching the regular classroom.

So what’s really being done with all those Billions? Unfortunately, most people do not have a good grasp on either the economics or the performance of our education system. No wonder public would rank inadequate funding among the most important problems facing our schools.

THE FACT IS THAT THE SYSTEM IS GROSSLY MISMANAGED AND FISCALLY WASTEFUL.

Even the B.C. Comptrollar- General agrees. The boards have all the money they need but a dearth of evidence to support effective use of existing resources.

According to the Throne Speech: “ Smarter approaches will allow more resources to be focused on students’ learning needs while less is spent on administrative costs.”

For example,the expensive special education, so often blamed for cost over- runs, happens to be a failure on many fronts ( many children languish in special ed ghettos). Done right , roughly half of the money and most of the lives can be saved. Prevention is wholesale, remediation retail. We are not getting the biggest bang for our buck here. Hello? Remember ” value-for-money’”?

Just take a look at the latest provincial report card. It shows how BC.’s elementary schools have been doing over the last five years on the Foundations Skills Assessment (FSA) tests, which measure reading comprehension, writing, and math.

Contrary to the official spin, the news is not flattering: Students are struggling. Performance has been mediocre at best. In fact, within some schools there appears to be "a race to the bottom".

The FSA measures provincial curriculum, spelling out performance standards. It is made in B.C., by the teachers, and marked by a separate group of educators. Schools are expected to use FSA results as a benchmark to compare progress by the students, and factor the results in school improvement plans.

Sadly, last year from one- quarter to one- third of students failed to meet provincial standards. Worse still, the reading and math skills of BC students appear not to be getting any better. Without school-by-school measures of success and failure--and a solid start--how do we ever hope to improve? The system may be drifting without clear direction and accountability but we will never know it.

As they say, the proof of pudding is in the eating. Right now, only about 70 per cent of students are finishing high school with a regular (Dogwood) diploma on time. And, one of the dirty secrets of this wonderful country is how many Canadians don't have complete command of basic literacy and numeracy skills. Here in B.C., the number of semi-literates runs as high as 42 percent.

And it gets worse. According to a recent troubling poll, four in 10 Canadians can’t even calculate eight per cent interest on $1,000. Enough said. The need for a clearer focus on effective teaching practices and science-based programs can’t be overstated ( Just say no to the whole laguage approach-- which emphasizes reading whole books without dealing with phonics-- and has wreaked havoc on reading instruction).

‘Schools succeed where there is a strong sense of direction; high expectation for academic work; use of scientific, evidence- based programs; regular assessment of progress; an orderly school climate; a strong emphasis on teacher-directed instruction; and a serious recognition of parents as school's real clients.

U.S. president Barack Obama’s education reform recommends making schools more accountable and specifically links standardized tests to teacher performance. Research is clear:The best teachers can advance their classes by more than a year- and- a half grade whereas those with poor skills may barely bring their students up by half- a grade. Good-quality instruction can really save lives.

Returning to the “ more money” mantra in these tough times, the real message ought to be this: For world-class education , it's the efficiency and effectiveness, stupid. Quit whining and get on with the job at hand. Kids pass this way only once.

Dr. Lal Sharma, Ph.D.

former school trustee, university professor

Chilliwack, B.C.