Maine education task force unveils plan for `major reform’

BANGOR — A legislative task force Tuesday unveiled an ambitious plan to increase educational standards in Maine.

Members of the Task Force on Learning Results met with the Bangor Daily News editorial board to introduce their final report on the knowledge and skills that all Maine students should possess before they graduate from high school.

The report will be presented to the the Legislature Thursday. Legislation to implement the standards has yet to be drafted.

“This is major reform,” task force member and SAD 47 Superintendent J. Duke Albanese said of the learning results, which are described as a comprehensive list of what students should know and be able to do in eight subject areas.

Under the task force’s plan, students would have to demonstrate compentency in the eight subject areas in order to obtain a high school diploma. Students who do not live up to the learning results would be awarded a certificate of completion, rather than a diploma.

“This is a real statement about high expectations for all students,” said Sandra Bernstein, superintendent of SAD 27 in Fort Kent and also a member of the task force. “The stakes are definitely higher. A diploma will mean something.”

Measurement of student proficiency in the subject areas would be done on two levels. First, on a statewide basis, the Maine Educational Assessment, which is now given to students in the fourth, eighth and 11th grades, would be reworked to dovetail with the learning results. Assessment would also be done on a local level with assessment boards in each community evaluating student portfolios and projects based on state guidelines.

A major stumbling block to passage of the enacting legislation could be the $2 million annual price tag. Albanese said the money is necessary to retrain the state’s teachers so that what and how they teach ensures that their students fulfill the learning results.

However, both he and Bernstein said the learning results should not be abandoned if the professional development funding is not forthcoming.

“I hope this is not deep-sixed on the resource issue,” Bernstein said.

The plan outlines what students should know by the time they complete high school and at given points along the way. The results can be used as guidepoints for a State Board of Education committee that is currently determining what are essential educational services that should be guaranteed by the state.

Albanese suggested that essential services should be identified as those necessary to reach the desired learning results. The state should then ensure that each district receives enough funding to provide these essential services, the Oakland superintendent said.

However, he suggested that this cannot be done without an increase in state funding for education or a further increase in local property taxes. Albanese said many communities cannot bear further property tax increases and suggested instead that other forms of taxation be considered.

The work of the task force has received ringing endorsements from the governor and the commissioner of the Department of Education. Gov. Angus King has said he supports the task force’s goals and hopes they will dovetail with his efforts to make a Maine high school diploma meaningful by ensuring that students are competent in a core body of skills and knowledge.

Maine’s efforts mirror a national movement to establish educational standards. Shortly after Maine established its task force, President Clinton signed the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. The act, promoted by former President George Bush, established nationwide education standards which are to be met by the year 2000.