Oklahoma schools get high marks

Thursday, January 13th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma educators are celebrating high marks contained in a national report, although state Superintendent Sandy Garrett says there is much to be done to improve schools. In a report released Wednesday, Education Week gave Oklahoma an A-minus in standards and accountability. Oklahoma tied with Florida for eighth best in that category.

Oklahoma received a B for improving teacher quality, the best in the region, but the report said the state was losing teachers because of low pay and had a teacher shortage in some areas, especially math and science. Education Week is published in Bethesda, Md., by the non profit Editorial Project in Education. The Pew Charitable Trusts, a Philadelphia-based foundation, paid for the state-by-state survey.

Ms. Garrett beamed over the state's rankings during a legislative hearing. "We were in the top 10 in every category and No. 3 in improving teacher quality," she said. "We were the most improved state in the nation in standards and accountability. "In nearly every category, we outdistanced the state of Texas, which I liked the best," she said.

Oklahoma was tied for eighth in fourth-grade reading, tied for 11th in eighth-grade reading and tied for sixth in eighth-grade writing. One area that Oklahoma continues to trail Texas, the report's segment on Oklahoma noted, is in the area of teacher salaries. Average teacher salaries in Texas were listed at $38,000, compared with $30,700 for Oklahoma. Ms. Garrett said that is one reason Oklahoma is losing teachers-- to Texas and other states and to industry. She has made improving teacher pay her top legislative goal. "That's our biggest challenge," she said. "We can't ignore the teacher pay issue any longer."

The report took note of legislative approval of a "watered-downed" 4-by-4 core curriculum program, but suggested it could exacerbate the problem of teacher shortages in math and science because reforms were not fully funded. It quoted Floyd Coppedge, Gov. Frank Keating's education secretary, as saying "there will be some impact, but not as much as one may think."

Oklahoma received a C-minus in the school climate category, good for a ranking of No. 10 among the 50 states. It received a C-plus in adequacy of financing, a C in funding equity, but a D in allocation of resources. Ms. Garrett said the low grade in allocation is tied partly to the number of school districts the state has -- more than 500 -- and partly to the amount of funds reaching the classroom. She said the report also showed Oklahoma had a ways to go in some areas, especially math. "We face many challenges and can't rest on our laurels," she said. "One thing we need to do is make a better effort into recruiting young people into teaching." She said Oklahoma could help fill some of the void in math and science teachers if it upgrades school technology, allowing the "sharing" of good teachers in those subjects.