There is an urgent call for reform in Oklahoma education

The Oklahoma Education Oversight board says the public school system is failing students. <br/><br/>It cites low test scores in math and English as reasons for sweeping change. It includes millions of

Monday, March 7th 2005, 6:27 am

By: News On 6

The Oklahoma Education Oversight board says the public school system is failing students.

It cites low test scores in math and English as reasons for sweeping change. It includes millions of dollars for teacher training, downsizing large schools, and rewarding good health and fitness programs with $50,000 grants.

The board especially recommends "performance reviews" for individual schools. They want to move beyond "test scores" to help low-performing schools come up with plans to boost achievement. Oklahoma Education Oversight Board chairman Don McCorkell: "We believe performance review is a critical part of school improvement. And itâ€™s a better investment than simply investing in more tests.â€

The oversight board takes its new agenda to the state capitol this week.