Oklahoma Schools Receive Poor Marks In U.S. Chamber Report Card

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma schools received poor marks in an education report card by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that gave the state an "F" in both student achievement and truth in the state's

Tuesday, May 8th 2007, 3:18 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma schools received poor marks in an education report card by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that gave the state an "F" in both student achievement and truth in the state's claims about student proficiency.

In a written response, State Superintendent of Schools Sandy Garrett said Tuesday the report is flawed and uses data that is up to four years old. Garrett said critics have described the report's methodology as "far from statistically sound."

The U.S. Chamber report describes student performance in Oklahoma as "very poor" and says the state ranks among the lowest in the nation.

Less than one-third of students are proficient in math and reading, and Oklahoma scored 7% below the national average in the percentage of 8th graders who are proficient on the National Assessment of Educational Progress math exam, the report said.

It also questioned the credibility of Oklahoma's student proficiency scores. The state reported that a large percentage of its students were proficient on 2005 state math and reading exams, but smaller percentages posted proficient scores on NAEP tests in 2005.

NAEP, often called the nation's report card, is viewed as the best way to compare students nationwide because it's the only uniform national test for how well students are learning.

The U.S. Chamber graded the education systems of Oklahoma as well as other states and Washington, D.C., in a report entitled "Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness."

The report, released in February, was discussed by chamber officials and state lawmakers Tuesday during a joint meeting of the state House and Senate education committees.

Burns Hargis, vice president of the Bank of Oklahoma, described the report as "a knife in the heart of our economic development efforts."

"It's obvious we're not doing well," Hargis said.

Globalization of the economy is requiring children in Oklahoma to compete with others in China, India and Europe for the best jobs in the future, said Arthur Rothkopf, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber, based in Washington.

"U.S. schools are not equipping our children with the skills and technology that they need," Rothkopf said. "American education should be accountable, flexible and focused on results."

In her response, Garrett said the state scored slightly below the national average in NAEP 4th grade reading and math tests and is above the national average in 4th grade science. It has reached the national average in 8th grade reading and 8th grade science and is slightly below the average in 8th grade math.

She also said the state is slightly below the national average in its average ACT score, which many educators believe is a more reliable measure for comparing states in terms of college and work force preparedness.

Garrett stressed that public education in Oklahoma suffers from a lack of financial investment. The state is significantly below the national average in its per pupil expenditures, ranking 47th nationally and next to last in the region, and ranked 48th nationally and last in the region in teacher pay last year.

The lack of investment affects schools' ability to "be nationally and internationally competitive," Garrett's statement said.

Aside from the two "Fs", Oklahoma received three "Ds", three "Cs" and an "A" in the U.S. Chamber's report card.

The "Ds" included academic achievement of low-income and minority students. The report says only 4% of black 8th graders had proficient scores on the NAEP math exam. The national average for black 8th graders is 8%.

Oklahoma also scored a "D" in post-secondary and work force
readiness. The report said only 39% of 9th graders who
finish high school in four years go on to college, and the state's
11th and 12th graders perform poorly on core advanced placement
exams.

The state scored "Cs" for its return on the investment of state education tax dollars and the rigor of Oklahoma's academic standards. While the state has aligned its high school graduation requirements with college and workplace expectations, its science curriculum standards receive very poor marks, the report said.

The report also criticizes Oklahoma's education data collection methods and says the state lacks the ability to match individual students' test records from year to year to measure academic growth. The report also says the state does not collect graduation and dropout data.

Oklahoma's only "A" was for its teacher work force policies. The report said the state tests incoming teachers on basic skills, requires high school teachers to pass subject knowledge tests and requires alternative route teachers to demonstrate subject matter expertise.