We need solutions, not more transparency

Stop the idea of giving letter grades to show our schools are failing. Parents and everybody else know that. Grading schools is like watching patients suffer by standing around, giving them a grade on their condition without giving them the medicine they need.

Schools have been studied to death by polls, commissions and task forces. Each election, voters keep telling politicians they want their schools able to prepare students to succeed in the new economy. So, why do politicians want to keep studying the obvious? Test results by schools are already available to the public; adding a letter grade would needlessly clog the system and waste tax dollars.

To pass a law requiring more "transparency" so parents might do something about it begs the question, "What will lawmakers do to fix our failing schools?" Isn't that what they were elected to do? "Transparency," along with "accountability," have become the latest buzzwords politicians use without any intent to act on their words. What is the purpose of transparency? Is it to find fault and say, "ain't it awful" and do nothing? Accountability becomes a hollow word without any action or consequence. Lawmakers view transparency about process as sufficient rather than seeking solutions. Lawmakers ought to set the example on accountability by informing the public how the laws they pass are in the public's interest, rather than use our government for political gain.

We all know our schools are falling behind, not only from other nations, but neighboring states as well. We know our economy is dependent on an educated workforce. Yet lawmakers, in their frustration over the lack of schools improving, tend to come up with quick fixes, wanting accountability that unwittingly creates an unstable and unpredictable environment for school administrators to plan and measure results. As a consequence, the system becomes stultified, falters and wastes tax dollars with the result that students in today's classrooms become the real losers.