Your group started in 1992 with a 10-year mandate. Now, you’re extending your work until at least 2010. Why?
The idea was not to go on in perpetuity, but our work is certainly not done. And the involvement of business in improving schools is vital and valued.
The economic base of Maryland is dependent on good schools. We benefit not only as companies, but as a community. We?re only as strong as our economic base — and our economic base cannot be strong if graduates cannot read beyond a 5th-grade level. We need students reading at a much higher level.
For instance, most training manuals are written at the 9th-grade level. We also need students to be able to pass entry tests [for jobs]. So, it is in the economic interest of business and in the community’s interest. We’ve had a tight focus, a tight mission.
What is MBRT’s focus?
Basically, we are the business partners for Maryland Schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick and the state Department of Education. Unlike many groups, we have state policy on education as our focus.
A lot of groups only provide programs. We are political, in that we make sure the policies that are established at the state level match the highest standards in the country. We want our schools
to be as good as any in the country. So we are monitoring and helping to establish state policy in Maryland.
In what other areas is the group active?
High school reform, which is just getting under way in Maryland, is an area of special interest to business — and where business can be particularly helpful.
For instance, we have Bethlehem Steel [Co.] look at entry-level tests to match standards. We?re trying to directly match the graduation requirements of the
state with entry-level requirements of colleges and workplaces in Maryland.
Over the past 10 years, education reform has produced substantial improvements in teaching and learning, but we still have a significant achievement gap that needs to be addressed.
Maryland schools have not made the progress in student performance over the past 10 years — specifically in reading, math and writing.
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There is still much to do. We will be around to improve the skills set for students in public schools so that they are well-prepared to enter the college and business markets.
What are the specific problems facing Baltimore’s public schools?
When we first started in the early ’90s, Baltimore City was one of the poorest performers in math and science of any urban area in the country. Reading was low too, but math and science were particularly noteworthy.
We have leadership changes at the top. And the partnership between the city and state makes for a much higher level of accountability. Superintendent Grasmick and others in leadership clearly defined what had to happen.
As a result, last year, Baltimore and Worchester County were the only two systems in the state that made significant gains. It is due to a focus on
performance. We are seeing improvement.
That said, there was such a gap between Baltimore City and the rest of the state, that it will take awhile
to catch up. We do have schools in the city that are oases of excellence: Mount Royal is one example. We hope to expand that.
The Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act has been touted as the antidote for improving the nation’s troubled public schools? Do you think this is so?
“No Child Left Behind” is the most sweeping legislation of the last three decades. It’s also the most prescriptive. There is much in it that is in alignment with what we are doing in Maryland.
The main areas with testing mandates are reading
and math. These will be tested annually. Maryland is developing high-school tests that students will have to take at the end of each course.
Individual student results will be made available to parents. Performance data will be released by gender, race and a student?s economic background.
The goal is to make sure that every group of kids is moving up. The spotlight will also be placed on performance data in Maryland, so that there is an assurance that all children are progressing adequately and annually.
High standards are at the core. We know there are certain things that need to take place in order for students to achieve. There are also components that address accountability.
Will this legislation address the specific issues facing public schools in the Baltimore region?
The city will fare well in federal funding for education.
For instance, the legislation targets urban communities or those with high poverty. Here is an
example: In the Clinton administration, money for technology was allocated statewide. This plan is much more tightly targeted, and more funding will be
a positive for the city.
The monitoring aspects of the program can only benefit Baltimore City children. Also, in a few years, there must be a qualified teacher in every classroom. They will have to be certified in the subject they are teaching. A physical education teacher won?t be teaching science.
The Bush plan also means new types of testing, such as the Maryland Student Assessment, which will be given in March. It will end the often controversial Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP). Good or bad?
We were strong advocates from the start — and very vocal in support of the MSPAP. The business community liked it as an assessment system. It tested the basics, plus problem-solving and applied knowledge.
However, we have taken into account the criticism. One thing you frequently heard was that individual students were not scored. With the new legislation, that’s a moot point now.
As with any program, it’s difficult to stand the test of time. In 2002, MSPAP was abandoned. It tested beyond reading and math. It also tested in areas such as writing, science, social studies and language usage.
We want the new tests to have the same high level of rigor and not be watered down. We want students to not only be taught reading and math; we want those other things taught in schools, too. We are adamant about that.
We hope the standards will stay in place and be rigorous.
The Bush plan also supports vouchers for private and parochial schools in some cases. Does MBRT have a formal position?
We don’t. We’ve had presentations made to our steering committee, but we have not gotten involved in that. We have chosen not to lose focus of public schools.
We want to ensure that standards are high in public schools. Some people believe that public schools can?t get any better, so they want us to take a position. But we do not believe that.
Another element of the Bush plan talks about for-profit education companies, such as Sylvan Learning Systems Inc. and Edison Schools Inc. Your opinion?
In “No Child Left Behind,” there is a whole section devoted to companies like Sylvan. Some call it the Sylvan section. The president and his people believe in outside support for kids most in need.
These companies are just part of the free-enterprise system.
They are two different birds — you can?t lump them together. Sylvan is not an alternative to public schools; it is supplemental. Edison has a reputation
for taking over troubled schools.
We are supportive of elements that work. Sylvan has a good record. The jury is still out on Edison. They have three schools, and are trying to make reforms. The success rate has been mixed.
Do they impede the effort to get more money for education? Are they a good alternative?
I don?t think they impede the flow of money to public schools. The money that Edison gets is well within the allocation of Baltimore City funds, and they also get state funding. That money should follow the child.
Sylvan is more federal, with Title I money that has to go to some program. It?s good to put it in a program that works.
In 2007, Maryland students will be required to pass stiff tests in order to graduate from high school. How will these new tough new tests prepare students for graduation?
Human-resource people are telling us that good, well-meaning people are falling through the cracks because they’re graduating from school not prepared.
We do a workplace survey about every 18 months. We try to get specific information for educators. About 70 percent of Maryland employers say communication, especially written communication, is a big problem.
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It’s not just in any one industry. It could be retail, where you have to do reports or apply listening skills on the phone.
This disconnect is not about the blame game. The issue is to make sure that when kids come of out high school, they have the tools they need.
Up to this year, there were tests, created in the early ’80s, that tested students on functional basic information. They tested things like how to
make change or read a map. That may have been OK in the ’80s, but the workplace has changed in the last 20 years. It?s much more challenging.
The bottom line is that schools have to change also. Testing is a form of accountability — and that?s the bottom line for schools.
MBRT has advocated for employers to consider high-school transcripts in making hiring decisions. Is this fair?
One of the great things about America is that it is a place of second chances. We would never want to take away the opportunities of a child.
That said, we want students to know that the record you create in high school will stand forever.
In some ways, the work that we’re doing is in our own self-interest. We do need a workforce we can count on. Students’ dreams are big, and they think that they can do it all without putting forth much effort. High school grades are some indication of whether the doors will be open or closed.
Some with poor grades break through. Many just don’t make it. It’s very hard to make it in life if you’re not reading by the 9th grade. They start behind in the workplace — and they stay behind.
So, how do you reach those kids?
To get in their faces, and tell them that all four years matter. We tell them you can’t just skim by and then perk up in the 12th grade and change the world.
We’ve had great success with our speaker’s bureau of young business professionals. We have about 850 men and women who talk to high school students. They tell the kids that student records are important. Each person has a record they create along the way.
Not all students who graduate from high school are headed for college. What is the roundtable doing to help ensure that their educational needs are being addressed?
If we can?t improve Maryland schools, it affects the economy. We cannot support the biotech expansion. We can recruit the best and brightest in the
world, but we also need good support staff. Even at the clerical level, you need math and science to do well.
We are seeing from our surveys, that technology is required in 80 percent of the workplaces in Maryland. The skills required are using the computer — not just a specific program or software — but effectively anlayzing information. Gathering information on
the Internet.
If we can adequately educate our children, they will be able to think on their feet in any situation. That translates into the business sector and promotes our local economy.
You’ve written about the need for American students to strengthen their math and science skills. Is this especially critical now?
Whenever I talk about this, some people always respond by saying, “I learned algebra, and I never use it at work.” But even in your personal life, you need math and science.
Math and science are really at the heart of Maryland’s economic growth. You see it in everything from health care at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. We know that at Perdue Farms [Inc.], the employees need math skills for project management — whether the amount they oversee is $1,000 or $18,000. It’s needed in companies where employees will have to understand finance, probability and statistics.
Fifty years ago, you may not have needed a higher level of math and science. But there have been dramatic changes in the new-world economy: We have seen an increase in remedial courses at the college level. We have seen an 84 percent drop-out rate at some community colleges — particularly in urban areas.
Many students don’t realize that they have to take many remedial courses — at a cost, yet for no credit — and it could take them five years to get an associate’s degree. They are at a disadvantage without that strong background in math and science.