Thomas B. Fordham Institute - Advancing Educational Excellence

The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children?

November 1, 2006

The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children? appraises each state according to thirty indicators across three major categories: student achievement for low-income, African-American, and Hispanic students; achievement trends for these same groups over the last 10-15 years; and the state's track record in implementing bold education reforms. It finds that just eight states can claim even moderate success over the past 15 years at boosting the percentage of their poor or minority students who are at or above proficient in reading, math or science. In addition, most states making significant achievement gains--including California, Delaware, Florida, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas--are national leaders in education reform, indicating that solid standards, tough accountability, and greater school choice can yield better classroom results.

View the press release for this report

Contents

New Hampshire

 


 


 

Like a Rock: School Reform in the Granite State

Years of wind, rain, and snow recently felled the Old Man of the Mountain, a 200-million-year-old rock formation hanging over Profile Lake, which remains the state's symbol. The education establishment, however, is still holding on.

Of course, it hasn't faced the weathering influences that slowly chipped away at the free-hanging, naturally occurring stone structure. So few of the state's 207,000 students are minorities, for example, that their performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress isn't reported because the numbers are too small to be statistically significant. African-American and Hispanic students make up just 1 percent and 2 percent, respectively, of the state's K-12 population. So it's hard for residents to be agitated about achievement gaps. (The middling math achievement of its low-income students should be cause for concern, however.) Moreover, there are no big cities with decaying public schools, which often catalyze and focus education reform.

But the biggest reason the state hasn't embraced reform, says Susan Hollins, who heads the New Hampshire Center for School Reform, is that "we are one of those states where people don't like to change. Things have been done a certain way for the longest time." That, she and others will explain, is why the state is looking down only at Vermont when it comes to its grade for school reform.

But even entrenched bureaucracies face stresses, and while the state Department of Education isn't likely to collapse anytime soon, cracks are appearing in its hold over the public education system.

The most obvious fissures are seen in the arrival of charter schools. The state passed a charter law in 1995, but the first schools didn't open until 2004. Today, there are six charters in operation with five more due to come online this year and next. The board of education is authorized to approve up to 20 additional charters over the next 10 years.

The effort has been slow in developing because the state education department maintains that it is "testing" charter schools in a "careful and measured way." No one will accuse New Hampshire leaders of overpromising. And with roughly half the funds that traditional public schools receive, charters will be hard pressed to overdeliver.

Beyond charters, however, there are other areas in need of reform. According to Hollins, the most urgent is teacher licensing. Teachers don't necessarily receive licenses based on their competence and ability. The licensing practice can be expensive (upwards of $500 for those not coming from an education school, just for application and processing fees) and confusing. While the state does allow experts in critical needs areas to become teachers, the state blocks their path with onerous requirements and bureaucratic red tape.

Another factor preventing second-career candidates from entering the teaching ranks is salary. Union contracts require new teachers-whether fresh out of education school or with 20 years of professional experience in a particular subject area-to start at the bottom of the teachers' pay scale.

Fred Bramante, who serves on the state Board of Education and was its chair from 2003 to 2005, isn't deterred. While Hollins and others talk about how slowly change comes, Bramante believes that the climate for reform in New Hampshire is "better than anywhere in the United States."

The reason for this confidence is that he led the charge in 2006 for the state Board of Education to successfully change the rules that guide every district: the Minimum Standards for Public School Approval. In essence, the state has mandated that schools be more flexible in how they bestow course credit.

Among the more interesting examples is that students can earn credits for "extended learning opportunities." This would include education through private instruction, independent study, or apprenticeships. In other words, you can earn credits and never go to school. A child who loves sports can get physical education credit for playing on the basketball team or studying karate, Bramante said. Students who take piano lessons or play in a rock and roll band can get music credit. Science lovers can earn credit at the local planetarium.

"It's like, Holy smokes, we've created the rules that will allow a new high school model to emerge," Bramante said. "It's going to be market driven. The kids will have much more say in their education than ever before."

Holy smokes? Simmer down, Mr. Bramante. Freeing up the system to be more innovative is necessary, but far from sufficient. Raising New Hampshire's mediocre academic standards is critical, too. And that rock and roll can be confused with reform says a lot about how far New Hampshire has to go on the school reform front. When it comes to the transformations needed in the state's education system, the band is just warming up.

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