by AFT President Sandra Feldman
February 2000

We need to
continue the
commitment to
high standards
and safe schools.

It's a shame to see opposition beginning to develop against two of the most important trends in education: higher academic standards and zero-tolerance policies. The higher academic standards that states are putting into place worry parents and others because they fear that too many children will be held back and large numbers will be unable to graduate. Policies that call for zero tolerance of violence, drugs, and weapons in schools are being ridiculed or even called racist because they have been imperfectly – and in some places stupidly – applied.

But the problem here is not with the principles behind standards and zero tolerance--the overwhelming majority of people, including teachers, principals, and parents, believe we should raise the bar on student achievement and behavior. The difficulty lies in getting the policies done right. We need to recognize problems as they come up and work to solve them instead of giving up on higher standards and zero tolerance at the first sign of difficulty.

Making Standards Work

Nearly every state is raising its standards for what kids should know and be able to do, and we’re already seeing positive results. More students are taking challenging academic courses--for example, the percentage of African-American youngsters taking Algebra II rose 20 percentage points between 1982 and 1994. Fewer students are dropping out than in the 1970s and 1980s--the improvement is especially striking for black students--and scores are up on both SAT and ACT exams, as are student test scores in many of our most troubled schools.

But there are problems. In too many places, school officials are relying too heavily on high-stakes tests to determine whether students are meeting standards. Tests are valuable. They provide a common measure of how well students are doing, and high-stakes tests give students a strong incentive to study hard. But it's wrong to have a single test determine whether students graduate. Tests should be one--but not the only--factor in assessing student performance.

If we want to make higher standards work, teachers must understand what they are and how to teach to them. They need professional development coordinated with their state’s standards and curriculum guidelines based on the standards. Tests have to reflect the curriculum. And last but far from least, students who are having a hard time meeting the standards must get the help they need--and get it early. When these essential supports are missing, many students will fail to make the grade--and their parents will become angry and disenchanted with standards.

Discipline and Common Sense

Zero-tolerance policies work, too. Where they have been appropriately applied to serious offenses, there have been fewer incidents of violence and disruption. Despite several horrifying incidents in recent years, school crime is at its lowest level in decades, especially in urban schools. As with higher academic standards, however, the policy must be carefully drawn and sensibly implemented.

Discipline codes are supposed to make clear exactly what kinds of behavior go over the line, as well as the consequences that will follow for kids who engage in them. The point of nailing down the consequences is to ensure that the captain of the football team does not get away with a tap on the wrist for the same offense that caused another kid to get suspended from school. Zero tolerance, which usually means expulsion, should be reserved for carrying weapons, drug offenses, and violent acts.

Even the strongest supporters of zero tolerance--and AFT is among them--have to admit that some disciplinary codes are poorly written and poorly administered. It is unfair--and ridiculous--to lump bringing a loaded gun to school with bringing a nail file, but some one-size-fits-all policies seem to do just that. It's also unfair to ignore a student's disciplinary record: A kid who breaks the rules all the time deserves different treatment from one who's made a single, minor misstep. And zero tolerance should never be an excuse for throwing kids out on the streets. Districts need alternative placements for kids who are chronically disruptive, and these must be good learning environments, not miniature prisons.

We know higher academic standards and zero tolerance policies work when they are done right. If we need to make some mid-course corrections, we should. But the commitment to safe schools and high achievement for our kids must continue.