Schools get graded against Gov. Hunt's goals
December 9, 2000

As we read the N.C. Schools First in America 2010 report, announced by Gov. Jim Hunt this week, we thought immediately of National Public Radio's Lake Wobegon.

That's "where the women are strong, the men are good looking and the children are all above average."

As Hunt revealed the grades in the 2000 report card on North Carolina schools, it was comforting to see that our children and our schools are "all above average."

Actually, neither Hunt nor the people who compiled the data would say our state's children are above average even though the overall scores might make it seem that way.

But it doesn't take long for a reader to wonder if the report suffers from a little grade inflation as strong family, business and community support earns a B-minus. The same grade is given to every child ready to learn and to quality teachers and administrators.

The safe, orderly and caring schools category is given only a C-plus and the lowest grade of C is reserved for student performance.

The highest percentage among the various goals is 91 percent for "every family involved in their child's learning." But we think you might be hard-pressed to find many teachers in Davidson County and elsewhere who believe that more than nine of 10 parents are as involved in their child's learning as the teachers believe they should be.

The goal that is the furthest from the targeted 100 percent is "every school with adequate facilities and materials." It hits only 56 percent, a believable number if you've visited a public school recently.

In additional measurements against other states, North Carolina does very well when compared with some and not so well with others. We are first in numbers of teachers attaining National Board Certification, tied for first with North Dakota in having the lowest percentage of students involved in a physical fight on school property, tied for second in percentage of high school students taking upper-level math courses and tied for third best in the percentage of students carrying a weapon on school property during the past 30 days.

At the opposite end of the scale, though, we're 48th in SAT scores, tied for 48th in students per Internet-connected computer, tied for 45th in percent of teachers who report being threatened or attacked in their school, tied for 41st in percentage of children 12-17 who smoke and tied for 41st in high school dropouts.

This comprehensive look at our children, educators and schools is believed to be the first time a state has done it and we commend Hunt and his team of educators for setting out these measurable goals.

We're pleased Gov.-elect Mike Easley is committed to continuing Hunt's project. But the governor was wise to set the year 2010 as the goal for North Carolina schools to be First in America because reaching it even in a decade will be a monumental task