The Essential Components of a Successful Education System: Putting Policy Into Practice

GENERAL

Research Abstract
The Essential Components of a Successful Education System: Putting Policy Into Practice

These components reflect the best research, thinking, and practice arising from the education community. They were refined based on extensive input and discussion from educators, policy makers, and business leaders.

These components serve as a nine-point agenda for educational change, a blueprint for efforts by The Business Roundtable companies and other business organizations - in cooperation with policy makers, educators, and other education stakeholders - to achieve the six National Education Goals. While the six goals represent the educational outcomes we as a nation want and need to achieve, the nine essential components provide the structure for reaching those goals.

This publication is designed to help The Business Roundtable companies and others work toward this goal. Its first section, Policies that Exemplify the Nine Essential Components, provides examples of policies, programs, and practices that illustrate each of the nine essential components. The second section, State-level strategies for Achieving the Nine Essential Components, provides guidance for working with state policy makers, educators, and other companies in the development and implementation of an education agenda.

There is no one set of policies, programs and practices that should be enacted in every state. There is no step-by-step process for working successfully with policy makers and educators in every state. What this publication does is provide guidance. The hard work of adapting this guidance to the circumstances in each state is still up to the individual companies and their partners.

CONTENTS
Introduction.

Policies that Exemplify the Nine Essential Components:

The nine essential components of a successful education system.

      1. A successful educational system operates on four assumptions.
             - Every student can learn at significantly higher levels.
             - Every student can be taught successfully.
             - High expectations for every student are reflected in curriculum
               content, though instructional strategies may vary.
             - Every student and every preschool child needs an advocate -
               preferably a parent.

      2. A successful system is performance or outcome based.

      3. A successful system uses assessment strategies as strong and rich as the outcomes.

      4. A successful system rewards schools for success, helps schools in trouble, and penalizes schools for persistent or dramatic failure.

      5. A successful system gives school-based staff a major role in instructional decisions.

      6. A successful system emphasizes staff development.

      7. A successful system provides high-quality prekindergarten programs, at least for every disadvantaged child.

      8. A successful system provides health and other social services sufficient to reduce significant barriers to learning.

      9. A successful system uses technology to raise student and teacher productivity and expand access to learning. The Kentucky approach.

State-Level Strategies for Achieving the Nine Essential Components:

Develop internal awareness and knowledge.
Join or form a coalition.
Develop relationships with the key stakeholders.
Establish a comprehensive agenda that includes the essential components.
Develop a strategic plan.
Implement the plan.
Lessons learned.

Appendices:
     Essential components of a successful education system.
     Resources and reference sources for the policy examples.
     Reference materials.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Report
Bergman, Terri
33 p.
December, 1991
PUBLISHER DETAILS

Business Roundtable
1717 Rhode Island Avenue, NW, Suite 800
Washington
DC, 20036
Categories