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Ed reform debate seesaws between ACT, new standard

By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 28, 2008 at midnight

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What constitutes a rigorous course of study? How will students be tested?

Those two fundamental questions are at the heart of the current legislative debate over education reform. The answers could shape the state's public schools for years to come.

All parties to the discussion - including lawmakers, education groups, the state Education Department and Gov. Bill Ritter - say they want Colorado schools to reflect the highest academic standards in the world.

For some educators and lawmakers, that means traditional coursework, with success measured by paper-and-pencil tests.

Others would give the education department - in consultation with educators - wide latitude to develop new academic standards and tests. That could include nontraditional forms of instruction and testing - such as learning geometry by building a house.

That approach is seen as helping students who do poorly in traditional classrooms and are at risk of dropping out.

SB 212, the main education reform bill, has seesawed back and forth between the two concepts of academic rigor.

As drafted with heavy participation by Gov. Bill Ritter's office, the measure favored the less traditional approach.

Two weeks ago, the Senate substituted the more traditional approach. It directed the Education Department to set the ACT college entrance exam as the standard for what students should know, with the curriculum adjusted accordingly.

When the curtain rises today on the House Education Committee, the bill will mostly be back in its original form, although with somewhat different wording. The panel will vote on the bill as a whole.

Rep. Michael Merrifield, D- Colorado Springs, chairman of the House Education Committee, said having alternative forms of testing and instruction is important.

In the other chamber, Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, a co-sponsor of the bill, described himself as a "skeptic" on new forms of testing. He backed the decision to let the ACT serves as the academic standard.

Some educators and lawmakers say the majority of students will continue to learn in the traditional way even if SB 212 passes.

"I think that part of the bill has been a little bit oversold," Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, said of provisions that allow alternative testing.

Penry is a sponsor of the bill and favored the ACT standard.

"Most kids learn algebra II by taking algebra II. At least I did. It didn't come to me in a dream," Penry said.

What's next?

* Vote today: SB 212, the education reform bill, comes up for a vote today in the House Education Committee. If it wins approval in the full House, probably later this week, lawmakers will have to iron out substantial differences with the version passed in the Senate.

morsonb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5209