Editorial

Richmond Times-Dispatch

September 16, 1993

Governor wilder has heard the outcry of Virginians about the dangerous direction that education reform had taken, and he has acted.  Yesterday afternoon he axed Outcome-Based Education.  For that he deserves high praise.

Political motives may be assumed, of course.  The effect of this may be to cool somewhat what was becoming a hot issue for the Republicans in this fall’s statewide races; or it may be to weaken the electoral chances of the Democrats who supported OBE.  But every Governor operates in a political milieu.  So often timidity or stubbornness prevent Governors from truly terminating well-entrenched programs within their own administrations.  For reasons of expedience, they will take half-measures that only give the impression something has been done.

There is nothing timid about Doug Wilder’s style of leadership.  When he decides something is wrong, he acts.  A close reading of yesterday’s statement, which is excerpted below, will bear that out.

The Governor began by making an important point:  that the World Class Education Initiative, of which the OBEish Common Core of Learning was the centerpiece, was begun “with the best of intentions.”  Indeed, many business and civic leaders came on board to push the school reform practically everyone acknowledges is needed.  We share the Governor’s hope they will stay aboard now – along with the many grassroots citizen-activists whose interest in education was piqued by this issue – to fashion constructive school improvement in every community.

As the Governor indicated, too many dubious agendas from the touchy-feely realm had piggybacked onto the World Class Education movement.  Basic skills and knowledge, he correctly stated, must remain the central goals of education, not values-clarification and the like.

There had been recent speculation that the State Board and Department of Education might tinker with the Common Core – removing some of the more egregious attitudinal outcomes – and then go to the public for the comment that should have been sought form the beginning three years ago.   But the Governor would have none of that.  He said the state’s fiscal crunch is too serious to permit further spending on the experimental stuff.  Put the money where it counts – and make sure local efforts to upgrade standards “are rewarded and emulated.”

That’s how reform must come, he said – “from the bottom up.” And that’s the message that needs now to be sent to Washington where the Clintons are pushing a top/down model of school reform that could bring the OBE nightmare back all too soon – in a federalized form.