Achieve, Inc.
February 2005
A bunch of governors, a smattering of CEOs, and hordes of educators and hangers-on gathered this past weekend at a downtown Washington hotel to meditate on the plight of the American high school and what to do to fix (or replace) it. Bill Gates opened the "summit" with a withering indictment of today's high schools and, amid considerable hoopla and media attention, attendees struggled to propound alternative approaches. (The world's most successful capitalist did not, however, display inordinate affection for market-style solutions to education problems.) As with all "summits," the primary product had been scripted in advance, even released in advance, but it's a thoughtful piece of work that groups nine worthy "action items" under three headings: "restore value to the high school diploma," "redesign high schools," and "give high school students the excellent teachers and principals they need." Gates and several other foundations put some money on the table and a number of governors pledged their states to join the American Diploma Project, which seeks to harmonize high school exit standards with the entry expectations of colleges and employers. (See here and here.)
Though Secretary Spellings and several Congressmen addressed the closing session, this summit was not about federal policy. It was about what states should do to rekindle American secondary education, now being bested by many other countries. Two things struck me. First, how far every state has to go, against fierce interest group resistance and institutional inertia, to affect the changes set forth in the summit communiqu??; and, second, how closely this action agenda resembles an extension of NCLB to include high schools even as President Bush's plan to do precisely that is winning scant support on Capitol Hill. You can find the summiteers' action plan here.
"Mr. Gates goes to Washington," New York Times, March 1, 2005
"Microsoft's Gates urges Governors to restructure U.S. high schools," by Dan Balz, Washington Post, February 27, 2005
"Educational complacency will make U.S. feel the pain," Craig R. Barrett, USA Today, February 24, 2005
"Governors seek rise in high school standards," by Greg Winter, New York Times, February 23, 2005
