This too shall pass.
Many an educator recites this mantra when frustrated that policy mandates are getting in the way of student learning. Others, however, favor a decidedly different approach, one based on taking action and educating the policymakers.
In particular, members of many ASCD affiliates are making policy influence a part of their missions, goals, and member activities. Those who have worked to get involved say that making your voice heard is empowering. "It's exciting to think you can have a role in influencing policy," says Ann Etchison, executive director of Virginia ASCD.
Introductions First
Before policymakers will listen, however, they have to know for what and whom you stand. New Jersey ASCD found reason to approach policymakers in 1999 when many educators complained that the state standards assessments did not provide a complete picture of students' learning. "Members were giving us feedback that something was wrong," says Richard Flaim, the group's executive director. "They felt that the statewide focus was too narrow and that it was narrowing the curriculum. Other education organizations were getting similar feedback."
As a result, several education groups joined forces and formed the Coalition for Responsible Educational Assessment, Testing, and Evaluation, or CREATE. The coalition spearheaded a study analyzing what a good assessment of the N.J. Core Curriculum Content Standards should contain. "We began to see a big gap between what the research said about assessment and what our state program looked like," Flaim says. Working with education consultant Grant Wiggins, CREATE issued a paper advocating changes to the state assessment system and held symposiums to discuss the report.
Spreading the Word
In the face of growing public interest, the commissioner of education met with the coalition, but Flaim says coalition members did not come away from the meeting optimistic. "The state department of education developed the current system and had a lot invested in it," he notes.
Flaim and his associates pointed out that the existing system did not address all of the standards, particularly those involving higher-order thinking and creativity. They feared teachers would give less attention to these skills because they were not on the state test. "What gets tested gets taught," Flaim says. Coalition members weren't aiming to throw out the current pencil-and-paper tests; rather, they wanted to add assessments based on a student's reaction to a prompt. "Performance assessment is better suited to assessing higher thinking and creativity, and there's a certain type of teaching that has to occur for students to do well on those types of assessments," Flaim asserts.
Although they recognized that the education commissioner was not likely to make sweeping changes, Flaim recalls, CREATE members nonetheless saw "the potential to make a difference if we continued to support one another and collaborate on an issue that we all knew was right—right for kids, right for teachers."
Perseverance Pays Off
When a new governor was elected in fall 2001, coalition members shared their assessment concerns first with the transition team's education advisor and later with the designated education commissioner. After meeting with the group, the rising commissioner agreed to use CREATE as an advisory body for improving the state assessment system. He recommended, however, that the coalition involve the business community to gain political clout.
The coalition took his advice, and the resulting N.J. Performance Assessment Alliance found strength in numbers. "We realized that using the power of collaboration among many education and business groups was the way to effect change," Flaim says. "When groups go in individually, it's easier for public officials to divide and conquer. When a group comes in united behind common principles and beliefs that have been well researched, it's much more difficult for public officials to ignore."
As a result of the alliance's advocacy and influence, the state is now completing the second year of the New Jersey Performance Assessment Pilot Project, which uses performance assessment along with the current standards tests.
The pilot project continues to expand to more schools, and its success depends on federal funding, in-kind contributions from participating school districts, and support from the commissioner of education. "The reality of politics is that just as we had a different administration prior to the one that accepted our proposal, we never know whether the next administration will be receptive," Flaim acknowledges. But with the alliance's momentum, he says, "we are well positioned to influence decisions with succeeding administrations."
Pursuing Common Goals
The key to the alliance's success has been the shared goals and combined clout of its member groups, Flaim says: "The power of collaboration and partnerships is absolutely critical and phenomenal."
Virginia ASCD has followed a similar path to success, joining 11 other education groups to form the Virginia Education Coalition. Each organization has its own particular interests, "but we look for areas of common interest, such as responses to No Child Left Behind (NCLB), teacher salaries, and implications for education in the state budget," says Etchison of Virginia ASCD. Then, "we speak with one voice and write letters" to make the coalition's concerns known to legislators.
Coalition members also attend state department of education meetings and alert their groups' board members to proposed policy changes. "The coalition is one of the strongest ways we can advocate for public schools," Etchison asserts.
Education leaders in Virginia are struggling with particular aspects of NCLB that conflict with previously developed state efforts to improve teaching and learning. The state board of education officially requested waivers for specific NCLB requirements, and the coalition supported that effort. At press time, one of the waivers had been denied, but others were still under consideration.
Virginia ASCD has worked for many years to influence state policies, and now the affiliate is advancing to the federal level. This spring, members paid a visit to Capitol Hill. "Educators are feeling the impact of NCLB, and they really appreciate having associations step up to the plate," Etchison says. "We have a good sense of how it's impacting people in the trenches."
In Illinois, as in many other states, educators in the trenches are concerned about differences in districts' per-pupil spending. Some districts spend $6,000 per student while others spend $20,000, notes Don Kachur, executive director of Illinois ASCD. The amount depends on a combination of state support and property taxes. "We want to communicate how spending impacts the opportunities or lack of opportunities students have," he says.
Another concern is the state's decision to drop writing from statewide assessments in order to save money. Kachur says he fears this could lessen the emphasis on teaching writing in some schools.
When identifying areas for improvement, "you can't take on all the policy issues at once," cautions Kachur. While acknowledging that Illinois ASCD is "a novice organization trying to move into influence," he notes that its focus will always remain "the impact on teaching and learning."
Building Awareness
Wisconsin ASCD, also in the early stages of an influence drive, sponsored a day at the state capitol in March that included visits to state legislators and a lunch for local staff of U.S. House and Senate legislators.
It's important to start by building awareness and relationships, notes Denise Pheifer, the affiliate's executive director. Legislators are visited many times a day by constituents asking for funding increases, and Wisconsin ASCD leaders realized that they needed a different approach. "You have to be respectful and not immediately ask for something. Instead, you can ask how you can be helpful. We decided our major goal should be to provide information" when legislators have questions about an issue under consideration, she says. "We want legislators to get to know us as a trusted, reliable, expert source."
At the end of the day, Wisconsin ASCD leaders were thrilled with the connections they made with legislators and staff. They also found ways to continue those connections. One affiliate member wants her district to replicate a legislator's monthly meetings with school district heads. Other leaders signed up for e-mail lists to stay informed about pending legislation. Visiting educators also pointed legislators to ASCD resources such as ResearchBrief and Infobrief, Pheifer notes.
One legislator observed that educators often fear getting involved in politics or "think they're above it," Pheifer recalls, but he urged such interactions. Pheifer has her own message for colleagues reluctant to enter the political arena: "We have to open our eyes and see that this is the way things get done."
Knowledge Is Power
Educate your group's leaders about how public policy is made and what topics are hot. For example, invite policy analysts to speak at board meetings.
Have your leaders attend state board of education meetings and report back on pending legislation and current opposition to those bills.
Inform your membership about proposed policy changes via newsletter articles and conference presentations.
Partner with other education organizations when you share concerns about an issue.
"It's eminently helpful to speak with more than one voice" when working to drive changes in policy, Etchison emphasizes. "The more people you can get on that bus, the stronger your voice is going to be."
