These are classic discussions published back in December 2011

Are Utah Students Prepared for College?

December 12, 2011
Before my daughter could read, she entered a competition and was awarded a blue “Participant” ribbon. She proudly showed it to me and said, “Look! I won!” It didn’t hurt anything to smile and say, “Yes! You did!” But, in some things, it is harmful to confuse participation with victory. And, even worse, if we believe that our weaknesses are, instead, strengths, we will never work to eliminate those weaknesses, and they will persist. I recently pointed out that the college readiness of Utah students is ugly. In other words, I didn’t hand out a blue Participant ribbon. My bad. Maybe I should have said that our college preparation levels are big-boned or have sweet spirits, because my candid (and accurate) assessment has caused that great guardian of the status quo – offense – to raise its wounded head. Well, facts are facts. If we don’t examine them, we won’t improve. If we examine them, but merely take offense that we aren’t being... (read more)
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What Education Innovation Looks Like

December 9, 2011
Schmoop! I can tell you about the future of education, or you can just look for yourself. Peck around on the Shmoop website, and ask yourself how much it would cost to deliver this awesomeness to Utah students. Currently, Shmoop’s website is pointed toward AP and college placement testing, but don’t let that limit your vision. They are in the student-learning business. And, they are one of the innovators that is changing the rules and improving outcomes. In an engaging way, and in a stinking affordable way, they help students learn. They are finding their way into libraries and schools, and they are changing the dynamic. I just had a fabulous meeting with Shmoop founder Ellen Siminoff, and I couldn’t be more excited! I am recommending that the Utah System of Higher Education put together a product (1) to inform high school students (and their parents) whether they are college ready and (2) to remediate the specific deficiencies of students who are not ready.... (read more)
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My Plan to Double Utah’s Graduation Rate by 2020

December 3, 2011
I will introduce legislation to double Utah’s college completion rate over the next 8 years. Currently, our state system graduates about 40% of its students. By comparison, BYU graduates its students at twice that rate. With slight changes to existing programs, the institutions in the Utah System of Higher Education (“USHE”) can graduate 80% of their students by 2020. This legislation will fit well with Governor Herbert’s existing goal of having 66% of our population obtain a post-secondary degree, since that would be a mathematical impossibility with our current completion rate. The reason for Utah’s low completion rate is poor college preparation. Students requiring developmental courses likely will not graduate college. Yet, the vast majority of students entering the USHE system do require developmental courses. Thus, it is to be expected that most will not complete. Students who require developmental courses in college have less than a 25% likelihood of completing – no matter where they go to college. Some might want... (read more)
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To Significantly Improve Education in Utah

December 1, 2011
Man! Did Rep. Ipson and I see something amazing today! We visited Southwest High School – the Washington County adult education high school. Anyone 16-years old or older can attend, as long as they are not enrolled in a traditional school. About 1% of the student body is there because they want to accelerate their graduation. The other 99%? I’m glad you asked. Southwest gets some self-referrals, it gets students who have been kicked out of traditional schools, and it gets students from the abused women’s shelter, Vocational Rehabilitation, homeless shelters, “lost children” from polygamist communities, Juvenile Justice Services, Drug Court, Adult Probation & Parole, and Purgatory. That last place is the name of the local prison, but it also could serve as an apt metaphor for the educational status of many of the students. Though most students have completed 10th or 11th grade, they have the academic functioning level of 8th grade. Let’s skip to the chase. What are the results? Last... (read more)
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