We began with an education discussion forum that included school board representatives, city council members, Chamber of Commerce members, students and other dignitaries. I received a number of interesting questions. One was quite broad, asking if the Ventura Administration was making any big changes within the state education system, specifically the Graduation Standards. As a recent independent analysis suggests, we are going in the right direction with our Graduation Standards, but we need to make adjustments to improve them.
Some revisions are already underway on the tenth grade tests.
When such tests are used in the proper way, they are important tools for teachers to clarify their teaching methodology. At their best, tests stimulate teachers to develop new ideas and to try new methods. A school board member asked how I feel about linking test scores to teacher compensation. I think the best way to judge teacher performance is to look at student progress from the beginning to the end of the year. It's not accurate to use selective tests to judge the negative, but they can be used to judge the positive.