These coalitions have recommended several changes, including moving to an educational system whose success is measured on student performance. This new system will hold students, staffs, and districts accountable for public funding by setting measurable standards for student performance, with results being shared with local residents annually. Those districts that can show that their education dollars have resulted in high student performance will build confidence in the public education system. This confidence will create a more positive atmosphere for future funding requests. That those funds will be limited is a given, so districts must become more innovative and efficient.
Technology is the partial answer to greater innovation and efficiency in public schools.
It will allow increased staff and student productivity, as it has in other industries, as well as greater personalization of instruction and achievement tracking. But before districts begin incorporating new technologies and other innovations into their classrooms, they must first have a vision for the future. Long-range planning must occur at the local, state, regional, and federal levels and must result in a vision that ensures that American students will be able to compete in a global society both now and in the future. In Minnesota, small steps have been taken toward creating a long- range vision for public education. This vision includes greater collaboration, performance standards for students, and uniform access to educational technology.