By Phil Mueller 

North Dakota has a proud heritage of public education. The State students' academic performance has been above average when compared to their counterparts in other states. However, a disturbing trend has developed in recent years. Other states are gaining on North Dakota and in some cases have passed our state's academic achievement. The accountability required by the No Child Left Behind Act has forced educators to confront the fact that the system is failing many students even as it is successful with the majority. Fifty-seven percent of the North Dakota class of 2008 are proficient in math and 73 percent are proficient in reading according to state assessments. We can and must do better.
    Of even greater concern is the fact that students in many countries around the world are out performing the students in the United States. This country's ability to maintain an economic edge is at risk without high academic expectations and performance. China and India and others are breathing down our necks!
    The Governor's Commission on Education has been charged with determining what is required to provide an adequate education for all North Dakota students. The Education Commission hired an educational adequacy consultant that has set forth an ambitious set of goals that is to result in a dramatic increase in academic performance in the next four to six years. It is an 88 page report that cannot be fully explained in this space. The goal of implementing the report is to have all students except those with severe disabilities perform at or above proficiency levels on tests and to boost the percentage of those performing at advanced levels especially in math and science.
    Some of the report's recommendations are state funding for pre-kindergarten programs for students from families that are at or below 200 percent of the poverty level. Continued state funding of full day kindergarten is essential according to the consultants. The report recommended that class sizes be no bigger than 15 for grades K through 3 and that 25 students be the maximum for grades 4 through 12.
    It was also recommended that a more intensive, structured teacher mentoring program be instituted to insure good teaching practices and that more career counseling be made available to students who are struggling to find their career niche. The report also suggests that the school day be four 90-minute class blocks to provide more in depth study on core subjects. The report highly recommended that much better intervention programs for students falling through the cracks be implemented. Summer school, after school, and tutoring programs need to be better than they currently are.
    The report has much more to suggest and the reports implementation has a rather healthy price tag. It is unlikely that all the recommendations will be passed through the Legislature but it is important that all the ideas be examined and discussed. We owe our students and our state's and country's future nothing less.
    For more information about the school report or other legislative issues, contact Rep. Phil Mueller, Rep. Ralph Metcalf, or Sen. Larry Robinson.