Create higher expectations for education in Iowa

By Tom Aller and Clay Jones

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Fundamentally, all Iowans have a vested interest in the quality of education for our young people and the state's future. After all, Iowa's long-term economic prosperity and quality of life are firmly grounded in our educational system. Today's students are tomorrow's workforce, entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders.

Unfortunately, data shows the challenges ahead. Since 2003, Iowa's ranking among states in 8th-grade reading proficiency has dropped from 11 to 26, and our 8th-grade math proficiency from 12 to 29. Simply put, we must do better - and that calls for fresh thinking. As management consultant Peter Drucker warned, “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence, but to act with yesterday's logic.”

The Iowa Business Council supports the education reform initiative being considered by the Iowa General Assembly today. We encourage our political leaders to work together to reach a resolution that benefits Iowa's young people and positions our state as a leader in innovation; promotes student achievement in critical subject areas such as math and science; and implements efficiencies for clearing pathways rather than creating obstacles to students reaching their learning potential.

Any educational reform package should focus consideration on the following areas to sustain measurable success:

l Accountability: Creating a series of checks and balances to evaluate teacher performance and competitively recognize and reward those who enhance student achievement.

l Assessment: Developing comprehensive testing methods to benchmark student preparedness early enough to ensure that all students are prepared for advanced learning through college or career training.

l Curriculum: Establishing a rigorous K-12 curriculum - focused on key subject areas such as reading, math, science, civics, foreign languages, financial literacy, health and wellness - that challenges students to achieve their learning potential, builds crucial skills such as problem solving, team building and cultural awareness, and prepares those students to thrive amid the ever-increasing demands of the 21st century workforce.

l Retention: Ensuring students are prepared for the challenges ahead throughout their academic career by demonstrating subject matter competencies as part of the decision process to promote students to higher grades.

l STEM Initiative: Our workforce is increasingly dependent on highly skilled and technical workers, but today there are a decreasing number of workers to fill these positions. While the Science, Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Initiative of the Governor's STEM Advisory Council is not part of the Legislature's current education reform proposal, it is an essential element to ensure our children have increased career opportunities. We endorse fully funding the recommendations of the STEM Advisory Council, which will help boost student interest and achievement in STEM subjects.

In Iowa today, we are in the midst of a debate among our policymakers and elected leaders about bringing these and other reforms to our state. While the outcome of this debate is still unclear, one thing is certain. The education system that got us to where we were, as the envy of the world in the 20th century, is insufficient to enable our state to compete in the evolving global marketplace of the 21st century.

We hope that this earnest debate serves as a wake-up call for Iowans to raise our sights and create higher expectations for our education system and for a better future for our children. The Iowa Business Council and our individual companies stand ready to work together to position Iowa as the standard of education excellence for generations to come.

Tom Aller is president, Interstate Power and Light, and Senior Vice President, Energy Resource Development, Alliant Energy. Clay Jones is president, chairman and CEO of Rockwell Collins. Comments: info@rockwellcollins.com or alliantenergynews@alliantenergy.com