Reporter Volume 25, No.16 February 10, 1994

By MARK WALLACE
Reporter Staff

The recent New York State Commission on Educational Structures,
Policies, and Practices was more successful in its findings about the
condition of New York State's public education system than it was in
the recommendations it made about how to reform that system, Hugh
Petrie, dean of the UB Graduate School of Education, told the audience
gathered in Baldy Hall on Feb. 3 for his talk, "Beyond the Regents...
Beyond the Compact for Learning... What's Next for New York State?"
	Petrie called himself the "lone dissenter" on the commission,
and said he could give at best "qualified assent" to the report
"Putting Children First" issued by the commission on Dec. 21.
	Petrie began his talk by describing "the context in which the
commission was established," including the New Compact for Learning, a
plan for school improvement approved by the New York Board of Regents
several years ago. The New Compact for Learning developed a new
curriculum framework in standard subject matter areas, and new modes
of assessing the ability of students to meet standards in those
subject matters.
	Another contextual issue was what Petrie called the "two
systems of education in New York State"Qone suburban, mainly affluent,
white, and performing well, the other urban and rural, under financed
and performing less well. Also contextually important, he said, was
what the Business Council of the State of New York had called the "$11
billion mystery"Qthe question of what had happened to new money for
education in New York allocated over the last decade, which, Petrie
said, in fact turned out to be about $12 billion.
	The commission made a number of important findings, Petrie
said. He said they confirmed the perception that there was a "dual
system of education in New York." But low expectations for students
were statewide, the commission found, although the problem was worse
in schools that were doing less well, Petrie said. Such low
expectations, as well as a lack of access to high quality curriculum
and facilities, contributed to the problems of schools that were doing
less well, he said.
	The commission found inequitable access to early childhood
education, and to health and human services, Petrie said. Petrie said
the commission also found that special education was extremely
expensive, and that much of the missing new money for education had
gone to special education. The commission found a great deal of
inappropriate placement of students in special education programs,
Petrie said, because schools often had a financial incentive to place
students in those programs when they did not need to be there. Nor was
there much professional development for teachers who worked in special
education, he said.
	In fact, Petrie said, the commission found that there was
insufficient professional development for all levels of education
professionals, including teachers, administrators, and principals. For
instance, he said, many professionals had not been trained in changing
approaches to subject matter and achievement.
	The commission found that the missing $12 billion had for the
most part gone primarily to inflation, then to special education
programs, then for increased administration and salary raises for
senior teachers, Petrie said.
	A number of key issues came out of these findings, Petrie
said, including the problem of a "hostile labor management climate" in
which public employee unions were "refusing to think anew." Other
issues included the lack of incentives for cost-effectiveness in
schools, alienated taxpayers, the fiscal dependence on the state of
New York's "big five" cities, and the issue of how to solve
"fragmented" education governance.
	Petrie said that, unfortunately, he did not believe that the
recommendations issued by the commission would really help solve these
problems, although he said that a few of the recommendations, such as
the call for a "Children's Summit" that would define a common state
agenda for children, were somewhat useful. "Some of our
recommendationsQlike increasing the length of the school yearQhad
little to do with our findings," Petrie said. "I don't think that
re-thinking really happened."
	Little was said about how the reforms suggested by the
commission would be paid for, Petrie said. And, he said, the
commission supported the New Compact, despite dissent from local
school boards. Also, the commission called for BOCES to do more
professional development, without, Petrie said, taking into account
the uneven quality of BOCES across the state.
	"Because of the disjunction between the findings and the
recommendations of the commission, I gave only qualified assent to the
results of the commission," Petrie said. "We did not spend the time to
make the necessary analysis of how to make recommendations beyond
business as usual.
	"We missed what we might have been able to do. Maybe the
upcoming Children's Summit will give us a second chance."