Oklahoma's education outcomes have declined in the past decade. New rules will change that.

Gov. Kevin Stitt recently approved administrative rules for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. One of those rules, tying accreditation to student outcomes, has garnered much handwringing from those invested in maintaining the status quo in our schools. 

Under the rule, a school would receive a deficiency should fewer than 50 percent of its students test at or above “basic” in English language arts and mathematics in third, eighth and 11th grades. If you are unfamiliar with the scale, basic is the third lowest of the four categories used. In other words, the only districts that would be affected are those in which more than 50% of their students score at the lowest level.

A school’s primary objective is to educate students, and math and reading are the two subject areas that students must have some mastery of if they hope to pursue higher education, have a successful career, enter the military or just manage their own lives. If a school consistently fails to adequately perform its basic duty, this new designation requires them to facilitate and execute a plan that addresses the specific areas in which their students are coming up short. 

Look at the recent example of Tulsa Public Schools. When the State Board of Education voted to lower their accreditation status, the district made changes, and student improvements were forthcoming. While there are still plenty of opportunities for improvement, positive change is happening and the district is, for the first time in years, headed in the right direction. The same could happen in districts large and small across the state. 

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A recent editorial written by an opponent of the rule lamented that more than 60 school districts (out of nearly 550 statewide) could be immediately impacted by this rule, including Tulsa and Oklahoma City. What the author failed to mention, however, is that there are already more than 200 schools that are currently operating with a deficiency of some type, proving that simply being given a deficiency is far from the doomsday scenario the author claims it to be. 

The author also claimed this rule could negatively impact economic growth, property values and workforce development. Businesses don’t care about accreditation status. They care about having an educated workforce. What negatively impacts our economy, property values and workforce development isn’t a label, but rather the fact that we have too many schools where more than half of our students can’t read or do math effectively. 

Using just about any available objective measurement, our education outcomes have declined over the past decade. While I can’t guarantee this rule will solve all of our problems, I can guarantee what won’t ― doing the same things we’ve been doing and hoping that things will magically get better. Hope is not a plan, and our children deserve better.

Opinion:Proposed education rules' real purpose is to shut down Oklahoma schools, create chaos

Our schools are full of wonderful teachers, and I believe in the abilities of our students. We shouldn’t be scared of shining a light on the areas that need improvement. That’s how real change happens, and our kids are worth it.

Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, serves District 40 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes part of Enid in Garfield County.