Committee for Economic Development
February, 2004
This report by the Committee for Economic Development offers a number of worthwhile recommendations to improve education. They're centered on dollars and cents, and they're not particularly novel, perhaps because these are sensible ideas that reform-minded groups have been suggesting for years. What this report does well is present a concise yet reasoned case for each recommendation. Its authors argue that decision-making authority should be decentralized, that teacher salaries should be properly acknowledged in school budgets, that teacher pay scales should be eliminated, that salaries be based (at least in part) on how much one's students learn, and that alternative models (like charter schools) should be supported. We agree. CED tackles these issues from a business perspective and no doubt some in education will respond that "schools aren't businesses" or "what works in the boardroom doesn't necessarily work in the classroom." However, anyone prone to such a knee-jerk reaction should note that this report also addresses this concern. CED does not say that models from corporate America can simply be applied to schools but that education leaders can glean valuable lessons from business that need to be tailored to fit schools' needs. Sure, education is different, but not so different that it need defy common sense and a wealth of evidence about what works in other sectors. You can find this report online at http://www.ced.org/projects/educ.shtml, where it's free to download or you can pay $15 for a hard copy.
