The October 5, 2005 edition of FLORIDA TODAY had an interesting article titled, “Schools Re-Examine Approach” in which the following statistics were presented:

• The high school graduation rate in Brevard County is 92%. This is 20 points higher than state average.
• 12 out of 14 (86%) high schools in the county earned an A or B grade from state versus only 25% of all high schools in Florida.
• The graduation and drop out rates are second best in state

In light of these and other statistics, Dr. Richard DiPatri, Brevard County’s School Superintendent, was quoted as saying, “We have high-performing schools, but we know we can do better.” I could not agree more with Dr. DiPatri on the second part of his statement.

The statistics presented above may seem fine if take in a vacuum. When you put them into a national or international context, however, the statistics commonly publicized by the School Board may hide an unacceptably low level of performance.  By comparison:

• The US ranks 14th among developed countries in high school graduations rates behind countries such as Japan, Turkey, United Kingdom, and Korea.
• The academic rigor and performance expectations are higher in other developed countries than in the US.
• In 2004, Florida was ranked as the 39th smartest state in the country by Morgan Quitno Press (morganquitno.com/edrank04.htm) based, in part, on the proficiency of fourth and eight graders in reading, writing and math.
• The average SAT score for 2004 in the US according to the College Board was 1028. Seven of Brevard County’s 14 public high schools (Titusville, Rockledge, Palm Bay, Melbourne, Eau Gallie, Cocoa, and Bayside) had average scores below the national average.
• The public high school in Lexington, Massachusetts had an average SAT score of 1233. The high schools with the highest SAT scores in the county were:
  • Holy Trinity (1150 SAT score; private school, annual tuition of about $7,000)
  • West Shore in Melbourne (1144 SAT score, conducts a lottery to determine who is admitted)
  • Cocoa Beach (1107 SAT score)

Is our educational glass half full or half empty? If you believe that our children deserve the best public education possible (not just the best one in Florida), then the glass is definitely half empty. While the education in Brevard County may be among the best in the state, being the best player on the 39th ranked team in the country is no great honor.

There is shock, anger and demands for change when the football teams at Florida, Florida State and Miami are ranked outside the Top 10, if not the Top 5 in the country. And those are football teams! Will the 39th place ranking of the educational system in Florida ever stir a similar passion and demand for excellence?

It also strikes us as kind of sad that the cost of buying a median-priced home in Brevard County now exceeds the national norm, but our schools lag far behind. The average working person in Brevard County struggles to find affordable housing and can’t provide their children with the educational opportunities that will allow them to compete on a national and international stage. This is a deadly combination as Brevard County tries to attract businesses to relocate to the area.

People who care about the quality of education for our children and Florida’s future need to hold our educators accountable for performing at a higher level and making improvements faster. First and foremost, better performance is and should be about higher standards for administrators, teachers, students and parents. Concerned citizens need to:

• Demand that the leaders of our educational system have a compelling vision and plan to achieve academic excellence. Enough talk about how good we are relative to the rest of Florida—we must evaluate our performance against the best in the nation.
• Request that schools report their performance relative to best-in-class national standards. We should no longer tolerate performance measures that are based on minimal standards that allow schools to advertise themselves as being an ‘A’ rated school when their level of performance, on a national standard, is mediocre at best.

It’s time for our educational leaders to stop patting themselves on the back about how much progress has been made and to look in the mirror and focus on the fact that much more needs to be done to reach minimally acceptable performance standards.