Description
Description explain americas k 12 education crisis is a higher education problem.
A07-001
AMERICA’S K-12
EDUCATION CRISIS
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY FACULTY AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA’S
KENAN-FLAGLER BUSINESS SCHOOL
AMERICA’S K-12 EDUCATION CRISIS IS A HIGHER EDUCATION
PROBLEM
Author
James H. Johnson, PhD
William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, Kenan-Flagler
Business School
Director, Urban Investment Strategies Center, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Abstract
Public K-12 schools in America are challenged by a range of issues, including
crumbling infrastructure, teacher shortages, deficits in teacher quality, and
inadequate funding. Further complicating matters, the demography of the
school-age population is changing dramatically and schools are re-segregating
along race/ethnic lines. Emblematic of the trend toward re-segregation, the K-
12 education “crisis” is concentrated in school districts and in schools within
districts with high concentrations of poor, minority, and immigrant children,
who will constitute a majority of the traditional college age population in the
years ahead.
The author proposes that, if higher education is to become more inclusive in
the years ahead, colleges and universities must become more engaged in
efforts to improve low performing schools. This article recommends that
higher education institutions forge cross-campus strategic partnerships to
assist low-performing schools with curriculum development and program
improvement.
Publication
Keywords:
Johnson, education, higher education, K-
12, curriculum, economic development,
entrepreneurship, university, inclusion
Johnson, James H. “America's K-12 Education Crisis is a Higher Education
Problem.” Sustainable Enterprise Quarterly, Center for Sustainable Enterprise,
Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina. Vol. 3, No. 3,
Mar. 2007. This essay is an excerpt from a forthcoming paper, “Preparing Our
Youth for an Unsparing Global Economy” by James H. Johnson, which will
appear as a chapter in a forthcoming book, The Politics of Inclusion, edited by
James Moeser and John Charles Boger, UNC Press, 2008.
©2007 Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC,
USA. Reprinted by permission. Available online at www.cse.unc.edu. Clarifications or
comments may be directed to [email protected].
AMERICA’S K-12 EDUCATION CRISIS IS A HIGHER EDUCATION
PROBLEM
By James H. Johnson, Jr., Ph.D.
K-12 education in America is in a profound state of crisis.
1
Public schools are challenged by a range
of issues, including crumbling infrastructure, teacher shortages, deficits in teacher quality, and
inadequate funding to provide America’s youth with a world-class education. Further complicating
matters, the demography of the school-age population is changing dramatically and schools are re-
segregating along race/ethnic lines.
2
Emblematic of the trend toward re-segregation, the K-12 education “crisis” is concentrated in school
districts and in schools within districts with high concentrations of poor, minority, and immigrant
children, who will constitute a majority of the traditional college age population in the years ahead.
3
Nowhere are these trends more apparent than here in the state of North Carolina.
Seventeen of North Carolina’s public high schools were labeled as “priority” or “low performing”
schools in 2004-05. While black students account for 31% of total enrollment in North Carolina
public schools, they comprise 85% of enrollment in these 17 schools. Statistics on student
preparedness and performance in these 17 high schools are telling.
In comparison to a statewide average of 74.8%, only 46% of the students in these 17 schools
performed at grade level on end of course tests in 2004-05.
Only 59% of the students attending these 17 schools took the SAT compared to 74% of all
high school students in the state.
The average SAT score for students in the 17 high schools (829) was 181 points below the
statewide average SAT score (1,010).
These dismal statistics stem, at least in part, from the fact that these 17 high schools have on average
a much lower percentage of fully licensed teachers, a much higher percentage of emergency or
provisional licensed and lateral entry teachers, and a much higher teacher turnover rate than other
high schools in the state. In addition, the administrative leadership of these schools—at least until
recently—was less experienced than their counterparts in the state’s highest performing schools.
If higher education is to become more inclusive in the years ahead, colleges and universities must
become more actively engaged in efforts to improve these and other low performing schools.
Success will hinge, however, on the ability of higher education institutions to forge the requisite
cross-campus strategic partnerships and inter-university linkages in the areas where low-
performing schools need the most help.
We know, for example, that both administrative leadership and management are weak in these
schools. University schools of education and schools of business should jointly develop
management training programs to strengthen the leadership and strategic management skills of
low-performing public school administrators. Joint teams of professors from these two professional
1
Business-Higher Education Forum, 2005, A Commitment to America’s Future: Responding to the Crisis in
Mathematics & Science Education. Washington, DC: Business-higher Education Forum, January.
2
James H. Johnson, Jr., Race, Class, and Education, Strategies Needed to Battle RE-Segregation of Public Schools,”
Charlotte Observer, October 20, 2006, p. 10A.
3
James H. Johnson, Jr., 2006, “People on the Move: Implications for U.S. Higher Education, College Board Review, Fall,
2006, pp. 4-9.
A07-001 1
schools should also help low-performing schools to develop turnaround strategies—business plans,
if you will—to boost academic performance.
4
At the same time, a much broader and more diverse set of university stakeholders must work with
low-performing public schools to substantially restructure the academic curriculum. K-12 course
offerings must be redesigned to equip students with the requisite skills to cope with the rapid and
unpredictable changes that are likely to characterize the world of work and business in the years
ahead.
Students will need to graduate from high school with greater entrepreneurial acumen—a
demonstrated willingness to take higher risks for higher rewards and the ability to be agile, resilient,
tenacious, and decisive in responding to unanticipated crises and opportunities. Because these
entrepreneurial attributes are essential to prosper in the increasingly turbulent and unpredictable
economy of the 21st century, K-12 institutions must incorporate more entrepreneurial education
content in their curriculums.
Higher education institutions must become more actively involved in efforts to solve the K-12
education crisis not solely for social or morals reasons. It is also a strategic imperative—a form of
enlightened self-interest—which should be embraced to ensure a continuous flow of highly
qualified students with diverse race/ethnic and economic backgrounds into the halls of higher
education institutions. Given the large wave of aging baby boomers who are about to retire, we will
need the skills and talents of these young people to remain globally competitive in years ahead. ?
This essay is an excerpt from a forthcoming paper, “Preparing Our Youth for an Unsparing Global
Economy,” which will appear as a chapter in a forthcoming book, The Politics of Inclusion, edited by James
Moeser and John Charles Boger, UNC Press, 2008.
4
With support from the UNC General Administration, UNC-CH’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the University
System’s Principals’ Executive Program have jointly launched such a program to assist North Carolina’s 17 lowest
performing high schools.
A07-001 2
doc_411987743.pdf
Description explain americas k 12 education crisis is a higher education problem.
A07-001
AMERICA’S K-12
EDUCATION CRISIS
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY FACULTY AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA’S
KENAN-FLAGLER BUSINESS SCHOOL
AMERICA’S K-12 EDUCATION CRISIS IS A HIGHER EDUCATION
PROBLEM
Author
James H. Johnson, PhD
William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, Kenan-Flagler
Business School
Director, Urban Investment Strategies Center, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Abstract
Public K-12 schools in America are challenged by a range of issues, including
crumbling infrastructure, teacher shortages, deficits in teacher quality, and
inadequate funding. Further complicating matters, the demography of the
school-age population is changing dramatically and schools are re-segregating
along race/ethnic lines. Emblematic of the trend toward re-segregation, the K-
12 education “crisis” is concentrated in school districts and in schools within
districts with high concentrations of poor, minority, and immigrant children,
who will constitute a majority of the traditional college age population in the
years ahead.
The author proposes that, if higher education is to become more inclusive in
the years ahead, colleges and universities must become more engaged in
efforts to improve low performing schools. This article recommends that
higher education institutions forge cross-campus strategic partnerships to
assist low-performing schools with curriculum development and program
improvement.
Publication
Keywords:
Johnson, education, higher education, K-
12, curriculum, economic development,
entrepreneurship, university, inclusion
Johnson, James H. “America's K-12 Education Crisis is a Higher Education
Problem.” Sustainable Enterprise Quarterly, Center for Sustainable Enterprise,
Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina. Vol. 3, No. 3,
Mar. 2007. This essay is an excerpt from a forthcoming paper, “Preparing Our
Youth for an Unsparing Global Economy” by James H. Johnson, which will
appear as a chapter in a forthcoming book, The Politics of Inclusion, edited by
James Moeser and John Charles Boger, UNC Press, 2008.
©2007 Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC,
USA. Reprinted by permission. Available online at www.cse.unc.edu. Clarifications or
comments may be directed to [email protected].
AMERICA’S K-12 EDUCATION CRISIS IS A HIGHER EDUCATION
PROBLEM
By James H. Johnson, Jr., Ph.D.
K-12 education in America is in a profound state of crisis.
1
Public schools are challenged by a range
of issues, including crumbling infrastructure, teacher shortages, deficits in teacher quality, and
inadequate funding to provide America’s youth with a world-class education. Further complicating
matters, the demography of the school-age population is changing dramatically and schools are re-
segregating along race/ethnic lines.
2
Emblematic of the trend toward re-segregation, the K-12 education “crisis” is concentrated in school
districts and in schools within districts with high concentrations of poor, minority, and immigrant
children, who will constitute a majority of the traditional college age population in the years ahead.
3
Nowhere are these trends more apparent than here in the state of North Carolina.
Seventeen of North Carolina’s public high schools were labeled as “priority” or “low performing”
schools in 2004-05. While black students account for 31% of total enrollment in North Carolina
public schools, they comprise 85% of enrollment in these 17 schools. Statistics on student
preparedness and performance in these 17 high schools are telling.
In comparison to a statewide average of 74.8%, only 46% of the students in these 17 schools
performed at grade level on end of course tests in 2004-05.
Only 59% of the students attending these 17 schools took the SAT compared to 74% of all
high school students in the state.
The average SAT score for students in the 17 high schools (829) was 181 points below the
statewide average SAT score (1,010).
These dismal statistics stem, at least in part, from the fact that these 17 high schools have on average
a much lower percentage of fully licensed teachers, a much higher percentage of emergency or
provisional licensed and lateral entry teachers, and a much higher teacher turnover rate than other
high schools in the state. In addition, the administrative leadership of these schools—at least until
recently—was less experienced than their counterparts in the state’s highest performing schools.
If higher education is to become more inclusive in the years ahead, colleges and universities must
become more actively engaged in efforts to improve these and other low performing schools.
Success will hinge, however, on the ability of higher education institutions to forge the requisite
cross-campus strategic partnerships and inter-university linkages in the areas where low-
performing schools need the most help.
We know, for example, that both administrative leadership and management are weak in these
schools. University schools of education and schools of business should jointly develop
management training programs to strengthen the leadership and strategic management skills of
low-performing public school administrators. Joint teams of professors from these two professional
1
Business-Higher Education Forum, 2005, A Commitment to America’s Future: Responding to the Crisis in
Mathematics & Science Education. Washington, DC: Business-higher Education Forum, January.
2
James H. Johnson, Jr., Race, Class, and Education, Strategies Needed to Battle RE-Segregation of Public Schools,”
Charlotte Observer, October 20, 2006, p. 10A.
3
James H. Johnson, Jr., 2006, “People on the Move: Implications for U.S. Higher Education, College Board Review, Fall,
2006, pp. 4-9.
A07-001 1
schools should also help low-performing schools to develop turnaround strategies—business plans,
if you will—to boost academic performance.
4
At the same time, a much broader and more diverse set of university stakeholders must work with
low-performing public schools to substantially restructure the academic curriculum. K-12 course
offerings must be redesigned to equip students with the requisite skills to cope with the rapid and
unpredictable changes that are likely to characterize the world of work and business in the years
ahead.
Students will need to graduate from high school with greater entrepreneurial acumen—a
demonstrated willingness to take higher risks for higher rewards and the ability to be agile, resilient,
tenacious, and decisive in responding to unanticipated crises and opportunities. Because these
entrepreneurial attributes are essential to prosper in the increasingly turbulent and unpredictable
economy of the 21st century, K-12 institutions must incorporate more entrepreneurial education
content in their curriculums.
Higher education institutions must become more actively involved in efforts to solve the K-12
education crisis not solely for social or morals reasons. It is also a strategic imperative—a form of
enlightened self-interest—which should be embraced to ensure a continuous flow of highly
qualified students with diverse race/ethnic and economic backgrounds into the halls of higher
education institutions. Given the large wave of aging baby boomers who are about to retire, we will
need the skills and talents of these young people to remain globally competitive in years ahead. ?
This essay is an excerpt from a forthcoming paper, “Preparing Our Youth for an Unsparing Global
Economy,” which will appear as a chapter in a forthcoming book, The Politics of Inclusion, edited by James
Moeser and John Charles Boger, UNC Press, 2008.
4
With support from the UNC General Administration, UNC-CH’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the University
System’s Principals’ Executive Program have jointly launched such a program to assist North Carolina’s 17 lowest
performing high schools.
A07-001 2
doc_411987743.pdf