There’s just one tiny problem. Oklahoma’s achievement scores on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, AKA “the nation’s report-card”) suggest that the state’s universal preschool program is at best ineffective and at worst harmful to student achievement.

Sara Mead at the New America Foundation took issue with his comments in her own blog posting. While she sites various possible variables that may effect NEAP scores in OKlahoma, her last paragraph really hits the nail on the head:

More broadly, no one should look at pre-k as an “innoculation” that, administered once at age four, delivers improved academic performance without further follow-up through children’s schooling. That’s not how learning works. High-quality elementary schools must build on the base of improved skills and knowledge children bring with them from pre-k. If elementary schools are poor quality or otherwise unable to provide supports and curricula that build on pre-k learning gains, those gains will be squandered. That’s why efforts to improve early education can’t stop at pre-k, but need to continue through the early elementary years and indeed throughout a student’s K-12 education. But that doesn’t mean quality pre-k doesn’t make an important contribution in getting that process off on the right foot. Oklahoma has done a good job in putting a high-quality pre-k program in place for the vast majority of its students. Now it needs to work to improve its kindergarten and elementary programs in order to sustain the documented gains children are making in pre-k.

Mr. Schaeffer retorts with more facts, figures, and charts looking at hispanic populations, poverty rates, etc. (which, unfortunately, Ms. Mead initially threw onto the fire), but he is still missing the broader picture.

NCLB really is a two-edged sword. Accountability is great, but numbers often can be misleading. The first real assessment for preschool programs comes at the fourth grade, and Mr. Schaeffer seems bent on numbers telling the whole story:

So I challenge you, Sara, and any other preschool activist out there, to find the nefarious factor that has destroyed all the gains from pre-k. By all means, take this data and run it through statistical software with whatever controls you’d like related to documented demographic and education changes (as long as you include the national averages as a control).

NAEP and NCLB will not cure the woes of public education. Unfortunately, there just is no magic bullet. And no matter how you wrangle the current numbers, it will not provide you with the data needed to accurately assess student achievement. Mr. Schaeffer admits in another post:

And that is why non-experimental analysis can only provide suggestive evidence, with a heavy dose of uncertainty. Among the available research methods, the only way to be fairly certain an educational treatment has had an effect on students is to conduct a controlled experiment akin to those used in medicine or drug testing. Researchers randomly assign each person to either get the treatment or to not get the treatment.

Empirical research is very difficult, costly, and takes time. Ideally, all education innovations would be subject to large-scale, double-blind, studies. But with no time in the global competitive race and a government that balks at any research that doesn’t “protect our national interests” (apparently, education does not factor into national security), there will be little opportunity for understanding what works.

Education is a grassroots effort. For many in Oklahoma, preschool works. Certainly, it may need improvement, but given what I know from the front lines, it’s helping Oklahoma. An empirical study would be wonderful, and would do much to point out specific improvements needed in the program.

In the meantime, my challenge to Mr. Schaeffer and anyone wanting to really know the effectiveness of the preschool program would be to visit the Oklahoma communities. Ask the parents and kindergarten teachers what they feel. Observe some Kindergarten classes this Fall. It won’t be large-scale, but you might learn something.

Well, perhaps most are not so fascinated to hop into a car and drive three hours to chase a storm, but I find the prospect just to tempting. Greg is a well known and seasoned chaser. He’s cautious and knows where to avoid getting pelted by baseball size hail or driving onto the path of wind sheer, much less a tornado. He’s also good at predicting where the storms might produce hooks and lower level rotations (I just love the lingo). Of course, he’s also human and the weather isn’t. We ended up after a storm that had all the right properties, but not enough to produce an actual tornado. Nonetheless, it was fascinating.

We chased into Arkansas and right up along highway 71 near Winslow. The storms were moving east. As the supercell approached, ground winds shifted west (cool), skies darkened, the we looked up to see scud clouds rotating just north of us (really cool). Later survey showed no damage. About two minutes after the storm passed, tornado sirens went off. Sadly ironic. Somebody wasn’t paying attention. Makes me wonder if those communities with fatalities had timely sirens… or sirens at all.

Disclaimer: two things…one, I’m out with an experienced meteorologist and chaser. I wouldn’t do it any other way (not counting my childhood habit of sitting on the roof when the tornado sirens went off… even Greg would consider that suicidal); and two, I have taken the spotter workshop put on by the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. The workshop is fascinating just to learn something about the tornados, wether or not you decide to barrel down the road after one.
If you have any interest in violent storms, check out the “Storms of 2007″ DVD. It actually has footage of my first tornado (even though I’ve lived over 30 years in Oklahoma and spent storm events on the roof of my house). The proceeds are always for a good cause, and the commentary very instructional.

Parents, take note: if you haven’t taken the time to explore your own state, your kids will suffer. The Wichita mountains are part of the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge is home to free-range bison and longhorn cattle, prairie dogs, wild turkeys, and a plethora of other life. I just went down Sunday. The wildflowers are just starting to bloom and should be full within a couple of weeks. This is, by far, my favorite part of Oklahoma. I’ve just returned from a Sunday day trip. We drove around to the backside of Elk Mountain and hiked around Lost Lake. It was a joy to watch my daughter and friend run off trail and explore the rocks…

Pardon while I rant a bit on exploring… it never fails to amaze when I hear from my Oklahoma friends and friends of my family that they’ve never been to the Wichitas. I suppose it would be like growing up in Colorado and never visiting the Rockies. Democratic citizenship requires an appreciation of your home. To be engaged in your community starts in your own backyard. Kids should be encouraged to explore their neighborhood and town, and parents should take the time to visit their own state. If you don’t think your state has beautiful places to see, you need to open your eyes. Go visit your state tourism office. It’s not just for visitors.

Back to the Wichitas…The hiking is absolutely wonderful. There are numerous trails, often not clearly marked, so some guidance is valuable. The park office can help, but for those who haven’t grown up with the Refuge, Alan Thode’s book, Hiking the Wichitas, is worth every penny. I’ve visited at least twice a year for the past 20, and still have much to discover. May is the best time, IMHO, to visit, but I’ve been in every season and have never regretted the trip. If you’ve been, tell me your favorite places!