• 1) Set content based standards for all subjects and grade levels.

• 2) Connect these standards with standardized exams with real consequences, both positive and negative.

• 3) Mandate immediate remediation during summer or off track periods for students not meeting minimum competencies. (Students still not meeting standards should be held back.)

• 4) Accompany this program with the largest PR campaign in history making students and parents aware of the new California education system.

• 5) To satisfy different folks representing different philosophies devise exams which are 1/3 basic computation, skills and concepts, 1/3 traditional word problems, and 1/3 higher level problem solving. The AP Calculus exam might serve as a good model. Students can demonstrate mastery by scoring well on any 2 of the 3 parts.

• 6) Correlate this testing data with extensive teacher questionnaires on what curricula were used along with different teaching strategies, thus turning California into the world's largest educational laboratory.

• 7) Turn the Dept of Ed into an honest broker and scorekeeper. Purge it of the PC crowd who have so politicized our schools.

Teaching in LAUSD, the issue of student motivation dwarves everything. The primary reason for student assessment MUST be improving students' work habits, not imposing wacky curricula.

Until we take steps such as these, there will be zero chance of significant improvement in our schools. The truth which nobody wishes to face is that American youngsters don't learn very much simply because they don't work very hard. This problem is especially prevalent in our inner city schools.

The reformers seem to believe instituting a constructivist pedagogy will solve our problems. Frankly, it's a ludicrous proposition that would be funny if not for the awful economic implications.

We need the State to get tough so we can help our students.