The Washington state constitution regards education as the “paramount” responsibility of state government. Unfortunately, state resources devoted to K-12 have continually declined, both for infrastructure 
(there are still 12,000 portable temporary classroom buildings at schools across the state) and for general operation. We’re near the bottom in the country in teacher pay, classroom size and per-pupil expenditure, right down there with Mississippi.As I visit voters at their doors, some tell me that we’re “throwing money at the schools and look what we’ve got.”
I’m sorry, but we’re not throwing money at the schools.
As far as funding is concerned, my top priorities for improving education in Washington are increasing teacher pay and incentives and reducing classroom size. The voters voted for that a few years ago and we need to make good on the voters’ will.
Other major funding issues are special education (current inadequate resources have prompted a lawsuit against the state), advanced placement programs like Quest and the huge deficit in available spaces in our state’s post-secondary institutions. Also, research tells us that one of our most critical needs is early learning, for which we need an expanded infrastructure (facilities and trained staff) to reach more children.
I’ve been saying that we need to focus on teachers and students, rather than the “schools” or “public education,” although I do not indict the bureaucracy as much as others. In general, we need to support teachers – more preparation time during the day, partially- or fully-subsidized advanced training to give teachers an edge in the classroom and cost-of-living increases are key measures to pursue, along with classroom size reduction.
As for assessment of student learning, we can still call it the WASL but we need to take a look it again. The WASL is the most difficult test of its kind in the country, but it changes every year and the students change every year and we don’t know if we’re measuring the right things. Another problem with the WASL is that teachers are forced to “teach to the test” rather than to a broader curriculum. Using other more flexible and authentic assessment approaches, we can measure a student’s progress and empower the student as well. We could learn a little from Vermont’s portfolio approach, for example.
Trying to compare the U.S. education system with Europe or the Pacific Rim is tricky. In Europe students emerge from secondary school speaking at least two languages fluently and with a rigorous liberal arts training, superior or equivalent to many U.S. colleges and universities, already behind them. To a certain extent our system fosters mediocrity by spreading education too thin, but this is a practical result of how the Jeffersonian ideal of a free public education (a well-prepared citizenry) is applied. Without sinking into the same old slogan about “preparing our children to compete in the global economy” I do see an urgent need to structure education to sensitize students to the global environment. I would encourage earlier exposure to geography, foreign language, environmental education and financial management.
The words “education” and “reform” almost always come together, so education reform is a perpetual process. Our education system is a reflection of, and a microcosm of, our entire society. Rather than “reform” education I want to focus on the more pressing needs, which I believe are improving pay and conditions for teachers and reducing classroom size.