Joel vs. Jeb
From the April 23, 2004 Wall Street Journal
     Schools Chancellor Joel Klein came under renewed attack this week as New York City's third-graders sat for a test that will determine if they will be allowed to proceed to the fourth grade. Given all the flak he's been taking over what ought to be a matter of common sense -- that third-graders should meet third-grade standards -- surely Mr. Klein would be forgiven for thinking there's got to be an easier way.

     News from Florida suggests there is. Also this week, test scores from the Sunshine State show that a year after Governor Jeb Bush ended social promotion there, more Florida third-graders are reading at or above grade level than ever before. Even most of the third-graders who'd been held back last year showed significant improvement. The reason third grade is so important is that experience teaches that students who are not reading at level by then probably never will. But we think Florida's improvement tells us something about the battle too: That extending choice ultimately opens more fronts for reform than trying to slog it out from within a monopoly system stacked against you.

     Look at Mr. Klein and his boss, Mayor Michael Bloomberg. No one can question their commitment to education or their willingness to fight for reform. They've even talked about 50 new charter schools. But by pushing choice to the back burner, Mr. Klein has had to fight bloody, hand-to-hand combat against teachers unions and other defenders of the status quo where they are politically strongest.

     As the rearguard legislative actions against his own initiatives in Florida demonstrate, Governor Bush's battles are not over. But by extending choice in a variety of arenas, he has kept down costs and he has mobilized thousands of Florida parents from the sidelines into a position where they are starting to impose their own accountability. Give Mr. Klein high marks for his willingness to wage this war in New York. But if Florida's example is any clue, the chances for victory in the long run are better when the education blob starts to feel pressure from the bottom as well as the top.