Last week I discussed the results of a study which indicated that the reason the quality of education our students receive is not as high as what students in other countries receive is because our students do not have the "education ethic" that students in other countries have.

The study states that one reason our students lack motivation to do well in school is that in many situations there is only one parent available to help. According to Haynes and Chalker, "The United States has more splintered families than any other country we studied. The U.S. divorce rate was about double the average of other countries in our study. (Indeed, some countries reported a divorce rate as low as one percent.) Single parents might do an outstanding job of preparing children for school, but two parents can devote twice as much time to supporting education."

According to the study, the education ethic of the parents is probably the key difference between a world-class school and one that's so-so. A University of Michigan study looked at Indo-Chinese refugee children who arrived with no knowledge of the language or culture in the 1980s. The children were scattered in different schools throughout the United States, and two years later, the children were earning world-class scores in science and mathematics and were on grade level in language.

How could refugee students, who had so much catching up to do, score higher than other students at the same U.S. schools? It seems that these children were able to receive a quality education in a U.S. school. The difference, of course, was in their education ethic. The refugee students worked harder, and their parents supported them, believing that education would lead to success in life. U.S. schools can--and do--deliver a world-class education, but students have to be willing to work at it.

One other difference I found was that schools in other countries are providing more recess. The accountability movement in the U.S. has resulted in more pressure being placed on our teachers to improve test scores. In order to do so, there is little time left for recess. This topic was discussed at our last board meeting. Our principals and teachers are not to blame for the fact that students are receiving less recess time. In fact, the recess schedules being used at the elementary schools were already in place when our present principals came on board. The exception would be the fact that the kindergarten addition was added at Masterson and initially there was no before school recess on the schedule. Since that time, kindergarten students are allowed a recess before school takes up in the morning. The problem is that some of the students do not arrive at school early enough to participate in the recess. I am not aware of any of the principals or teachers being against more recess, and in fact, they feel it is needed. The principals have let the teachers know that they have the authority to take students out for recess any time they can work it in except for the required Reading First Block. There is just not enough time to get everything on the schedule. To quote one teacher: "The only time I have in the morning that is not required reading time or special classes is 20 minutes. In that 20 minutes, I have been giving students a much needed bathroom break and doing Saxon math morning meeting board. I can try to get in the meeting board in the afternoon, but that will be eliminating time from math, grammar, spelling, handwriting, or creative writing." The accountability movement has required that students spend more time on task in a variety of subjects. This has reduced the amount of time available for recess. It appears the obvious answer to the recess problem is to extend the school day. This is not as easy as it appears. If you have children at more than one campus, you know that bus schedules, as well as starting and ending times have to be coordinated in order that students are delivered and picked up at a reasonable time. Changing the schedule at the elementary schools will also require changing the schedule at the high school and middle school. We also have after school tutoring every day. A decision will have to be made before the next school year as to whether or not we need to extend the school day in order to allow for more recess time.

The length of the school day in other countries is comparable to the length of the school day in the U.S. The difference is how much is being taught. A comparison of U.S. curriculum and the curriculum in other nations revealed that we cover more material, but do not go as much in depth. You can blame the accountability movement for this and those who are pushing this agenda. Teachers in this country must cover a certain amount of material in order to prepare the students for the standardized tests. Along the way, they must take the time to ensure that all students have had the opportunity to master the material. In the United States, more emphasis is placed on raising the achievement level of all students, which is not a bad thing, but it requires that more time be spent in the classroom, which leaves less time for recess. There may be an overkill where more is not better and maybe we need to relax; however, that is hard to do when schools are constantly being told that we are not doing enough.

The accountability movement came into existence because the politicians no longer trust those of us who work at the schools. Recent polls indicate that parents do not feel the same way about their local schools as the politicians would have us believe. In fact, the parents put more trust in the grades assigned by the teachers than the result of one standardized test score. The politicians and media have pretty much ruined the reputation of our schools. They would have you believe that our schools are failing our children. They fail to mention that students in the United States rank 2nd in the world in reading. For some reason, they have kept that stat to themselves. I realize that some schools are failing, but it is more in their ability to handle all of the problems of our society that students bring to the school house with them. We have addressed those issues at Kennett. You can label a school as failing because of a high drop out rate if you want to, but I have yet to understand how the school is supposed to control the motivation and attitude of a student who has no desire to attend school. We can provide alternative schools, offer counseling services, and tutorial services and that is about the extent of what we can do. Early Childhood education has proven to be the most effective way to increase the chances of a child completing high school and we are doing that as well.

In closing, I hope you do not think that we are shunning our responsibility in regard to the education of all children. However, with all the negative publicity that is out there, I wanted you to know that your schools are not the dysfunctional institutions that some would have you believe. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like to visit some classes. I would be glad to show you around.

(Richard M. Haynes is associate professor of administration, curriculum, and instruction, and Donald M. Chalker is head of administration, curriculum, and instruction, at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N.C. They coauthored a book entitled, World Class Elementary Schools: An Agenda for Action.)

Jerry Noble is the superintendent of Kennett public schools.