The Paradox of State School Reform.

The great paradox of school reform, according to the author of this short speech, is that, on the one hand, states mandate that student performance must improve; on the other hand, states do not act to improve the performance of educators. Even when the policies are the most progressive and the standards of the state are of the highest quality, there remains a huge gap between educators' understanding of the standards and their knowing how to help students perform at standard. The speaker states succinctly: "Most teachers and administrators do not know how to help all their students perform at tough issues of persistently low-performing schools, the growing achievement gap, and other pervasive problems, improving the performance of educators is essential." The implications are clear for state policymakers. According to the speaker, professional development is the only way for educators to develop the behaviors, attitudes, knowledge, and skills they need to help all students perform at standard. (WFA)