Michael F. Shaughnessy
Senior Columnist EdNews.org
Eastern New Mexico University

Terry Stoops is the Policy Analyst for Pre-school, Elementary, and Secondary Education at the John Locke Foundation.Previously he worked as an administrator for the Child Welfare Education and Research Programs at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work.He taught 11th and 12th grade English at Spotsylvania High School in Spotsylvania, Virginia and taught professional communication at the University of Mary Washington College of Graduate and Professional Studies in Stafford, Virginia.

Stoops earned a Bachelor of Science degree in speech communication from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and a M.Ed. in Administrative and Policy Studies from the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. He is completing a Ph.D. in Foundations of Education at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education.

First of all, what is your current position and what exactly do you do?
I am the education policy analyst. I research, write about, and comment on K – 12 school-reform issues in North Carolina such as testing and accountability, teacher quality and certification, choice and competition, curriculum development, and school construction. I write policy reports on these subjects and promote them through media interviews, columns, speeches, legislative testimony, and other public appearances. I also serve as a resource for state lawmakers, local officials, reporters, and others interested in education issues.

1) First of all, what is your current position and what exactly do you do?

I am the education policy analyst. I research, write about, and comment on K – 12 school-reform issues in North Carolina such as testing and accountability, teacher quality and certification, choice and competition, curriculum development, and school construction. I write policy reports on these subjects and promote them through media interviews, columns, speeches, legislative testimony, and other public appearances. I also serve as a resource for state lawmakers, local officials, reporters, and others interested in education issues.

2) When was the John Locke Organization begun?

The John Locke Foundation opened its doors on February 19, 1990.

3) What exactly do you try to accomplish? What is your mission statement if you will?

The John Locke Foundation develops and promotes innovative solutions to North Carolina’s most critical problems, including

Government corruption and wasteful spending;
Providing a sound, basic education to every child;
Crushing tax burdens on families and businesses;
Crime and the demise of safe, civil communities;
The costly, immoral, and destructive welfare state;
Oppressive rules and regulations on business;
Traffic congestion and transportation safety;
Lack of economic opportunities for all citizens; and
A decline of individual freedom and self-reliance.

We seek to transform state and local government through the principles of competition, innovation, personal freedom, and personal responsibility in order to strike a better balance between the public sector and private institutions of family, faith, community, and enterprise.

In sum, the John Locke Foundation is helping to build a North Carolina where all citizens enjoy the freedom to use their knowledge, skills, and energies to better themselves, their families, and their communities.

4) Does your organization focus mainly on items of interest to individuals in North Carolina, or others in the U.S.?

The organization works on statewide, regional, and local policy issues in North Carolina.

Despite our focus on North Carolina, our work elicits attention from those outside of the state. For example, our annual state-by-state teacher pay ranking has found its way to several states, including Georgia, Kentucky, Florida, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Members of the John Locke Foundation staff regularly publish articles in newspapers and periodicals outside of North Carolina.

5) Your internet site has a section on education. What do you see as the key issues in education at the current time?

In North Carolina, there are three key issues in education: student achievement, teacher quality and compensation, and growth.

North Carolina needs a testing program that accurately and honestly measures student performance. Our state standards are remarkably weak, and, frankly, are an embarrassment when compared to other states. Paul Peterson and Frederick Hess’s study of state standards gave our standards an “F” and for good reason. North Carolina’s standards do not come close to squaring with federal standards. While a high percentage of North Carolina’s students are categorized as proficient on state tests (between 85 and 93 percent in 2005), a low percentage of our students are categorized as proficient on the federal National Assessment of Educational Progress tests (between 32 and 40 percent in 2005).

North Carolina State Board of Education officials recently admitted that, from the beginning, they set low standards for the state accountability program, the ABCs of Public Education, in order to gain support for comprehensive statewide testing. Unfortunately, since the program’s inception in 1997, state officials never satisfactorily raised standards. In some cases, a student can miss half the questions on a state test and still be labeled “proficient.” In fact, guessing can vastly improve the chances that a student passes a state test. In response to the shortcomings of the testing program, several prominent legislators have recently filed a bill that would change the way state tests are developed and assessed.

Every year, the governor and state legislature gather for their teacher pay ritual, which is probably familiar to anyone who follows state education policy in North Carolina and elsewhere. In fact, I have provided a fill-in-the-blank version below.

Governor Michael Easley, who endeavors to be an education governor in the mold of former governor James Hunt, announces an across the board teacher pay increase to reach the “national average” or some other arbitrary goal.

His announcement receives praise from public school advocacy groups, especially the state NEA affiliate, and they collectively herald the governor as a champion of education. The increase passes easily in the legislature, which engages in a lot of self-congratulatory talk.

Governor ______________, who endeavors to be an education governor in the mold of ______________, announces an across the board teacher pay increase to reach ______________ or some other arbitrary goal. His announcement receives praise from public school advocacy groups, especially ______________, and they collectively herald the governor as ______________. The increase passes easily in the legislature, which ______________.

It is not difficult to see the fruits of this ritual. Over the past fifteen years, teacher pay has outpaced inflation, as well as NC state employee pay raises. Since the 1991 – 1992 school year, teacher pay in North Carolina has increased by 85.9 percent, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 47.5 percent. State employee compensation increased by 35.2 percent during the same period. Nevertheless, there is no evidence that across-the-board pay increases have improved the quality of teachers throughout the state.

North Carolina has a growing student population, and our urban and suburban areas are experiencing unprecedented growing pains. School systems in Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Wilmington must not only recruit substantial numbers of new teachers every year, they must constantly build and renovate schools to accommodate the influx of students. In fact, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction determined that the state has $10 billion in school facilities needs over the next five years. This entails a number of related concerns, including local taxes and fees, the state’s role in providing funds for this local responsibility, the cost of school buildings amidst inflation in construction costs, and standards and amenities for school buildings.

6) Part of your web site addresses the concerns about the physically and mentally disabled. Why do you see this group as needing such assistance? Or what are the current concerns here?

We do not specifically address concerns about the physically or mentally disabled, but we do look for solutions to fix the costly Medicaid system in the state. North Carolina is one of a few states that leave counties responsible for funding Medicaid. Many smaller, rural counties find it difficult to bear that burden, as growing Medicaid expenses consume a larger percentage of their local tax revenue. The John Locke Foundation has recommended shifting the Medicaid burden to the state, which would allow counties to have access to funds for school construction and other infrastructure needs.

7) A recent piece in the John Locke Foundation focused on teacher pay and the concerns about merit pay and learning. While we want teachers to be able to earn a living, and keep up with the cost of living, we also want our students to learn. How do we as taxpayers address these issues?

I think that taxpayers want teachers to earn a living and keep up with the cost of living, and that is an admirable sentiment. Taxpayers are also becoming more aware that their investment in teacher salaries has not produced the level of student achievement necessary to compete in a global economy. That is why taxpayers are embracing merit pay, rather than the traditional across-the-board raises and guaranteed step increases known to few outside of the teaching profession. The public would like to see great teachers rewarded for their work, talented individuals choose teaching over the private sector, and poor and low performing schools have the ability to attract excellent teachers to their schools. Indeed, teacher recruitment and retention would improve, as teachers will no longer have to look outside the teaching profession to increase their earning power. While not a panacea for all of the shortcomings of public schools, merit pay and other financial incentives can go a long way to providing our children the education they deserve and taxpayers expect.

What is ironic about the debate is that teachers disparage merit pay, which could raise their salary substantially, at the same time they complain that teacher pay is too low. As the husband of a teacher and a former teacher myself, I understand the fear that the merit pay could be distributed based on an unreasonable or unidimensional set of criteria. Yet, I do not believe that this is a sufficient reason to dismiss the merit pay concept. Instead, it suggests that the state or school system would have to design a merit pay system carefully, with ample input from teachers and administrators.

8) Where is your web site and what types of information can be found there?

http://www.www.johnlocke.org

On the website, a visitor can find original research on education, environment, local government, budget and taxation, transportation, and government regulation. We also publish a print and online periodical, Carolina Journal, which features articles on state and local government, cultural commentary, opinion pieces, and investigative journalism. We are affiliated with the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, and their website can be access through the John Locke Foundation site.

Our website features five blogs. The Locker Room is our all-purpose blog, and we have four regional blogs: Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, and Wilmington.

We have information on our outreach programs, including the North Carolina History Project, the E.A. Morris Fellowship Program, Faculty Affiliate Network, the Center for Local Innovation, and the North Carolina Education Alliance. We host events including a weekly Shaftesbury Society luncheon that features local speakers on a variety of topics and a Headliner Luncheon that features prominent national figures and commentators, including Newt Gingrich, Fred Barnes, John Bolton, Juan Williams, and George Will. Visitors can obtain details about events and register for them through the website.

9) What question have I neglected to ask?

I think we covered a lot of ground, but I would be happy to follow up on any part of the discussion or clarify any outstanding issues that may arise.

Published March 12, 2007