<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Monotype Corsiva";
panose-1:3 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{mso-style-priority:34;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:1878738462;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-2103014868 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:roman-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:right;
margin-left:1.25in;
text-indent:-9.0pt;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:1.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:2.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:roman-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:right;
margin-left:2.75in;
text-indent:-9.0pt;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:3.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:3.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:roman-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:right;
margin-left:4.25in;
text-indent:-9.0pt;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Oklahoma education chancellor: Clarity a must for state's education system<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">BY PAUL RISSER The Oklahoman 1/4/2014<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Suppose your favorite college football team consistently ranked in the bottom third of the conference. The coach keeps insisting that he'd coach the way he wanted, that nobody outside
the program would tell him what to do and that he refused to watch his opponents' film from previous games. Thus, neither he nor his players knew what kinds of defense each opponent used or offensive plays it liked to run. As a result of the coach's uninformed
approach, the team could not be successful, his players weren't well prepared and therefore were at a significant disadvantage against better-prepared opponents.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This hypothetical coach is precisely analogous to those who say Oklahoma should ignore the Common Core math and English/literacy standards or other standards in science and social science.
These standards don't mandate what or how our teachers should teach; they do identify what Oklahoma students should know and be able to do. To complete the football analogy, films indicate what the opposition knows and can do. If the coach and his team were
to watch the films, they'd know what would be expected to compete successfully — exactly like education standards.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Recognizing that we're in the 21st-century competitive environment, here are six conditions that affect living conditions for Oklahomans:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The best way to strengthen our state's economy is to produce goods and services that people and businesses outside Oklahoma buy from us. Otherwise, we basically just move money
among ourselves. Using new technologies, our energy sector competitively markets petroleum products outside state boundaries, which is one reason why our economy has fared better than most states.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Oklahoma has a high poverty rate compared with other states.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">3.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">We're ranked low compared with other states in enabling our citizens to reach a higher economic status.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">4.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Economic productivity has grown more in those states with higher personal educational attainment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">5.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">People with more education generally achieve higher financial earning power.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">6.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finally, since World War II fully half of the growth in this country's GDP per capita is attributable to expertise and innovation in science and technology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">These six conditions clearly indicate why we need to educate our students in the context of education standards in other states and countries. All these conditions point to the need for
a more educated workforce and citizenry. Oklahoma isn't an island by itself — as citizens and as a state, we must compete with others if we are to provide resources and opportunities for the citizens. Education and innovation, especially in science and technology,
are correlated with higher economic productivity and earning power both for individuals and the state as a whole.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">To be successful, Oklahoma's education system must be based on clarity about what the students should know and be able to do. Just as importantly, we need to know the same about the competition
from other states and countries, and ensure that our students are equally or better prepared than our competitors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Risser, former chancellor of the state's higher education system, is chairman of the University Research Cabinet at the University of Oklahoma.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Monotype Corsiva";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Monotype Corsiva";color:#1F497D">Dr. Linda Mason<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Coordinator of Grant Writing
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">655 Research Parkway, Suite 200<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Oklahoma City, OK 73104<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">405-225-9486 desk<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">405-706-8757 cell<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">405-225-9230 FAX<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><a href="mailto:lmason@osrhe.edu"><span style="color:blue">lmason@osrhe.edu</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><a href="http://www.okhighered.org/grant-opps/"><span style="color:blue">www.okhighered.org/grant-opps/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#1F497D">Do not be afraid to give your time to writing grant proposals. Time given to planning proposals is never time lost, but is rather time gained, so that
our research, our programs, our collaborations and indeed our whole profession may become more profoundly significant.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>