NEXT L.A. / A look at issues, people and ideas helping to shape the emerging metropolis. : Chat Room : Applause for Public Schools

Michael E. Martinez, who is in charge of training future schoolteachers at UC Irvine, taught high school science for five years. Now the holder of a doctorate in educational psychology from Stanford, Martinez is an expert in the assessment of schools. He spoke about the state and the future of education with Russ Loar of The Times’ Orange County edition.

Despite flagging test scores, Martinez said, public education in many ways is doing a better job than ever of preparing students for the future:

“Often when you see people revealing the latest shocking findings about education, they are being selective and are not considering long-term trends. If you looked at the performance of students in the past, you probably would have seen the same kind of shocking findings.

“Too often, public education is used as sort of a political scapegoat. The problems that children face are more severe than ever before, but at the same time we’re not in some sort of educational crisis. If you look at minority students, what you see is a steady, gradual, upward shift in achievement over the years. There is progress and I think that’s hopeful.”

On tax vouchers to help parents pay for private schools:

“If someone wants to try franchises of schools, more power to them. I wouldn’t want to put a damper on innovation. We ought to try all kinds of new ways to educate. To equate education to traditional ways of schooling is a mistake. I’m all for experimentation and innovation.”

On technology in classrooms:

“We don’t really know how computers are going to play out yet in education, although there are some exciting possibilities. We’re in an experimental mode right now. It would be a mistake to write off technology and it’s also a mistake to pin all hopes on the next technological advance. The technology itself is not the important thing, it’s how it’s used.”

Final thought:

“In the 1990s and in the next century, we need to be problem solvers, and that’s why it’s vital for teachers to have a sense of what problem solving is and then pass on problem solving skills to students. Knowledge is still very important, but it’s not sufficient. We need to be able to help children deal with novel situations.”