State Isn’t the Only One Failing Our Kids

So who gets detention now?

Teachers, principals, governors, legislators, parents, students?

The report card for California schools is out, and lots of people should be going to bed without dessert or TV. The progress of the last few years has leveled off in math and English, according to an analysis by my colleagues Duke Helfand and Doug Smith.

Only 30% of third-graders were proficient in English, a three-point drop from last year. In math, a one-point increase means that a mere 35% of sixth-graders are up to snuff.

“These scores should be viewed as a wake-up call for us all,” said state schools superintendent Jack O’Connell.

Wake up and do what?

It’s not as if grand ideas are flying out of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s office. Last time Education Secretary Dick Riordan opened his mouth, he not only made a fool of himself in front of children, he reminded us he hasn’t done anything.

Schwarzenegger used the state report card to tout a recent settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union, which had claimed that poor students are denied adequate schools, teachers and resources.

But the $1-billion deal is a mere shifting of existing funds, it sets up a new layer of bureaucracy, and it’s a relative pittance. The $139 million earmarked for textbooks, for example, won’t go far.

Meanwhile, state tax breaks have been cut off for teachers who reach into their own pockets for classroom supplies, and teacher training is another budget-war casualty.

Throw in the damage done by an old-school teachers union that resists reform and protects its tired old dogs, and we do not have a recipe for educational success here in the Golden State.

But having said that, you can’t put all the blame for lousy test scores on politicians, educators or the fact that California’s spending per pupil is nowhere near the top of the national rankings. You might even argue that given the challenges in California, the test scores aren’t all that lousy.

About one-fourth of the state’s 6 million public school students are still learning English, and nearly one-half qualify for free or reduced-price meals. You’re never going to ace the standardized tests when 3 million students are from low-income families and 1.5 million of them are struggling with the language.

As for the latter group, somebody has to say this, so here goes:

By all means, hold onto the culture you grew up with. We all benefit from the diversity of people and ideas in California, and I’m hoping my daughter, who hasn’t yet uttered her first words, will speak Spanish as well as she speaks English.

But parents who don’t learn to speak English and pass it on to the kids, along with their native language, are putting themselves, their children, and everyone else’s, at a disadvantage.

When I got to know the workings of a successful charter school in South Los Angeles, I found that one of the keys -- along with nonunion teachers who put in longer days and made routine home visits -- was mandatory parent involvement.

How are you supposed to check your child’s homework if you don’t know how to read it? How are you supposed to talk to the teacher? Less than one-third of the state’s 11th-graders are proficient in English. What job prospects are they looking at?

Yeah, we all know the schools have plenty of room for improvement. But they only have the kids six hours a day, and they can use some help.

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Reach the columnist at steve.lopez@latimes.com.