Questions for the day

Hi - I'm Michael Ricketts, and I work as a consultant with the Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education. I wanted to post the questions from the Agenda for today's dialogue, so those participants going directly to the messages will see what the focus of today's discussion will be. Following are four questions to prompt the dialogue:

1.) What do you hope a Master Plan will mean for California education (pre-kindergarten through postsecondary education)? 

2.) How much influence can a state-level Master Plan have on education in classrooms across the state? There has been a postsecondary education plan since 1960. Has it made a real difference? In what ways? Can a Master Plan create a more "aligned" or "cohesive" education system, in which the parts work in a coordinated way?
 
3.) The draft Plan talks about accountability as an essential component to achieving the vision of a cohesive education system. What does accountability mean in such a complex system? 
Can a Master Plan create real accountability, so that someone is responsible when student achievement doesn't happen? 

4.) After the Master Plan is written, how much influence will the public have on the process of putting it into effect?