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The quick and intensely focused journey of Governor Gray Davis' four education bills through the Legislature showcased the tug-of-war that is the essence of the democratic process.

We began with a set of essential principles and goals - to establish an accountability system for schools, peer review for teachers, an exit exam for students, and a multi-pronged initiative to improve achievement in reading. Many of the particulars in this package represented frightening changes to those who would be expected to embrace Governor Davis' call for higher expectations. Where objections led to ideas for more effective implementation of these bills, we were willing to take amendments. However, there was no willingness on our part to compromise on the essential principles and ambitious goals we started with when the bills were introduced. For that, Californians concerned about achievement in our schools have reason to celebrate.

For the first time ever, California has a statewide system that will hold schools accountable for student academic achievement and provide financial awards for schools that excel and sanctions for those whose performance is at unacceptable levels. We are requiring an exit exam to restore meaning to high school diplomas and to focus student attention on the importance of learning essential skills. We are the first state to implement a system of peer review aimed at lifting the level of professionalism in our state's teaching corps. Beginning almost immediately, students and teachers will benefit from significant new programs to enhance teacher training and instruction in reading, the skill that makes most learning possible.

Critics, viewing each bill in isolation, claim that none will do the job of significantly lifting student achievement. Together, however, Governor Davis' education bills have the promise of spurring a cultural sea change in our schools. Together they provide the impetus and support needed for standards-based reform to succeed.

Under the Peer Assistance and Review program carried by Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, teachers for the first time will be asked to accept responsibility for maintaining professionalism and high standards in their own ranks. It is a concept that has been feared and resisted for too long, but one that is proudly embraced by teachers in the successful districts where it has been tried. California will now lead the nation in moving schools toward a culture of collaboration and away from the isolation and lack of support that has plagued the teaching profession for decades.

The public demands that its schools become more accountable for student achievement, and our new system for school accountability meets that demand. We will not only identify schools that are doing poorly, but work with those schools on strategies for improvement. Those schools that fail to improve despite assistance will face a range of serious sanctions including closure, a sweeping out of staff, or re-establishment as a charter school. We also will reward schools that are performing well, and provide incentives of cash and regulatory relief to schools that show annual improvement of at least 5 percent. (A look at the test scores of the majority of our schools is enough indication that 5 percent improvement is not too much to expect.)

Other states also have accountability systems, but California's will be the most ambitious. Most other states cluster school performance rankings into three, four or five categories; our 10 rankings will provide a much clearer picture. With the addition of two other rankings - one illustrating improvement and the other comparing schools of similar demographics - California's accountability reporting system will provide a rich tableau of information. Parents will immediately be able to tell how their children's schools are doing in relation to others in the state, whether they are improving at similar rates, and how they rate compared to similar schools.

Rewards and sanctions, such as those in the bill carried for Governor Davis by Senator Dede Alpert, are also powerful change-agents. With passage of the school accountability bill and the exit exam bill carried by Senator Jack O'Connell, teachers, parents, students and principals will know without question that expectations have been raised.

Because of Governor Davis' Reading and Teacher Development bill, carried by Assemblywoman Kerry Mazzoni, universities are right now gearing up to begin summer training of 6,000 teachers from low performing schools to more effectively teach their students how to read. This will be no one-day motivational lecture offered by traveling "edutainment" speakers, but a powerful staff development model offered in collaboration between the University of California, California State University and private universities. The Reading Professional Development Institutes will offer two weeks' worth of training by master teachers to school teams, including both teachers and principals. The training will take place at both universities and school sites, and will be reinforced throughout the year on at least a monthly basis. Meanwhile, some 250,000 students in grades K-4 will begin benefitting this summer from six extra weeks of half-day intensive reading instruction.

The special legislative session on education called by Governor Davis in January is over. Good work was done, with bipartisan cooperation and in record time. It will, of course, take more time as well as continued effort on the part of us all, to reach our goal of higher achievement for all students. But passage of these bills provides a clear roadmap, and moves us far along on the journey.