Congratulations should be extended to Armuchee High School, Rome Middle School and East Central Elementary School for getting the best "report cards" in Greater Rome from the Georgia Public Policy Foundation in its 1998 annual statewide survey.

The evaluation is based on different standardized test scores, depending on the grade levels. Armuchee was 54th in the state out of 311 public high schools. Rome Middle was 81st in the state out of 406 middle schools. East Central was 119th in the state out of 1,044 elementary schools.

Those are decent results, placing those individual schools among the "top 10" in the northwestern part of the state.

Several other area schools did nearly as well. Those in the "top 100" for the entire state include Rome High (63rd) and Coosa High (100th). That puts them in the top third statewide in student achievement. Coosa Middle (88th) and Pepperell Middle (94th) also made their top 100 and thus are among the top quarter of Georgia middle schools. Among elementary schools, Greater Rome had six in the state's top 300 out of 1,044.

Still, some parents could legitimately ask why these schools didn't rank even higher. Even more parents should be asking why other schools in Greater Rome fared so poorly in this assessment.

For example, Model High School ranked 174th in the state out of those 311 high schools and Model Middle was 181st out of 406. Anna K. Davie Elementary placed 1,029th out of all 1,044 elementary schools. A number of other schools in Greater Rome showed up in the bottom half of the ranking rather than the top half.

It is not taking away from the schools and students who do well to wonder why there is such a great disparity within the Rome and Floyd County school systems. Yes, there are known differences involving "enrichment" at home - poverty limits access to knowledge and some families may not instill in their children the proper enthusiasm for education.

At the same time, it must be asked yet again - as this paper did when the Iowa Test of Basic Skills [scores] were announced and showed an incredible range from best to worst within subject categories - how it is possible for an entire school system to reflect such variations. The education that the children are receiving is either not equal or their ability to retain information is severely impaired by - what, the water?

This variation appears most marked at the elementary school level; the gap is narrower but still notable in the higher grades. One has to wonder if the "worst" students are, in the middle and high schools, dropping out because of the obviously insufficient foundation they received in the lower grades. The "chaff" thus removed, only the wheat kernels remain to sprout new, and somewhat higher, test grades.

This is an issue that the respective school boards, along with the entire community, must address. Our community cannot afford to have "chaff" in a time where a skilled workforce is growing ever more important. It cannot afford to have citizens who are able to vote but unable to understand the issues.

This nation prides itself on the fact that everyone has an equal shot at success, at "making something of themselves." That only holds true if the education being received is not only equal but also showing roughly the same results. There is little or no chance for achieving the American dream for those youngsters who are, by economic circumstance or dwelling location, condemned to schools where they can't learn or are getting only about a third of what their cross-town or cross-county peers receive.

Since school attendance is decided mostly on a geographic basis (with transfers rather liberally permitted) this means entire neighborhoods or parts of the county are being shortchanged on what their children are receiving for the tax dollar.

While there can be very sharp differences between the abilities of two individual students, it is something else to accept the notion that an entire student body of several hundred would have so much less ability than those in another school only a few miles away.

If test results and "report cards" are of any value - and educators sure do like to brag about the positive results - then the poor grades have to be taken even more seriously.

What is it that those lower-achieving schools are lacking? Why are those students not even keeping pace with the statewide average? And no, not all of whatever is lacking involves the classroom. The parents, the neighborhood, the administrators, the teachers, the students all must accept a portion of the blame just as they willingly accept a portion of the credit.

Seven of Greater Rome's 17 elementary schools, which is where most students get their start, are ranked in the bottom half of all state schools in accomplishment. It is good that others are doing better, but it is unacceptable that so many students - for whatever reason - can't at least be equal to the average child in a state that ranks 49th nationally in educational accomplishments.

This amounts to a crisis situation. The school boards should, jointly, form a citizens committee to closely examine what's going right... and what's wrong...in Greater Rome's schools and then come up with a plan on how to fix it.

That plan may well involve more money. Let's worry about that later. First, Greater Rome must identify why it has some of the best - and some of the worst - public schools around.