In the past we have written at length about the inadequacies in our educational system. The simple fact that the US spends more per pupil than all but two nations, yet ranks at the bottom of every academic survey is telling in and of itself. Now a report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) proves what we have been saying. In spite of all the grandiose schemes and in spite of all the efforts to pump more money into education, American students still languish in the doldrums of academic incompetence. According to NAEP, there has been almost no improvement in reading scores in well over a decade and improvement in mathematical ability is “sluggish” at best. These tests also give us the first clear sign of how the country is doing since the adoption of the No Child Left Behind Act. And indeed no child has been left behind, because they are ALL stuck at the starting gate. President Bush and his Democratic and Republican allies pushed this nonsensical bill through Congress early in his administration. Among other things the bill promised rigorous testing to ensure that students are proficient in their areas of study. Exactly, whose brainchild was it to contend that more testing is how you improve education in America? If anything all these tests do is waste more time as students prepare for exams, while educators “teach the test.” Meanwhile Johnny is just as stupid as ever. Naturally, some educators are quick to make excuses for America’s lackluster performance. Tom Loveless with the Brookings Institution argued that over the past decade the Hispanic population has doubled and that may have contributed to poor performance in reading. This implies that prior to this population doubling, US reading scores were stellar. On the contrary US scores in reading, math, science, etc…have languished for years, not just the last decade. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said the country is on the right track, but only if the track leads to the unemployment line. How can America hope to sustain its position as the world’s preeminent economic power with such mediocrity? Whether a child attends a public or private school, parents must become more personally involved in their child’s education. That doesn’t mean attending football games and renting limos for the prom. That means ensuring that they perform well academically. Education is an investment for the future and right now education is not generating a return on that investment, much like Social Security.
Link to Washinton Times article