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Illinois School Board Journal
May-June 2000

The good news about American education

Myth: High school dropout rates are increasing and are higher than they were 25 years ago.

Fact: Dropout rates are lower today than they were in the 1970s and 1980s. This is true of all students. The decline in dropout rates among black students is especially notable, from 21 percent in 1972 to 13 percent in 1997.

Myth: American students do poorly in mathematics.

Fact: Mathematics achievement is improving. Average mathematics scores have improved as measured by the national Assessment of Educational Progress. The average scores increased from 219 in 1982 to 231 in 1996. Science scores have also improved.

Myth: Schools are hotbeds of crime.

Fact: School-related crime against students decreased from 155 incidents per 1,000 students in 1993 to 102 incidents in 1997. Violent crime decreased from 59 incidents per thousand students to 40 in 1997.

Myth: Girls aren't taking high-level mathematics and science classes.

Fact: The percentage of girls taking such courses increased dramatically between 1982 and 1994. In some cases, the percentage of girls taking such classes has outstripped the percentage of boys.

If you've enjoyed reading these "good news" notes about public education, you'll want to check out a new report from the Center on Education Policy and American Youth Policy Forum.

"Do You Know the Good News About American Education?" identifies public misperceptions about education, as measured by various polls and surveys, and provides the facts. The data show important improvements in public education since the school reform movement began in the early 1980s.

Major categories addressed include school participation and curriculum, student achievement, educational climate, teachers and higher education.

This isn't just a feel-good report, however. Each chapter concludes with a section titled "The Work Ahead." The work ahead in the area of student achievement, for example, includes:

• setting high standards for student learning;
• strengthening the secondary school curriculum to provide more focus and depth;
• ensuring that subject-matter courses are taught by qualified teachers with credentials in the field they are teaching;
• encouraging all students to take college entrance examinations and providing extra help to prepare them for these tests; and
• making AP courses available in the 44 percent of high schools that do not offer them.

A nice feature: the report is not copyrighted, so that you can quote any of its contents in your own publications, as long as you give proper credit. (Look on the last page of the report for this information.)

The report may be downloaded from the American Youth Policy Forum website: http://www.aypf.org/whatsnew.htm.

Or, you can order the report for the cost of an 8x10-inch, self-addressed envelope with $1.10 in postage. Order from American Youth Policy Forum, 1836 Jefferson Place, NW, Washington, DC 20036. Phone: 202/775-9731, Fax: 202/775-9733.