Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
As part of the celebration of American Education Week, I would like to present a review of an article recently released by the American Association of School Administrators titled "Telling the Truth About America's Public School."
The author, Kristen Amundson, who is a leading education writer in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area has gone to great ends to describe a phenomenon that is affecting American public schools today. She believes that educators can no longer ignore the negative press and criticism of public schools or afford the luxury of becoming defensive about the real problems facing public education. Rather, they must develop strategies to communicate positively with their school communities about the needs of the children they serve.
In learning to communicate positively, public school educators must address a number of specific charges that tend to describe all public education in a negative fashion. The first charge is that Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores are falling. Objective information available today clearly refutes this charge. In the United States today, about 40 percent of all students take the SAT - a significant increase since 1960.
From a statistical perspective, it is irrefutable that if you test only a small group of the most able students, scores will obviously be higher than if you test a wider range of students. In addition, the American student population is becoming increasingly more diverse in ethnic composition and family income. In a comparison of students who took the test today and who shared the demographic characteristics of students who took the test in 1975, researchers at the Sandia National Laboratory determined that SAT scores, absent the dramatic increase in the number of students taking the test, would have risen by nearly 25 points during the past two decades.
A second charge leveled frequently at the public school is that students are taking too many "dumbed down" courses. In response, since 1983 when "A Nation at Risk" aroused public education regarding the lack of rigor in many high school courses, the number of students taking a comprehensive curriculum involving four years of English and mathematics including algebra ad geometry, has increased from 13 percent to 47 percent of all high school students. In addition, many more students today are taking advanced placement courses that allow them to earn college credit in subjects ranging from calculus to chemistry.
Another frequently reiterated charge against the public schools is that too many students drop out of school. In response, about 75 percent of high school students today complete school, compared to approximately 50 percent in the 1950s. Students have become aware that education is directly linked to earning power and that completing school provides many career opportunities.
A further charge commonly directed at American public education is that American schools cost too much - that the United States is spending more on education than any other nation and is getting less in return. When one looks at per pupil expenditure and the expenditures as a pecentage of per capita income, the United States ranked ninth and 14th respectively when compared with other industrialized nations. It should also be noted that public education in the United States provides more services than schools in other countries in transportation, food services and special education. Additionally, a recent analysis in the "Educational Researcher" determined that there is a strong link between spending and student achievement.
That American schools failed to prepare students for the work force is another commonly heard complaint. The truth regarding this charge is that American productivity is increasing and that the skills of American workers are one of the most important reasons for the increase in productivity. Many innovative programs have been developed in the past decade to help students prepare for the transition to the high tech workplace of the 21st century.
A related concern is that American businesses must spend billions of dollars offering remedial education to their employees. In truth, only 14 percent of United States companies offer any form of remedial education to employees. Although there are legitimate employee requirements that businesses feel are not being met by the emerging work force, business and education are beginning to work together closely to assure that students have the skills they need to be successful in the changing workplace. Interestingly, the skills that many businesses identify as being the most important are those that could be grouped under the heading of "developing a work ethic."
In addition to developing strategies to positively communicate with school communities regarding the criticism previously discussed, the public schools must continue to help the public understand that public education was founded on the idea that all children deserve a chance to learn. Public schools are not only one of America's most democratic institutions in all of society, but they are also the institution that best promotes and preserves our democracy. Leaders in public education today must continue to strive to honestly and objectively present the real picture of American public education, and at the same time, extend an open opportunity for parents and the business community to join with them to develop the best possible system to educate the youth of the next generations.
