Have you heard The Latest Good News?

The Center on Education Policy's recent report, Do You Know…The Latest Good News About American Education? , highlights the positive trends in public education over the past twenty years. In the face of widespread criticism of our public school systems, the Washington, D.C.-based group emphasizes that since the mid-1980s, when states began to adopt standards-based reforms, schools have improved in many ways. The report, published in August 2005, covers trends in five major categories: school participation and course-taking; student achievement; school climate and public support; teaching quality; and higher education.

Drawing on data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the report offers 24 indicators of improvement across the five categories. Included among the findings and statistics were:

More children are attending full-day kindergarten

Between 1983 and 2001, the percentage of kindergarteners attending full-day kindergarten rose from 32% to 60%.

High school students are taking a more challenging curriculum

The percentage of high school graduates completing a core academic curriculum (four years of English, and three years each of mathematics, science, and social studies) quadrupled between 1982-2000, from 14% to 57%.

Between 1982 and 2000, the percentage of high school graduates completing advanced math courses (any course more challenging than algebra II or geometry) rose from 26% to 45%; during the same time period, the percentage completing advanced science courses (any course more challenging than general biology) climbed from 35% to 63%.

The number of students taking AP exams skyrocketed from 177,000 to over 1.1 million between 1983-4 and 2003-4.

More students with disabilities are being educated in regular classrooms

The percentage of students with disabilities educated in regular classrooms for most of the school day grew from 26% to 50% between 1985-6 and 2003-4.

Student achievement has gone up in math and reading

Students ages 9 and 13 scored significantly higher in 2004 on long-term trend math tests of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in comparison to 1982.

9-year-olds, especially African American and Hispanic students, displayed impressive gains in reading scores on the long-term trend data of the NAEP.

Some achievement gaps are narrowing

On the NAEP long-term trend assessments in math and reading, test score gaps between white and minority students have narrowed to the smallest margins in three decades.

Pupil-teacher ratios are falling

The public school pupil-teacher ratio fell from 17.9 to 16.3 between 1987 and 2001.

Students are safer at school

Rates of school-related crime and violence fell by over half, from 144 to 64 crimes per 1,000 students, between 1992 and 2002.

Public school teachers are better educated and more experienced than private school teachers

In 1999-2000, 47% of public school teachers held a master's degree or higher, compared to 35% of private school teachers.

58% of public schools teachers, compared to 45% of private school teachers, have ten or more years of experience.

More students are going to college and more young adults are earning degrees

The percentage of high school graduates immediately enrolling in college rose from 55% in 1984 to 64% in 2003.

29% of young adults ages 25-29 held a bachelor's degree in 2002, up from 22% in 1985.

In addition to these encouraging gains, though, the report cautions that many imperatives in improving public education remain:

Improve high school graduation rates and reduce dropout rates

The achievement of high school students continues to be a concern.

Close the achievement gaps and provide equal access to education opportunities to minority, low-income, disabled, and English language learning students

Create better learning environments

Half the nation's schools reported deteriorating or overcrowded school facilities in 1999.

Bullying has recently increased and substance abuse in schools has remained consistent.

Reduce funding inequities between school districts

Attract and retain qualified teachers

Severe disparities exist between high- and low-poverty schools in the percentage of high school students being taught by an out-of-field teacher.

Almost half of new teachers leave by the end of their fifth year, due in large part to inadequate salary.

Make college more affordable

While these challenges must be recognized and addressed, they do not obscure the growth made in public education over the past twenty years. “The critics of public education have had their day; now it is time to set the record straight,” proclaimed Jack Jennings, the president and CEO of CEP, “Given the amount of negative attacks and media reports they have sustained, many might believe that the nation's public schools are in the worst shape they have ever been, but that is simply not the case.” Heartened by the gains made in so many areas, advocates, citizens, and policymakers can move ahead in strengthening and improving the public school system.

Prepared by Katherine Lu, August 29, 2005