Vol. 4, No. 22
June 11, 2002

* THE CONDITION OF EDUCATION: The big picture of educational results, attainment and demographics is now out from the U.S. Department of Education's statistical arm, and while more children are being educated than ever, the picture is not all that bright.

• Good News: Mathematics performance for 4th and 8th-graders rose steadily from 1990 to 2000.
  
• Mixed News: In 1999, while U.S. 8th-graders exceeded the international average of 38 countries in math and science, they were outperformed by their peers in 14 other countries.
  
• The mixed news becomes bad when one looks at the cost: In 1998 the U.S. spent more on primary and secondary education than any other advanced industrialized nation in the world.
  
• More bad news: Domestically, while the Black/White achievement gap narrowed between the early '70s and late '80s, it has increased since then.
  
• A source of hope: In private schools, both religious and non-sectarian, researchers found that achievement was higher, teachers were more independent and happy, and students were much more likely to go on to college.

* ACHIEVEMENT II: How the nation as a whole is struggling with educating its children is even reflected in areas that are normally at the top of the charts. Iowa -- the state with no standards, but which has always boasted high test scores -- has recently been exposed for poor reading skills among high school seniors. A quarter of this year's graduating class reads poorly, causing alarm in the business and higher education communities, both of which have noticed the struggling readers. The news for younger Iowans isn't any better, 68 percent of fourth graders tested met grade-level expectations, but 32 percent were struggling.

* TEACHERS: How students fare is often most dependent on how knowledgeable their teachers are, a point emphasized today by Secretary of Education Rod Paige in his release of a federal study recommending changes in how states and colleges prepare teachers. The report, "Meeting the Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge," picks up on themes long-advocated by reformers, such as alternative certification to draw individuals from other fields into teaching, ensuring that teachers master content knowledge rather than theoretical concepts, and holding teachers accountable for student achievement. The Department of Education holds a meeting on teacher quality today and tomorrow in Washington, DC. For more information on the report and the proceedings, go to http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/News/teacherprep/AnnualReport.pdf

* CHARTERS: How parents and the public view charter schools is the subject of a survey being released tomorrow by the California Network of Educational Charters, the leading association for charters in that state and a national leader in education reform. Parents want more public school choices, and by a 4-1 margin see competition as key to school improvement. For details tomorrow, go to http://www.canec.org or call Gary Larson, CANEC Communications Director at (415) 740-8336.

* NEWS AND UPDATES: CER's flagship Monthly Letter to Friends is out, providing special insights and news you won't find elsewhere in education. For the June issue, click here to get a glimpse before it even reaches the mailboxes.

* SMALL SCHOOLS: Why are California, teacher unions and even the public consumed by small classes when the abundance of research says that size really matters when it comes to schools, not classes? The issue of small schools is a hot topic today, and this CER special action paper summarizes the debate and evidence. "Sizing up What Matters: Importance of Small Schools" is available on line here.

* CHARTERS II: Next week in Milwaukee, more than 1,500 charter school leaders will convene for the Department of Education's National Charter School Conference. In addition to several days of panels and speakers, CER's Charter School Marketplace will unite more than 70 vendors who have services to offer this growing market. Just as in traditional public education, where for-profit and non-profit based services are consumed daily, charter schools are similarly in need of good programs, materials, technology and the like. Link here for more information on the Marketplace for next week's conference, including a partial list of vendors.

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The CER Newswire may be redistributed in its entirety with proper attribution. The CER Newswire is published by The Center for Education Reform, the nation's leading authority on school reform. CER is dedicated to making schools better for America's children by improving educational access and excellence for all. CER works with parents, teachers and policymakers to advance meaningful education improvement initiatives.

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