Source: Perot Charts
The liberals who are clamoring for more money and more government control of education have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that their methods have failed. According to the U.S. Dept. of Education the per pupil spending in 2005 was $9,266, up 128% since 1971. This means that from the time a child enters 1st grade until he/she graduates from high school (if they graduate), it costs taxpayers $111,000. You would think that with that investment, more than 33% of high school graduates would go to college. A study of public school students from 1991 to 2002 by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research generated disturbing results:
- The national high school graduation rate for all public school students remained flat over the last decade, going from 72% in 1991 to 71% in 2002.
- Nationally, the percentage of all students who left high school with the skills and qualifications necessary to attend college was 34% in 2002.
- The states with the lowest graduation rate in the nation were South Carolina (53%), followed by Georgia (56%), Tennessee (57%), and Alabama (58%).
- In the class of 2002, about 78% of white students graduated from high school with a regular diploma, compared to 56% of African-American students and 52% of Hispanic students.
- About 40% of white students, 23% of African-American students, and 20% of Hispanic students who started public high school graduated college-ready in 2002.
.jpg)
The bureaucrats that allocate the billions in education spending have decided to concentrate on special education, education for the disadvantaged, and closing the "achievement gap" between white students and minority students. The results of these efforts have been dreadful. The facts are:
- In 2007, the federal government spent $71.7 billion on elementary and secondary education programs. These funds were spent by 13 federal departments and multiple agencies. The Department of Education spent $39.2 billion on K""12 education. The largest programs in the Department of Education's elementary and secondary budget were "Education for the disadvantaged" ($14.8 billion) and "Special education" ($11.5 billion).
- While spending per pupil has more than doubled, reading scores have remained relatively flat.
- The achievement gap persists, with black and Hispanic children still lagging behind their white peers despite decades of federal aid targeted at equalizing opportunities for all students. Similarly, in 2005""2006, the national high school graduation rate for white students (80.6 percent) remained significantly higher than the graduation rates of black students (59.1 percent) and Hispanic students (61.4 percent).
- In many cities, spending per student exceeds $10,000 per year, yet graduation rates are below 50%. In Detroit, per-student spending is $11,100 per year, yet only 25% of Detroit's students are graduating from high school.
- According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 52% of public education expenditures are spent on instruction. This percentage has been slowly decreasing over recent decades.
.jpg)
Instead of encouraging excellence in our most gifted children, government bureaucrats spend billions experimenting with the latest educational fads and trying to make sure all students are treated equal. This socialist teaching methodology has accomplished mass mediocrity. The devastating combination of mediocre teaching methods, weak curriculum, disinterested or non-existent parental involvement, lazy unmotivated pupils, and greedy self serving teachers' unions has led to the poor excuse for a public education system.
More Perfect Union
"I don't represent the children. I represent the teachers."
Al Shanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers
.jpg)
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
