Learning What’s Right with Schools

Although many Americans worry about public schools in general, they remain positive about their neighborhood schools. Such views are understandable given the general media fascination with negative stories and a continuing political emphasis on only what’s wrong with public schools. In sharp contrast to stories-as-usual, The Center on Education Policy and the American Youth Policy Forum publish a report on the good news associated with public education.

While not denying the mandate for continuous improvement, there have been positive strides made by public education since the early 1980s after the publication of the landmark volume A Nation at Risk raised the national consciousness about the need for educational reform.

Based on data from objective national data banks – for example, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) – the booklet highlights important improvements in public education over the past 15-20 years, along with other positive data about the state of public education. A careful reading of the report can dispel some widely-held misconceptions about public schools and give all of us some non-partisan to inform opinions, policy decisions, and future actions. Below I outline some facts that may startle readers who follow education in the national media.