Now can we talk about education?
President Bush turned on the federal education spigot in 2001 with his No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA). In exchange for somewhat tougher academic standards, Bush agreed to billions more in education spending.
The president made education reform a campaign promise in his first run at the White House. And so he felt duty-bound to pass something. That’s politics and perfectly understandable. Even admirable that he was willing to tackle the problem.
But when you team up with someone like Sen. Ted Kennedy, don’t be surprised if you end up with mixed results.
From 2001, when the NCLBA was passed, to this year, federal spending on elementary and secondary education has jumped 68 percent, to $38 billion. Aid to higher education has more than tripled, to $28 billion.
And what is this generosity buying? Sadly, less educated students.
The federal National Assessment of Educational Progress found that the average reading score for public school eighth graders fell three points from 2002 to 2005. The average for fourth graders in public schools was flat.
This is important because it comes at a critical time. We are in a global economy and we need the best-educated students we have ever had graduating from our high schools and colleges—especially in the sciences, engineering and mathematics.
Can anyone seriously claim that we are doing that?
Actually, some of our public schools do an excellent job, but many don’t. And certainly not enough to keep us leading the competitive pack.
Unfortunately, many politicians don’t want to do what it takes to make dramatic advances in the educational levels. It’s easier—not to mention more politically popular—for elected officials to throw more money at the problem and claim they have fixed it.