Record-low SAT scores a wake-up call

The ideologues at CNN published this article written by and ideologue about a book written by liberal who is critical of unions in the profession of education.

(CNN) -- Last week, the College Board dealt parents, teachers and the education world a serious blow. According to its latest test results, "SAT reading scores for the high school class of 2011 were the lowest on record, and combined reading and math scores fell to their lowest point since 1995."

The reading scores, which stand at 497, are noticeably lower than just six years ago, when they stood at 508. And it's just the second time in the last 20 years that reading scores have dropped so precipitously in a single year.

Yet, according to the College Board, there is no reason to panic. The results, they say, "reflect the record size and diversity of the pool of test-takers. As more students aim for college and take the exam, it tends to drag down average scores."

Since when has diversity and more students taking the test become a legitimate excuse for bad scores? A conservative certainly could not get away with blaming falling test scores on diversity. Imagine the outcry.


Increased diversity and student participation are very good things, but we should not console ourselves with excuses for falling scores, especially considering the amount of money we spend each year on education.

The 2011 budget for the Department of Education is estimated to top $70 billion, while overall spending on public elementary and secondary education is about $600 billion a year. By comparison, in 1972, before the Department of Education even existed, SAT critical reading scores for college-bound seniors were above 525, more than 20 points higher than they are today, while today's math scores are only slightly better than in 1972.

Does school repair funding create jobs? As the United States increases education spending, our students' scores should not be getting worse. For a long time, I, along with other conservative reformers, have been saying that real reform means more than throwing money at the problem. Now, an unexpected voice from across the political spectrum is agreeing.

Steven Brill, founder of Court TV and The American Lawyer magazine, and author of the new book "Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America's Schools," has turned the journalistic magnifying glass on the nation's public schools and teachers' unions. Brill's book is one of the most in-depth and closely researched looks into the modern workings of the education "blob" in recent memory. And Brill is a liberal, a very thoughtful and careful liberal, and he is criticizing the heart of liberal power: the teachers' unions.

I'm sure there is more to it, but this is enough to start.

Here's the entire article:http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/21/opinio...ss_igoogle_cnn