WASHINGTON, March 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Legislative
Exchange Council (ALEC) released its 14th edition of the Report Card on
American Education: A State-by-State Analysis, which covers the school
years 1985-1986 thru 2006-2007. This comprehensive guide ranks the
educational performance of the school systems in the states and the
District of Columbia with Minnesota placing first and the District of
Columbia last.
Based on a variety of indicators, ALEC's 2007 Report Card on American
Education has found no direct correlation between conventional measures of
education inputs, such as expenditures per pupil and teacher salaries, and
educational outputs, such as average scores on standardized tests. For
instance, class sizes today are 15 percent smaller than they were 20 years
ago, yet of the 10 states that experienced the greatest decreases, only one
(Vermont) is found among the highest performing states in the rankings.
"Raising student achievement levels and improving our schools must
involve new and innovative solutions, and examining the data in this
publication is a step in the right direction," said ALEC Education Task
Force Chairman Senator Nancy Spence of Colorado. "We need to hold our
schools accountable, demand results, and provide parents with more choices
when it comes to their children's education."
Even with dramatic increases in the amount of educational resources
spent on primary and secondary education over the past two decades --
expenditures have risen nationally to an all-time high of $9,295 per pupil
-- student performance has improved only slightly; 69 percent of American
eighth-graders are still performing below proficiency in math and 71
percent in reading, according to the 2007 National Assessment of Education
Progress (NAEP).
To obtain a copy of the 2007 Report Card on American Education or to
schedule an interview on the report's findings, please contact Jorge
Amselleat (202) 742-8536 or e-mail jamselle@alec.org. An electronic version
of the report is available online at http://www.alec.org.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the nation's
largest nonpartisan, individual membership organization of state
legislators, with more than 2,400 legislator members from all 50 states,
and 86 former members serving in the U.S. Congress.
SOURCE American Legislative Exchange Council
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Related links:
http://www.alec.org
CONTACT:
Jorge Amselle of the American Legislative
Exchange Council, +1-202-742-8536, jamselle@alec.org
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