Education by the Numbers via American Thinker

Here is an interesting article showing the REAL cost of public education. While this article focuses primarily on five large metro areas and DC schools, I think these numbers may follow many of districts here in Missouri. Note the guest comments at the end of the article...some excellent points raised by education watchdogs.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/06/education_by_the_numbers.html

Pay particular attention to the SAT numbers, showing decreases over 38 years. The ACT scores show slight improvement, from 20.6 in 1990 to 21.1 in 2008.

We had "No Child Left Behind" instituted to ensure national standards so test scores would rise and states would operate under the same benchmarks. Money was given and/or withheld based on students' scores. In theory, it sounded reasonable. In actuality, it hasn't worked. We have spent millions of dollars...on what? A theory that has proven to be a fallacy?

Now we are being sold a bill of goods by Arne Duncan and our own State Board of Education. Note the link below with the State Board of Education meeting agenda for August 6 in Jefferson City. The Common Core issue is listed as 19a. The Board will be considering adopting the Common Core standards for Missouri students. The State Board of Education is close to handing over our state sovereign right to set curriculum to the Department of Education.

http://www.dese.mo.gov/stateboard/meetings/August/augagenda.htm

Did you know the Common Core standards have not been finalized and many of them have not even been written? Were you aware Missouri is being asked to sign on to non-existent standards that may very well be below our current standards? Perhaps it's true what Nancy Pelosi said about the Health Care Bill..."we have to pass it to find out what's in it". The same hold true for this common core standards the Board is requested to sign. I thought Missouri was the "show me" state. What has happened to signing on to concrete proposals? Why are we signing on to uncertainty? This truly is incredible.

So, fellow Missourians, if the Board passes this, get ready for more federal control, more taxes to pay for this control, and let's see if this oversight and increased money helps increase our students' test scores. Based on past factual data, I'd bet this won't help our kids. This mass infusion of control and money hasn't helped in the last 38 years, what's different now?