September 11, 1997
Schools in Crisis
More options needed in public education



House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt has voiced concern about efforts to reform our country's education system. He specifically targets calls for vouchers and other means by which more parents can place their children in private schools, a call supported largely by Republicans and libertarians.

"The Republican voucher proposal is yet another scheme aimed at dismantling the Department of Education," Gephardt said in a statement Wednesday. ''Rather than building up our public schools, their plan tears down the very foundation of the American education systems..."

Given the various problems with education in this country, taking a hard look at the system might not be such a bad idea.

Scores on standardized tests, which rank low compared with similar tests for students in other countries, have not substantially improved despite efforts to improve educational methods.

Recent scores in the Scholastic Assessment Test, a popular college entrance exam, were about the same as those from last year. It might be comforting to see that at least the scores didn't fall, as they had in the past, but it should be remembered that grading for the test was recently changed, pushing scores for most students upward.

That artificial inflation hides the fact that those who take the test aren't performing as well as their counterparts of just a few years ago, even with the use of calculators and other aids that weren't permitted until recently.

Much of the problem lies in the fundamental assumption that the government should provide an education to all its citizens. That assumption is false; the Supreme Court has said as much. However, this country and most others in the world see the value in providing educational opportunities for its people.

Unfortunately, the government channels millions of students into a single system of schooling. That system might be perfect for some people, but not for others. Standardized curricula don't adequately address the fact that different people learn in different ways.

The principle behind the proposal for vouchers, tax deductions for private school tuition and similar ideas is that different kinds of schools should be available, and parents should be able to choose the school that seems best for their children.

For many of America's children, the current educational system doesn't work. If public education is to continue, it needs more flexibility to provide more options, which could improve the chances for success for many of our children.

Rep. Gephardt should stop defending a status quo that has failed for many Americans.

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