Although the piece included very strong examples of homeschoolers, the overall tone was one of skepticism. Consider this statement, for example, “Many of America’s new home‐schooled children have entered a world where no government official will ever check on what, or how well, they are being taught.” This is rather absurd considering how poorly many students fare in schools that are run by government officials, not just checked on by them.
In Baltimore, where public schools spend more than $21,000 per student, reading and math scores are atrocious. Earlier this year, it was reported that thirteen Baltimore City high schools had zero students who tested proficient on the state math exam. Zero. In Detroit, only five percent of eighth graders tested at “proficient” or better in reading this year. Clearly, having a “government official” “check on what, or how well, they are being taught” doesn’t offer any guarantees.
While those are particularly egregious examples, the overall performance of public schools in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—often called the Nation’s Report Card—isn’t too rosy. This year, 64 percent of fourth graders were below proficient in math, as were 73 percent of eighth graders. Reading results were similar, with 66 percent of fourth graders below proficient, along with 69 percent of eighth graders. Again, these unimpressive results show oversight by government officials does not ensure student learning.
[I’d say that I was more impressed that they covered the issue at all. Most media outlets, facing the atrociously bad performance issues in public schools, would have ignored it. But even with the editorial thumb on the scale, if lightly, the report put those issues in focus. — Ed]
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