Education Secretary Plans Renewed Focus on Improving U.S. High Schools
by Jim Brown
September 28, 2005
(AgapePress) - U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings is turning her attention to improving America's public high schools. In her back-to-school address, the head of the Education Department said leaving U.S. high school students behind is not only "morally unacceptable," but also "economically untenable." According to current statistics, while three out of ten U.S. students do not finish high school on time, five out of ten minority students fail to finish high school on time. That, according to Spellings, cannot be tolerated. "While we have encouraging results for younger children," she says, "the nation's recent education report card has shown no progress for high school students in 30 years. So it's time to focus on improving high schools."
Spellings is also taking note of the one million students who drop out of high school each year. She says members of this group cost the United States more than $260 billion dollars in lost wages, lost taxes, and lost productivity over their lifetimes.
In order to curb that trend, the Secretary of Education feels parental involvement is essential. She says parents must demonstrate more interest and become more active participants in their children's education.
"Take a look at your kids' after-school schedule this week -- the swimming, soccer, and football," Spellings suggests. "The numbers on your child's report card should be as important as the numbers on the scoreboard."
How well American students are doing is not just an "education issue," Spellings contends -- it is "everybody's issue." She says the U.S. Department of Education will be working with President Bush on supporting high school reform that focuses on reading, math and science to help more students reach the finish line on time and be ready for college or work.
Also, the Secretary of Education says a recent survey by the Educational Testing Service found that a majority of parents, like herself, believe that all students, teachers and schools should be held to the same performance standards regardless of background or race. "We know students who take rigorous courses in high school stand a far better chance of succeeding in college," she points out, "but something is wrong when right here in Washington, DC, in our own area, suburban Langley [Maryland] High School offers 21 advanced placement courses ... while inner-city Ballou High School offers only four. And 40 percent of high schools nationally offer no AP courses."
AP (Advanced Placement) courses and other rigorous academic courses help students succeed in college and in the workforce, Spellings notes. Therefore, she says the U.S. Department of Education will also be focusing on expanding advanced placement courses in urban high schools around the nation.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
