Public School Facts, History, and Education Issues » Facts About Public Education

Upon his retirement from the leadership of CEP, Jack Jennings reviews in this paper the three major school reform efforts of the last 50 years, proposes an agenda focused on the classroom, and advocates for the creation of a federal civil right to a good education to advance that agenda.

The 2012 Public Education Primer highlights important and sometimes little-known facts concerning the U.S. education system, how things have changed over time, and how they may change in the future. Together these facts provide a comprehensive picture of the nation’s public schools, including data about students, teachers, funding, achievement, management, and non-academic services.

Before Christmas, Jack Jennings, CEP’s president, submitted the following blog to the Huffington Post. This blog discusses the disappointing results from urban school districts on the National Assessment of Educational Progress that were released in December. He suggests a link between those results and the financial problems being experienced by American schools.

On October 24, the Huffington Post carried a blog written by Jack Jennings, CEP’s president and CEO, on the views of the Republican presidential aspirants on the role of the federal government in education.

The Dallas Morning News asked Jack Jennings, CEP’s president and CEO, to write an article advising the city’s school board on what it should look for in a new local school superintendent. The article appeared in the newspaper on October 7, 2011.

This August 30, 2011 Huffington Post blog by Jack Jennings discusses how teacher pay in the United States compares to other countries.

This blog, which was written by Jack Jennings, CEP’s president, and posted on the Huffington Post on May 8, 2011, discusses achievement gains of white, Latino, and African American students on the long-term National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).  The blog points out that while general trends show a mixed picture of achievement gains over the last four decades, Latino and African American students made great gains.  Accompanying the blog is a table that shows the changes in long-term NAEP reading and math scores since the 1970s for white, Latino, and African American students as well as for all students.

In this guest blog posted April 20 on Education Week’s Sara Mead’s Policy Notebook, Alexandra Usher discusses the early federal land grant program which encouraged the creation of public schools across the U.S. Referencing CEP’s 2011 background paper Public Schools and the Original Federal Land Grants, Usher describes how the Land Ordinance and Northwest Ordinance established a policy through which new states were given land by the federal government for the support of public schools.

This report highlights the history and importance of public education in the United States, dating back to its establishment as a necessary institution for the young republic and Horace Mann’s efforts to promote a common school for all. The report focuses on how and why the U.S. system of public education came into being; the six core public missions that public schools have been expected to fulfill, such as unifying a diverse population, preparing people for democratic citizenship, and ensuring equal opportunities for all children; and why these missions are relevant today and why the nation must maintain them while pursuing reforms to help all schools live up to these core ideals.

This report highlights the important facts concerning the U.S. education system and how things have changed — and will continue to change — over time. The primer provides a comprehensive picture of the nation’s public schools with data about students, governance, funding, achievement, teachers, and non-instructional services.

A summary of data shows positive trends in American education and indicates areas for improvement. 

This article, written for the National PTA's magazine-- Our Children, highlights the gains made in US public schools.

Summary of a Panel Discussion. This is the summary of a panel discussion covering major research dealing with the effects of exit exams on dropout rates and indications for future studies.

Review of positive trends in student achievement from the 1980s and 1990s and comments on current challenges.

This policy brief on high school students' rising ACT scores was part of a larger 2000 publication, DO YOU KNOW THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT AMERICAN EDUCATION?

This policy brief on the increasing SAT scores of high school students was part of the larger 2000 publication, DO YOU KNOW THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT AMERICAN EDUCATION?

This policy brief on high school students taking more advanced placement courses was part of the larger 2000 publication, DO YOU KNOW THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT AMERICAN EDUCATION?

In 1998, the Center on Education Policy released a series of one-page issue briefs highlighting aspects of public education where there have been positive trends in the preceding 20 years. These one-page publications were updated and compiled in 2000 for the Center's Do You Know the Good News About American Education? report.

This policy brief on the trend of students taking more difficult high school courses was part of the larger 2000 publication, DO YOU KNOW THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT AMERICAN EDUCATION?

This policy brief on the positive trend of fewer students dropping out of school was part of the 2000 publication DO YOU KNOW THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT AMERICAN EDUCATION?

This policy brief on the increasing number of high school students going on to college was part of the larger 2000 publication, DO YOU KNOW THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT AMERICAN EDUCATION?

This policy brief on the positive trend of rising math achievement in high school students was part of the larger 2000 publication, DO YOU KNOW THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT AMERICAN EDUCATION?

This policy brief on the positive trend of high school students achievement in science was part of the larger 2000 publication DO YOU KNOW THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT AMERICAN EDUCATION.

Review of data showing the achievements of American public school children and the areas for improvement.

A brief history of public education followed by questions and answers on the role and importance of public schools in the US.