Newspaper Article

SAY `NO' TO OUR SCHOOLS' STATUS QUO

Steven B. Sample. Steven B. Sample, president of the University of Southern California, served on the Van de Kamp education commission in Los Angeles last year and chaired the New York Governor's Conference on Science and Engineering in 1990. He was

1993

Overview

A school voucher initiative has been rejected by the voters of California, and many supporters of the status quo in the nation's public schools are breathing a sigh of relief. The current educational system has been protected, at least for the moment. While serving on panels in New York and California that examined the state of our public elementary and secondary schools, I was struck by the terrible ineffectiveness of so many of these schools. It now seems clear that, on average, our public education is the worst of any industrialized nation. Indeed, students in some Third World nations receive a better education than many American youngsters. Our suburban public schools are not necessarily models of excellence, either. As powerful educational monopolies, they often suffer from entrenched mediocrity, reflected in test scores and other indications that these schools do not compare well with their counterparts in other countries. Even students from the most affluent school districts often do not receive the quality of education they need and deserve.

• Publisher: Tribune Publishing Company, LLC