The following is the March 7th, 1997
Email posting of "Ed Facts"
from Family Research Council.
[All bold type is my emphasis added.]
Here is this week's issue of Ed Facts. If you have any questions or comments about the issues discussed here or about the Family Research Council, please visit our web site at: http://www.frc.org.
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A U.S. House panel was mildly critical of the
Clinton administration's education agenda during a Wednesday morning hearing
this week. U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley responded to questions
from members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for
two and a half hours. Members on both sides of the aisle voiced hesitation
on some of the details of Clinton's proposals, particularly the postsecondary
education tax breaks. But few expressed philosophical disagreement with
the president's package.
The most provocative questions came from Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.),
who pressed Sec. Riley to state the number of education programs the federal
government runs. After fumbling for an answer, Riley settled on "about
200," which, Hoekstra pointed out, only counts programs run by the
Education Department. Hoekstra's subcommittee counts over 760 federal
education programs administered by 39 different agencies, costing over
$100 billion annually. Mr. Hoekstra suggested the federal government
discontinue its failed education programs rather than spending billions
on more of the same.
Who says Americans need government involvement
to reach high education standards? "There are two -- and only two
-- keys to educational success: hard work and parental involvement,"
said Michael Farris, President of the Home School Legal Defense Association
(HSLDA) at a Wednesday press conference announcing the results of the largest
study of homeschooling ever conducted.
The study, commissioned by HSLDA and conducted by Dr. Brian Ray of the
National Home Education Research Institute, confirms past studies' conclusion
that homeschoolers perform well above average on academic tests. But the
new research supplies additional indicators of homeschooling's success
that lead Farris to conclude, "homeschooling works for everybody":
* The longer children are homeschooled, the better they score.
* Homeschooling virtually eliminates the gap between public-schooled minorities'
academic performance and that of their white peers.
* Teacher certification of parents does not significantly influence homeschooled
students' performance. Even when homeschooling moms are not high school
graduates, their kids still score 33 points higher on standardized tests
than the average public school student. Farris challenged Secretary
of Education Richard Riley to include homeschooling parents in his national
forum on excellence in teaching this spring.
* Countering the perennial protest that homeschooled children do not have
adequate opportunities for socialization, the study found that the average
homeschool student has 5.2 outside activities each week.
A hostile media and liberal education establishment will no doubt continue
to fight the facts on homeschooling. But their arguments may not pass the
straight face test much longer.
ACTION: To order a copy of "Strengths of Their Own -- Home Schoolers
Across America: Academic Achievement, Family Characteristics, and Longitudinal
Traits," contact the National Home Education Research Institute, P.O.
Box 13939, Salem, Ore. 97309; (503) 364-1490; e-mail: mail@nheri.org. To
contact the Home School Legal Defense Association, call (540) 338-5600.
President Bill Clinton visited the Michigan legislature
yesterday (3/6/97), peddling his education and welfare plans. Welcomed
by what reports are calling a bipartisan "lavish embrace," he
once again issued a call for national education standards and national
testing for math and reading.
"Michigan accepts your challenge," Gov. John Engler (R) told
Clinton. Engler pledged that his state will take the 4th-grade reading
and 8th-grade math tests the U.S. Education Department (U.S.E.D.) plans
to develop over the next two years.
But state assessment officials who met in Washington earlier this week
warned U.S.E.D. representatives that Clinton's plans for national testing
will intrude on state reform efforts. "What gets tested is what
will get taught," said John Poggio, director of an education testing
center at the University of Kansas (Education Daily, 3/4/97).
Lansing, Michigan, was Clinton's second stop in a series of visits to state
legislatures to advance his education agenda. So far, his mission has been
successful. Last month Clinton spoke to the Maryland General Assembly;
next week he will travel to Raleigh, N.C.
ACTION: As Clinton continues his education tour, contact your state legislators
with comments on his education agenda. Write letters to the editors of
newspapers in your hometown and state capital.
To contact FRC:
Family Research Council
700 Thirteenth Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
1-800-225-4008