Summarizes findings and data about income level and equality of educational opportunities, conditions of Alabama school facilities, and factors affecting a student's level of academic orientation in high school. (PKP)

Two University of Missouri researchers say much econometric research on the money/achievement connection is deeply flawed. Data from the "School District Data Book" and Second International Mathematics Study show that money's impact is enormous. In other research, principals' high expectations are pivotal, and children's drawings are…

Eric Hanushek's conclusion that money does not matter in public education is debatable. His latest meta-analysis reviews many articles from economics journals, while omitting several published in education journals. He finds no relationship between test results and spending, yet labels schools inefficient. In other research, the Annie Casey…

New data from SAT scores, the Second International Assessment of Educational Progress, and other sources show that American public education compares favorably with that of other advanced nations, despite mass media hysteria. Performance levels on academic indicators may reflect demographic factors more strongly than educational system quality.…

U.S. taxpayers score lower on the "Forbes" Misery Index than taxpayers of other industrialized nations. A recent report concludes that public-school students challenge their schools more than private-school counterparts. Low birth weight and demographic factors (gender, poverty, and race) affect Florida's burgeoning special-education…

The good news about U.S. schools (improved Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and international achievement rankings) continues to be ignored, while the bad news about the nation's real problems (crushing poverty, crumbling cities, and a faltering economy) worsens. A system that formerly functioned as a sorting machine is now expected to optimize all…

Noncollege-bound students (the "forgotten 42%") are more likely to be low-wage employees or unemployed. Minority-group employment outcomes are bleak, and poverty data, particularly for dropouts, are even more discouraging. Access to higher education has improved, despite higher tuition costs, but persistence toward degrees has not. (MLH)