Justice:

Education

A healthy public education system is the most important factor in determining the future prosperity of any nation. In America, our system is in crisis, both in terms of equal accessibility and quality. In addition, the U.S. education system fails to teach the basics of citizenship and civic action. The Children's Defense Fund outlines the shortcomings of the education system in America today:

"Equal educational opportunity is a myth in millennial America. The richest school districts spend 56 percent more per student than do the poorest. While expenditures are not the sole determinant of educational success, this gaping chasm effectively denies a Head Start to millions of children who happen to live in lower-income school districts. Overall, America's children are not being educated to the high levels they have a right to expect:

Thirty-eight percent of the nation's fourth-graders do not read at basic level, according to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) studies. Seventy-seven percent of 4th graders, 73 percent of 8th graders, and 78 percent of 12th graders scored below NAEP's writing proficiency level.

While U.S. fourth graders score ahead of many other nations in both math and science, by the time they reach the 12th grade, U.S. students are falling behind in both areas.

Too many of today's teachers in our nation's public school system are not formally trained in the classes they are now teaching. In addition, over the next decade, 2.2 million new teachers will be needed to replace retiring teachers and those leaving the teaching profession as well as to accommodate population increases and the movement to reduce class-size."

- The Children's Defense Fund [source]

For more information on this and other issues, visit the Children's Defense Fund on the Internet.