Missouri … We Have a Problem

A new study by the EPE Research Center and the America’s Promise Alliance finds that three out of every 10 public school students in the United States do not graduate high school. The numbers are even worse in urban districts, falling to near 50 percent on average. In some cities, the numbers are as low as 25 percent — like Detroit.

We have a real problem with public education in this country, and some form of change is necessary. So even if you’re not a converted school choice supporter, the dramatic decline in education quality around the country should at the very least leave you considering it as an option on the table.

Or we can take the teachers’ unions side and say that everything is hunky-dory.

For example, consider this gem from the Missouri State Teachers Association (emphasis added):

[No Child Left Behind] generated doomsday headlines […] last fall that were a slap in the face to the professional pride of educators around the state. "State districts get failing grade," declared the Kansas City Star. "Many area schools fail test," announced the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The bad press engendered the wrath of educators and a big yawn from the public, basically for the same reason: The headlines were at odds with the real story of what’s going on in schools today. […]

"By just about any standard you care to name, Missouri compares favorably with other states," agrees Assistant Commissioner Bert Schulte.

Yeah … except by just about any standard you care to name, it doesn’t. And even if it were the case, that’s not saying much anyway.