Tom Loveless released THE 2006 BROWN CENTER REPORT ON AMERICAN EDUCATION, the latest analysis of The Brookings Institution.

Part one reviews the latest data on student learning in the U.S., including American students' progress in reading, mathematics, and science. Students are gaining in math, stagnant in reading, and flat in science.

Part two looks at the "happiness factor" in education, analyzing international data to see whether students' self-confidence and enjoyment of math and the relevance of lessons that students experience in classrooms are correlated with higher math achievement. He asks and answers this common sense question: Do nations with happier students score higher on math tests than nations in which students are not quite as happy? In short, the answer is No. National measures of self-confidence, enjoyment of the subject, and relevance of lessons are inversely correlated with student achievement. Less confident students do better in math.

Part three looks at how states have responded to the No Child Left Behind Act. Several analysts have recently concluded that states are "racing to the bottom" by artificially inflating the number of students who demonstrate proficiency on state tests. It is indisputable that states report larger numbers of proficient students than the National Assessemnt of Educational Progress (NAEP) test.

This report is more than another opinion about the status of U.S. education. It speaks directly to the way P12 educators conduct daily instruction and reporting. Results of analyses of data suggest further vulnerabilities to this conduct, including to what some might call educator's "people pleasing" approach to students and public policies.

Educators are busy people. I'd urge every teacher and administrator and teacher preparation faculty member to read the first 34 pages of this report anyway. At the very least, it provides fodder for talk among professionals on campus.

The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to research, education, and publication on important issues of domestic and foreign policy. Its principal purpose is to bring knowledge to bear on current and emerging policy problems. The Institution maintains a position of neutrality on issues of public policy. Interpretations or conclusions in Brookings publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.

The Brown Center on Education Policy conducts research on topics in American education, with a special focus on efforts to improve academic achievement in elementary and secondary schools.


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