Search

High schools throughout the United States are turning out graduates who are deficient in mathematics and science education. The field of education has come to be staffed by less competent teachers, as more qualified and more able individuals have been lured away to higher paying professions. The result of this has been the impairment of American ability to compete in the world market. Many high schools have deemphasized traditional core courses along with mathematics and the sciences. The National Education Association (NEA) has been a barrier to quality science and mathematics education in the public schools. The NEA has resisted efforts to institute standardized testing for teachers or assessment of teacher competence. The Department of Education has had deleterious effects on education, since it tends to promote equality of access to education at the expense of quality education. Finally, Congressional efforts have been to throw money at the problem rather than attack the root causes. Recommended solutions are: (1) redefined teacher certification requirements; (2) teacher accreditation through testing of general intelligence and knowledge in specific areas; (3) performance- and need-based salaries; (4) withdrawal of federal mandates; and (5) limited federal funding of education. (AOS)

This paper criticizes federal involvement in education in recent decades and asserts that control of education must be returned to the localities and parents. The document cites damaging effects of centralized education policy in Washington, D.C., noting a decline in academic standards and federal regulations that are ill-suited to local educational needs. False assumptions underlying advocacy of centralized education policies are reviewed, including the concept that the primary responsibility for dealing with an individual's disability lies with the larger political unit rather than with the family and immediate community. The paper points to the examples of Title I/Chapter 1 of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act and disability legislation, including P.L. 94-142, the Education For All Handicapped Children Act, as examples of expensive and ineffective federal initiatives. Recommendations include consideration of vouchers and tuition tax credits, repeal of Chapter 1, abolition of the Department of Education, and use of federal funds as the assistance of last resort rather than as a right. (CL)

The recurring theme of this volume is that centralized control of education has failed and control of education should be returned to parents and the local community. Five papers are presented that clarify the conservative stance on public education and describe specific measures that could replace liberal concepts and programs: (1) "The Demise of the Teaching Profession" (Annette Kirk and Russell Kirk); (2) "Public and Private Schools" (K. Alan Snyder); (3) "The Growth of the Federal Role in Education" (Eileen M. Gardner); (4) "Higher Education Today" (Philip F. Lawler); and (5) "The Courts and Education" (Thomas R. Ascik). In a summary of the ideas set forth in these papers, a new agenda for education is proposed. Among the recommendations made are: accrediting Master Teachers to foster quality teaching, restoring educational choice to parents through tuition tax credits, establishing English as the sole teaching language, and allowing parents to deduct tuition from their taxes. All contributors recommend the elimination of centralization of educational direction at the federal level where, it is maintained, it falls into the hands of special interest groups and loses its ability to adapt to the diverse schooling needs of local communities throughout the United States. (JD)