CONTACT: Will Potter  (202) 822-7823

July 20, 2006

Education Department Reports
Private Schools on Par With Public Schools

WASHINGTON -- Public school students generally perform as well or better in reading and mathematics than children in private schools, according to a recent report by the Education Department. The report compared reading and math scores of fourth-graders and eighth-graders in public and private schools.

On the heels of this study, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings joined Congressional Republicans on Tuesday to propose a $100 million federal voucher program for students to attend private schools at public expense.

The following can be attributed to Reg Weaver, NEA president:

"Some lawmakers seem to think that funneling students into private schools will magically fix the country's education problems, but this report shows that's not the answer. Students can learn in public schools, but those schools need resources to get the job done. Lawmakers keep cutting education funding, and public schools don't have the luxury of charging tuition or rejecting students. If public schools can perform as well as private schools with much, much less, think what they could do with adequate resources."

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 2.8 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.