FROM the RAND Corporation:
The American family is a basket case. Not so coincidentally, the performance of American public schools and students has steadily declined. Minority education, in particular, is a disaster area. And government attempts to halt the slide by throwing money at schools and social programs have uniformly failed. We can't do anything right, right?
Wrong on all counts, according to a team of four RAND researchers. Their study departs sharply from the gloom and doom surrounding most current discussion of school and family issues. Specifically, the analysis reveals that:
* Far from declining, student math and reading performance actually improved for all racial/ethnic groups between 1979 and 1990 as measured by the most valid, nationally representative test score data. Black students made the most dramatic strides, but Hispanic students also registered larger gains than whites. The performance gap between minority and nonminority students remains significant, but it has narrowed considerably.
* Far from being a drag, the changes in family demographics during this time period substantially abetted these test score gains. One often overlooked factor -- rising levels of parental education -- had a particularly powerful effect, especially for black families. The combination of stable real family income and declining family size was also a big plus, making more resources available per child. Not all developments were helpful, of course, but the net effects of a wide range of family trends were highly positive.
* Far from being ineffective, the nation's large investments in public education, social programs and equal opportunity policies may have produced sizable payoffs in minority student achievement. Suggestive evidence: Black and Hispanic student test score gains are far greater than changing family characteristics alone can explain. The most plausible explanation of these "residual" improvements -- gains beyond those that are predictable because of family changes -- is that at least some school and government efforts are having effect. Over the past 25 years, funding for education and social programs has risen and policies governing education have changed at all levels of the political system.