In 1999, The Reading Level Of 9-Year-Olds In The Bottom Quarter Of Achievement Was Below Where It Was In 1980. (NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress)

In 1999, The Reading Level Of African-American 17-Year-Olds Was Below Where It Was In 1988. (NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress)

Leading Experts Agree, Our Children’s Education Is Still Far From What It Ought To Be. "[T]he state of our children’s education is still far, very far, from what it ought to be. Unfortunately, the economic boom times have made many Americans indifferent to poor educational achievement. Too many express indifference, apathy, a shrug of the shoulders. Despite continuing indicators of inadequacy, and the risk that this poses to our future well being, much of the public shrugs and says, ‘Whatever.’" (The Center For Education Reform, "A Nation Still At Risk: An Education Manifesto," April 30, 1998)

Signatories Of "A Nation Still At Risk" Include: The signers of a 1998 analysis of education in America included a bipartisan group of experts such as: William J. Bennett, Co-Director, Empower America; Chester E. Finn, Jr., President, The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation; Rev. Floyd Flake, Pastor, Allen A.M.E. Cathedral and School; Eugene Hickok, Secretary of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Lisa Graham Keegan, State Superintendent of Schools, State of Arizona; Paul Peterson, Professor of Government, Harvard University; Diane Ravitch, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Jay Sommer, Former Teacher of the Year and Member, National Commission on Excellence in Education. (The Center For Education Reform, "A Nation Still At Risk: An Education Manifesto," April 30, 1998)

Experts Say Poor And Minority Children Are Suffering Under Current System. "In the midst of our flourishing economy, we are re-creating a dual school system, separate and unequal, almost half a century after it was declared unconstitutional. We face a widening and unacceptable chasm between good schools and bad, between those youngsters who get an adequate education and those who emerge from school barely able to read and write. Poor and minority children, by and large, go to worse schools, have less expected of them, are taught by less knowledgeable teachers, and have the least power to alter bad situations. Yet it’s poor children who most need great schools." (The Center For Education Reform, "A Nation Still At Risk: An Education Manifesto," April 30, 1998)

Under Clinton/Gore, Urban Students Perform Far Worse Than Children Who Live Outside Central Cities. "Urban students perform far worse, on average, than children who live outside central cities on virtually every measure of academic performance. The longer they stay in school, the wider that gap grows." (Lynn Olson and Craig D. Jerald, "The Challenges," Education Week, January 8, 1998)

43 Percent Of Our Fourth-Graders Can’t Pass A Basic Reading Test. (Merrill Lynch & Co., The Book of Knowledge: Investing in the Growing Education and Training Industry, April 9, 1999)

Nearly Half Of All High School Graduates Have Not Mastered Seventh-Grade Arithmetic. (Merrill Lynch & Co., The Book of Knowledge: Investing in the Growing Education and Training Industry, April 9, 1999)

One-Third Of 17-Year-Olds Cannot Place France On A Map Of The World. (Merrill Lynch & Co., The Book of Knowledge: Investing in the Growing Education and Training Industry, April 9, 1999)

A Recent Report By The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, An Education Think-Tank, Gave U.S. Public Schools A Pitiful D+ Grade For Improving Teacher Quality. ("The Quest for Better Teachers: Grading the States," Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, November 1999, p. 13)