10 public school "Signposts of Failure"

* Between 1960 and 1995, average per-pupil spending in U.S. public schools rose 212% in inflation-adjusted dollars.

* Between 1960 and 1995, the student/teacher ratio has dropped by 35% -- from approximately 26 students for every one U.S. public school teacher to only 17.

* Between 1960 and 1995, the average salary of U.S. public school teachers jumped 45% in inflation-adjusted dollars.

* In 1994, fewer than 50% of the personnel employed by U.S. public schools were teachers.

* American 12th graders rank 19th out of 21 industrialized countries in mathematics achievement and 16th out of 21 nations in science.

* In fourth grade, 77% of children in urban high-poverty schools are reading "below basic" levels on the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests.

* Since 1983, over 10 million public school students have reached the 12th grade level without learning to read at the basic level.

* Since 1983, more than 20 million students have reached the 12th grade unable to do basic math.

* Since 1983, more than 25 million students have reached the 12th grade not knowing the essentials of U.S. history.

* In 1995, nearly 30% of first-time college freshmen enrolled in at least one remedial course to compensate for a sub-standard high school education.
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"Look at the track record," said Dasbach. "More funding has been tried. It failed. Smaller classes have been tried. They failed. Higher-priced teachers have been tried. They failed. More educational bureaucrats have been tried. They failed.

"In fact, the only thing we haven't tried yet is freedom: The freedom of parents to use their own money to send their children to the non-profit, religious, or private school of their choice -- non-government schools that effectively teach the values parents want," he said.

"It's something that George W. Bush and other Republicans don't seem to understand: Freedom and responsibility are a prerequisite for morality, respect, and character. So why don't we try it in education?"

The above information is directly from the Libertarian Rock website and was written in 1999. We are still failing our children but spending more to do it. To read the rest of the story go to the Libertarian Rock website.

New Hampshire failed our children with the passage of HB 927 this past week. Just sit back and watch how New Hampshire will spend more on education while student performance will decline over time.

There is only one choice if you want to serve our children and not pander to public education employees and that is to give parents a choice as to where their children can be educated.