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The Facts

  • Since 1965, American taxpayers have spent more than $321 billion in federal funds on K-12 public education, yet the average reading scores for 17 year olds have not improved since the 1970s.
    In 1998, 60 percent of twelfth-graders were not reading proficiently.
  • One would expect that America would have finished the last century with all of her citizens, from business leaders to recent high school graduates, able to read. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
  • According to the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), American students are among the world's least prepared in science and math. The study found that 12th graders rank 19th out of 21 countries in methematics and 16th out of 21 nations in science (US Dept. of Education, Third International Mathematics and Science Study, 1998).
  • 9.8 million. The number of school-age children (5 to 17) who speak a language other than English at home. They make up nearly 1-in-5 children in this age group. Most of these children (6.8 million) speak Spanish at home. (source: US Census Bureau)
  • 73.2 million. The number of U.S. residents enrolled in schools—from nursery schools to colleges. About 1-in-4 residents age 3 and over is a student. (source: US Census Bureau)
  • 6.5 million. The number of practicing teachers in the United States—from prekindergarten to college. (source: US Census Bureau)
  • The Rewards of Staying in School: $4.4 million. The estimated lifetime earnings of professional (i.e., medical, law, dentistry, and veterinary medicine) degree-holders. This compares with $3.4 million for those with Ph.D.s, $2.5 million for master's degree-holders, $2.1 million for those with bachelor's degrees, $1.2 million for high school graduates and $1.0 million for high school dropouts. (source: US Census Bureau)