Published, August 26, 2007 in the Sunday Letters section of The Dallas Morning News

Re: Schools falling further behind

by Terrence Stutz and Holly Hacker

This story’s reporting and headline leaves the impression that our schools are not making progress, when the opposite is true. While much of the story is technically accurate, the true story is our schools are making significant progress.
It is curious how the story reports fewer schools meeting No Child Left Behind requirements on the front page, but the explanation is in the 32nd paragraph buried on page 8A. The increased passing standards are more than “several percentage points higher than last year” as reported. The math requirement rose 8 points and the reading requirement rose 7 points from 2006 to 2007.
While you mentioned NCLB standards are largely based on TAKS math and reading scores, you neglected to mention that passing rates statewide on the 2007 TAKS exams hit record highs for all student groups in all subjects. When will that headline hit the front page?
If anyone is “falling further behind” it is the news media. Misleading headlines and stories are eroding the public’s confidence in the media, just as they erode the public’s confidence in educators. It is disheartening to witness fair and balanced journalism devolving into alarming slants designed to capture the reader’s attention.
To read more about the record-high TAKS scores, click here.