Despite Negative Media Coverage, California’s Academic Achievement Is Rising
Former California Secretary of Education Glen Thomas gave the keynote address last week at an education symposium hosted by the Biola University School of Education. Thomas identified budget cuts, legislative hurdles, lack of parent involvement and negative media coverage as the top four challenges faced by the educational system today.
Thomas, a Biola alum, said that some of the negative comparisons of the U.S. school system to other first-world countries may not be altogether accurate. He explained how some statistics showing the U.S. lagging behind other countries in reading and writing skills did not make for an accurate comparison, because many of the tests conducted in other countries use data from just one region, rather than reflecting the entire population.