THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 1996              TAG: 9608270003
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A14  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                            LENGTH:   39 lines

CAL THOMAS IS WRONG: U.S. SCHOOLS ARE GETTING BETTER RESULTS

It's no surprise that columnist Cal (``I never saw a public school I liked'') Thomas' July 14 diatribe is filled with half-truths and misinformation (Perspectives). About the only thing he got right was that the nearly 10,000 delegates to the National Education Association's Representative Assembly voted to endorse President Clinton. By secret ballot, delegates chose to stand up for Clinton because he has made children and education his highest priorities.

We share that commitment. In fact, in the past decade the NEA has channeled some $70 million into school-reform and -improvement efforts. In every state where significant education-reform measures have been enacted, the NEA took a leadership role by either initiating it, recruiting support for it or helping to shape it into something that would improve teaching and learning.

Contrary to Thomas' view, America's schools are rebounding. In fact, SAT scores from 1995 show improvement in both verbal and math skills. Nationally, math scores have risen steadily over the past decade, despite the fact that a broader, less-exclusive pool of students are taking the test. And a recent study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that children in the United States read as well as - or better than - their counterparts in 30 industrialized nations. Only students in Finland outperformed America's kids.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress - the same group cited by Thomas - student achievement in math and science have improved markedly over the past 10 years. Today's high-school graduates have learned the equivalent of a full grade level more in these subjects than their counterparts a decade ago.

Are all schools as strong as they need to be? Not yet. But it is silly to trash the thousands of high-quality school districts across America based on the substandard performance of a relative minority.

KEITH GEIGER, president

National Education Association

Washington, D.C., Aug. 21, 1996 by CNB