12 public education facts ‘reformers’ don’t want you to know

This is from Marie Corfield, and it’s great. Please redistribute this list and please read the supporting data in her post.

1. Poverty matters.

2. “US schools with less than 10% poverty lead most top-performing countries with similar rates.”

3. Even at higher poverty levels, US students still outperform students in other countries who live in similar levels of poverty.

4. “High performing countries are doing a better job at reducing the achievement gap.”

5. The US really doesn’t spend the most on public education.

6. “The US ranks near the bottom in providing poor children equal access to quality educational materials.”

7. Since the Great Recession, US education spending is decreasing compared to that of other OECD nations.

8. The US ranks 24th out of the OECD nations in early childhood education.

9. US teachers spend the most hours teaching and are paid far less than other PISA countries.

10. In other high-performing countries, teachers are paid for the work that US teachers bring home and do on their own time. 

11. OECD says the claim that other countries have better teachers because they are recruited from the top 1/3 of college graduates is “not supported by evidence.”

12. Unions are not the problem