Continues the discussion about the Third International Mathematics and Science Study results. American eighth-grade students are on a par with science students in New Zealand, China, Iceland, and Bulgaria. Meanwhile, one researcher found that all of the top six countries in TIMSS math had centralized curricula. None relies heavily on tests. (MLH)

As shown by their treatment of incidents involving kissing, aspirins, and Ebonics, the media are adept at spotlighting the unseemly, the negative, and the absurdities occurring in a public education system comprising 100,000 schools. Such negative reinforcement stymies public support for schools. When covering the Third International Mathematics…

Debunks some goofy ideas--notions that schools control our economic destiny, money matters not in education, and American students' performance is uniformly dismal on international standardized tests. The United States offers more educational opportunities than other nations. Detractors and advocates of public education are given Rotten or Golden…