According to Diann Woodard, President of the American Federation of School Administrators, in the Summer Issue of The Leader, some American schools are globally competitive. “The most recent results from the International Reading Literacy Study and the Trends in International Math and Science (TIMSS) conducted in 2006 revealed that a major group of American Students ranked first in reading, first in science, and third in math. Who were these students? They were kids in US schools that enjoyed a poverty rate of less than 10 percent. Even students in U.S. schools where the poverty rate rose to as high as 25 percent still ranked first in reading and science. As the percent of student in poverty rises, the test scores decline.”
As Ms.. Woodard points out 20 percent of all U.S. schools have poverty rates greater than 75 percent. With the growing American economic crisis, we are creating an increasing permanent underclass. With governors across the country making deep cuts in education, they are assigning a growing number of children to poverty which they will never get out of because they will lack the education and skills necessary.