News commentaries and feature story bylines are becoming increasingly negative on the subject of public education in America. With broad strokes, the artful analyst proclaims that a new set of negative numbers or another event of adolescent misbehavior is reason enough to conclude once again that our system of high school public education is a dismal failure and is moving rapidly downhill. Furthermore these failures are directly responsible for so many of the social problems facing teenagers today. In the strongest terms I must declare that these are false perceptions and incorrect inferences that are plainly just not true!

Public education is not failing our children and our communities. Indeed, over the past two decades significant strides and continuing improvements have been well documented.

Most recently the Washington DC based Center for Education Policy and the American Youth Forum issued a stunning report on the state of public education. The study is noteworthy in that it helps us to gain a truer sense of what is really happening statistically in our high schools across America. Since 1995 the Center on Education Policy has been an independent advocate for public education and more effective schools which help all of us to understand better the true role of education in our democracy. The findings of the study demonstrate both growth and success in our public high schools.

Statistically, over 89 percent of all kindergarten-grade 12 students enrolled in public schools were counted. The following trends were identified with surprisingly positive results for our public high school students:

* Dropout rates are lower today than they were back in the 1970s and 1980s.

* The number and percentage of students completing a core academic curriculum that includes four years of English, three years of social studies, science and math has more than tripled since 1982 and these increases continue as they range across the spectrum for all racial, ethnic and gender groups.

* The percentage of all students taking tougher math and science courses has increased dramatically as all subject sequences are expanding above the minimum acceptable requirement for graduation.

* The number of advance placement exams and course enrollment for college credit in high school has moved ahead.

* Average SAT scores in math for college bound seniors as well as scores in the verbal category have increased since 1983 while the total population of test takers has grown larger along with the number of college entrants from high school.

These and other positive statistical trends reveal that our public high school students are moving along toward a mastery of higher-level knowledge and skills needed to secure their place in a growing technological society. The US job market in the 21st century will require sharper learning standards and our public schools will be asked to deliver more knowledge, services and "results" than ever before.

The encouraging trend toward higher achievement is supported by dedicated public school teachers and administrators. Statistics show that in year 2000 classroom teachers as a group have become more educationally qualified and experienced than they were back in 1980. By the year 2003 all New York State public high schoolers must successfully pass five regents exam sequences in order to receive a diploma. Yes, we will continue to ask much of our children as we "raise the bar" of learning standards.

It is time that we stand up for public education and work together for positive results instead of dwelling upon negative issues and news stories that contain half-truths and misconceptions. Lock on to the website for the Center on Education Policy (www.ctredpol.org/) and read for yourself the good news and how you can help to make our public schools better.

Martin Kaye

Trustee

West Hempstead Board of Education