Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education released their annual Condition of Education report.
So what is the condition of education, you ask? It depends on the indicator. International comparisons show that the performance of U.S. students declines once they hit middle school. No surprise there.
On the other hand, I did find it encouraging that (in 2005) 86 percent of pre-k children, age 3 to 5, were read to at least three times a week by a family member. Increases were also found in the percentage of children whose family members frequently told them a story, taught them letters, words, or numbers, and taught them songs or music.
