New Study Shows Money Makes A Difference In Public School Reform.

A new national study has been released showing the best ways to reform public education -- and vouchers is not one of them.

Small class sizes in early grades, better academic instruction in the pre-kindergarten years and more money make a real difference, says the study, undertaken by the Rand Corporation, a public policy group based in Santa Monica, Calif.

Rand analyzed standardized test results and census data in every state to prepare the report. The report's author, David Grissmer, concluded that public education is reformable if monetary resources are properly allocated. "Five years ago, we were unsure whether reform in the states was working and if spending more money would make any difference in educational outcomes," Grissmer told The New York Times. "We see gains in some states from reform efforts, and we see that resources, if they're properly targeted, can be very effective at raising achievement."

Grissmer noted that poor and minority students, who traditionally lag behind in standardized testing, can improve with smaller class sizes and pre-kindergarten instruction. Factors that do not seem to make a difference in student performance include the use of teachers aides in regular-sized classrooms, teachers with advanced degrees or higher teacher salaries.

Grissmer's study also challenged the common assumption among voucher advocates that public education is failing nationwide. In fact, the Rand report notes that student math scores have increased across the country, especially in North Carolina, Michigan, Texas, Indiana and Maryland. (For more information about the report, visit www.rand.org.)

In other news about public education and vouchers:

* Researcher Gerald Bracey, who frequently debunks voucher proponents' propaganda about "failing" public schools, has compiled some of his best data on a website. Visitors to the site, www.america-tomorrow.com/bracey/ EDDRA/, can find information proving that American public schools are performing better than voucher advocates and the Religious Right say.

* New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson (R), says the state's new rating system for public schools will fuel the demand for vouchers. Johnson, speaking in July at a symposium on school choice sponsored by pro-voucher groups, said the rating system will reveal that "hundreds of schools" in the state are failing. "It will certainly add fuel to parents wanting [vouchers] to improve schools," Johnson said.

But Michael Davis, superintendent of public instruction, has stated that he expects no more than ]O0 schools in the state to be rated "probationary" under the new system.

Johnson has tried repeatedly to push voucher legislation through the state legislature, but lawmakers have voted it down.

* Archbishop Edward M. Egan, the new Catholic prelate of New York City, has wasted no time endorsing vouchers. Egan was appointed to the post after the death of Cardinal John O'Connor earlier this year. He called for a voucher plan during his first press conference June 19.

"Who in the world says that all the taxpayers' -- the parents' -- money must be only for a specific kind of culture being taught?" Egan asked. He asserted that public schools often teach values contrary to Catholicism and pledged to work for vouchers in New York.