Teachers and Parents Get Different Stories

I came across the following two stories on Edweek.org. The first headline was on the main page. It is focused primarily on stories for those who are interested in education. There is a link on this page to the Teacher Magazine web site. Teacher Magazine as the name implies is written for teachers. Both carry articles related to and about education. I caught sight of these headlines and had to wonder; "Why would they try to lead teachers on like this?" or "Are they trying to present a more pessimistic view to the more general audience?" My guess is that teacher Unions have a lot to do with it. I'm sure that this is a "Look! You're doing a good job!" aimed at teachers (believe me, some deserve it), but to have the same story headlined and presented differently to very separate audiences has led me to believe there is more to this. Why did it need to be rewritten for the general audience? Was the AP story too upbeat?


Published Online: December 9, 2008 in Education Week

Asians Best U.S. Students in Math and Science

By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

American 4th and 8th graders continue to exceed the international average on math and science tests, but are still well behind their counterparts in several Asian nations and trail a few European countries, results released today show.

Students in Massachusetts and Minnesota who took part in the testing program, however, excelled ahead of their peers across the United States. Massachusetts in particular did as well as some of the leading Asian nations in some areas...

And on the same site in, but in the Teacher Magazine section.

U.S. Math and Science Students on Par

WASHINGTON (AP) — In math and science, American kids are doing better than people think, an international study found. But some Asian countries have an edge in math that just keeps growing.

U.S. students have made significant gains in math since 1995 and score above average on international fourth- and eighth-grade tests in the subject, according to a study released Tuesday.

However, the United States has a long way to go to lead the world in math. The study reported dramatically higher math scores in five Asian countries — Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Korea — than other countries...