In response to Bryan Dahl's opinion column, "Teacher's unions are to blame for lax improvement in public schools" (SN 12/1), I have a few comments.

Did you know private and charter schools are not required to administer the same standardized tests that public schools are mandated to administer?

Since the tests are not the same, comparison of test scores is equivalent to comparing apples to oranges.

Did you know that private schools carefully select their students?

They do not provide education for all. Public schools have no choice over which students they serve. They serve everyone. Extra resources are provided for children with disabilities, including smaller class sizes, extra teacher assistants and additional services.

All of this is an expense private schools do not incur. Public schools serve children with limited English proficiency, children from a wide range of abilities and children from a wide variety of backgrounds.

In some neighborhoods, children want to attend school daily because they are fed two meals. Suspension from school means no food.

Private schools have every reason to resist vouchers. With government funds come government mandates.

They will soon see how difficult it is to educate our heterogeneous society, rather than the homogeneous groups they have historically served. Special programs are very expensive.

Before blaming public schools for poor performance, you should do your homework. Test scores need to be analyzed, rather than grouped together in one lump.

Schools are working hard to continue to improve. However, there are some segments of the population whose test scores are not improving. Before blaming the schools, take a look at all the circumstances surrounding the lack of improvement. How much control do the schools have over many outside influences?

Many of the problems in public schools are a reflection of the larger society, rather than a result of the National Education Association, poor teaching or cost-effective programs.

Lisa MacKenzie
1986 graduate