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In this paper, we examine the Cumulative General Social Survey (GSS) survey data and find that American confidence in schools declined markedly between 1973 and 2010. Those whose confidence declined the most were white, elderly men. In order to determine if this lost confidence was due to poor student performance, we examined NAEP math and reading scores (1978-2008). We found evidence of strong improvements across students of all ages and racial groups. Finally, we re-estimated the NAEP gains by using two different statistical methods that control for changes in the demographic composition of the American student body. We find that failure to control for these factors causes researchers to underestimate NAEP gains by more than 40%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent litigation concerning "educational adequacy" attempts to raise taxes and increase education spending by suing states for under-funding low-performing public schools. This approach, however, ignores the need to increase the efficiency of current spending. It disregards evidence that the U.S. government's monetary investment in public education, despite being significantly higher than that of other industrial democracies, has not translated into improved student achievement. Increased spending may make it easier to avoid tough decisions in funding disputes, but it erodes incentives for districts to be economically savvy and disrupts the democratic process by pursuing policy through the courts, rather than through the legislature. This paper argues that adequacy lawsuits are not an effective avenue for pursuing substantive reform or improved student achievement. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]