FEDERAL STUDENT AID AVAILABLE- -1976-89 Secretary BENNETT. This chart which I will include for the record, well illustrates what that-those figures actually come to. It is quite true that loans have increased as a proportion of the total, greater than grants, but as you will see, both lines have gotten bigger. The red and the blue there have gotten bigger. The number of grants available to college students is much more now than it has been in the past. Indeed, that is true of loans as well. The Federal Government, I think, is meeting its responsibilities to provide student aid on a generous basis. COLLEGE TUITION INCREASES On other issue, however, I can't say that I am encouraged by fiscal restraint on the part of institutions of higher education. We read in the papers today again that tuitions are going up 5 to 10 percent at a lot of institutions, and we do not seem to be ending this spiral. As you know, I have been very concerned about it, and have spoken my mind about it a number of times. We have heard a lot of excuses and a lot of reasons why this is done. Some of them I find convincing. Some, I do not. I am happy to say that one college president came clean not too long ago, David Breneman, President of Kalamazoo College, who should be rewarded with a pat on the back for his candor, admitted in a speech he was giving that some private colleges raised their tuition rates not to meet rising expenses, but to look more selective and prestigious. He announced many colleges in the private group did so to be snooty, to appear snooty. I admire his candor, but I think the fact that colleges are doing that while they are asking for ever-increasing money from the Federal Government is an embarrassment and a scandal. I am glad someone had the courage to speak the truth on this. We have been saying it for some time. I asked Bruce Carnes, who does this sort of thing, as you know, well and accurately, to project what four years of tuition would be, if tuitions keep going up at the rate they are going, and I think he used-what university was this, Bruce? Mr. CARNES. Brown University. Secretary BENNETT. Brown University. If tuitions keep going up at the rate they are going, four years at Brown in the years 2046 through 2050, will cost $1,430,000. This can be pretty tough for people to afford. We think some cost pricing restraint, cost restraint is called for. DECREASING VALUE RECEIVED FROM EDUCATION DOLLAR One other thing, Mr. Chairman, I am delighted you think that this budget request will go through with dispatch within an hour, maybe even break the record. That is good. I share with you, and I think you know I share with you, the belief that education is a very important part of national strength, and that a sound educational system is the bulwark of our national competitiveness and the strength of our people. But with the spending that we have given to education, and a you know, it goes up significantly every year, I can't report to yo this year that we are getting value for our dollar. NSF STUDY COMPARES U.S. AND FOREIGN STUDENT PERFORMANCE You talked about us being the strongest country in the world and education being the means to that. I agree with that, but we can't draw that conclusion. Just one piece of evidence, and there is lots of evidence, in today's paper is a report from the National Sci ence Foundation. We find, and I read from the paper, "Americar students in 5th, 9th and 12th grade levels performed poorly in science compared to counterparts around the world, according to the results of the National Science Foundation." For a technologically advanced country, it would appear as how a study is required. This survey pointed out, Mr. Chairman, that when we tested our 5th graders against 5th graders in other parts of the world, in several examinations, our 5th graders come out 8 out of the 15. Eighth out of the 15 countries. When they are tested four years later in the 9th grade, they come out 15 out of the 16. When they are tested as seniors, four years later, three years later, they come out 14 out of the 14. Here is the really discouraging thing. When our kids start out, many of them are doing pretty well, they are quite competitive. Our educational system for most children starts them out on a reasonably good basis. The problem is they get worse as they go through the school system. This is a real failing of our educational system. When our kids in the 5th grade are 8th and the seniors 14 out of 14, something is not happening. Is it failure to expend money? No, because we spend more than all those other countries which are beating our pants off in these competitions. We are not doing the job on the ground, where we should be doing it. It is a matter I care about a great deal, and we are happy to be here with this budget. We think it has got a lot of good ideas. We recognize, and I know you recognize that we do wholesale. We don't do any retail. The education that is done is done at the State and local level, and again, we think—and this is the theme of our entire budget, we have got to have some more accountability in American education or these results will continue to be low and a cause of concern to me and to the American people. Thank you, sir. [The statement of Secretary Bennett follows:] DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Statement by the Secretary of Education on the President's Fiscal Year 1989 Budget 13A1 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: I am pleased to appear before you to discuss the 1989 budget for the Department of Education. We are requesting $21.2 billion, an increase of $851 million over the 1988 appropriation. Before I turn to the detail, I'd like to take a moment to describe the context in which this year's budget was developed. Almost five years after A Nation At Risk, we stand at an educational crossroad. Our Nation is now alert to the failings of our education system. We have tried to promote solutions through legislative proposals, administrative reforms, and such reports as What Works, First Lessons, Schools That Work, and James Madison High School. Test scores have risen a bit after heading downward for nearly two decades; graduation requirements have been strengthened in 45 of the 50 States; and national spending on education has steadily increased, reaching an estimated $309 billion this year. But there is a real danger today that our progress may be stalling. In some States, badly needed education reforms have been watered down or blocked by entrenched interest groups. Improvement in the SAT and ACT test scores has halted. Whether we will be able to regroup and move forward, or give up the gains we've made, will depend on whether we have the resolve to do the right thing, to make the tough choices at this critical time. Certainly the American people haven't lost their nerve. The latest Gallup Poll on education shows overwhelming public support for higher standards, for ridding our schools of drugs, and for more choice, more discipline, and more emphasis on instilling sound character and fundamental values in our children. Above all, the American people want more accountability for their investment in education. By accountability I mean the giving and taking of responsibility for results. The public believes in accountability, and in this they are far ahead of most policy makers and indeed of most of the education establishment. The lack of accountability in our schools is among the most striking and damaging features of our current education system. American education and American educators need more linkage between acts and consequences. As I have noted before, there are greater, more certain, and more immediate penalties in this country for serving up a single hamburger than for furnishing a thousand children with a rotten education. This must change. The President has made education a priority for this Administration and in this budget. The Federal Government is ready to do its part. But in this political season we often hear that the answer is simply to spend more. The people know better. They know that it isn't enough just to spend more but that, as the President put it recently, "how we spend is as important as what we spend." Our budget for 1989 does spend more, but, more important, it also spends better. Last year, we proposed to the Congress that the principle of accountability be applied to Chapter 1, the largest Federal elementary and secondary education program, and to the programs of the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. This year, The Congress is moving to adopt these important concepts. Let me now highlight some of our priorities and initiatives for 1989, beginning with elementary and secondary education. For Chapter 1 we are requesting $4.6 billion, an increase of $238 million, which will enable us to provide assistance to about 5.6 million disadvantaged children. In keeping with our reauthorization proposals, most of this increase would be used to aid school districts with large concentrations of children from low-income families, and accountability for results will be enhanced. The rest of the increase would go primarily to all Chapter 1 eligible districts through the Basic Grants program. Magnet schools are one of the real success stories of the education reform movement. Because they give parents greater choice, they are inherently more accountable. When magnet schools provide their students an excellent education, they also stimulate other, non-magnet schools to improve. For 1989, we are requesting $115 million for magnet schools, a $43 million increase. In addition, we will seek to broaden the program by extending eligibility to other school districts, not just those implementing desegregation. We further intend to promote parental choice by making available $5 million for open enrollment demonstration programs in the public schools. The Nation needs more good teachers who know their subjects. We are requesting $10 million to support the new Fund for the Improvement and Reform of Schools and Teaching and intend to spend about $4 million from the Secretary's Discretionary Fund for alternative certification programs, which bring talent into the teaching profes sion. For bilingual education we are requesting $157 million, an increase of $10 million, based on the Administration's recommendation for increased local flexibility in choosing the best instructional approaches to help students become proficient in English. Illegal drug use remains a serious problem in our schools and among our youth, and we will seek $250 million the maximum amount authorized to fund the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. But again, we expect the Congress to adopt our proposals for greater accountability in the use of these funds. |