Alternative schools can do the job better

The two Oct. 30 stories on school report cards failed to tell the whole story about education. Melissa Jenco discussed the problems that high schools are having with the ACT scores, while Kerry Lester showed that teacher salaries do not correlate with student achievement.

But they missed the most important factor - alternate schools, private schools and home schools. DuPage County has plenty of private schools that do a better job with less. As a matter of history, private schools have been producing better students for generations, even in Chicago, in poor, minority neighborhoods. Does anyone remember Marva Collins?

A serious study of education must include comparisons with alternate approaches to education. Government-run schools do not have the answers, as achievement scores repeatedly show.

George Kocan

Warrenville