“Invisible: 1.4 Percent Coverage for Education is Not Enough”

The report, produced by the Brookings Institution, argues that there is virtually no national coverage of education. Researchers found that during the first nine months of 2009, only 1.4 percent of national news coverage from television, newspapers, news Web sites and radio dealt with education. As a result, the authors argue that it is difficult for the public to understand how to improve school performance and follow the issues at stake in national education debates.

The report, which analyzed news coverage at all levels of education, found that little coverage relates to school policies and ways to improve the curriculum or learning processes. Researchers found particularly scant coverage of community colleges, school reform and teacher quality. Instead, most stories published in 2009 dealt with budget problems, school crime and the H1N1 flu outbreak.

The authors conclude by making a number of recommendations to improve the coverage of education, which involve efforts not only by news organizations, but also education administrators, government leaders, school boards, parents, students and community leaders.

Read the report.