WASHINGTON -- A child born in Texas has less of a chance at achieving academic and economic success than a child born in almost any other state, an analysis released by an educational research group found.

In its "Chance for Success Index," Texas ranked 48th among the 50 states and District of Columbia, the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center reported. Only Arizona, Louisiana and New Mexico ranked lower. Texas Education Agency Spokeswoman Suzanne Marchman said the state is ranked highly nationwide in academic performance and accountability, according to Quality Counts, a report published by the same Bethesda, Md.-based think tank.

I was browsing in a used-book store the other day and came across a wonderful book. And of course, by "wonderful" I mean one that said just what I believe. But where my beliefs have been based on personal observation, this book was full of hard data to prove the point. And that point is: Generally speaking, our public schools are doing just fine. You sure don't hear many people preaching that idea, do you?

The book is The Manufactured Crisis – Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America's Public Schools . It was written by a couple of professors, David C. Berliner of Arizona State University and Bruce J. Biddle of the University of Missouri. "This book was written in outrage," say the opening words of their preface. "We discovered how Americans were being misled about schools and their accomplishments." After scanning the book, I flipped to the front to see when it was published. Copyright 1995.

Your help is needed to reach more Texans with good news about the positives in our public schools.

Friends of Texas Public Schools is working to restore pride and bring a sense of optimism back to our schools. In just two years, we’ve made a lot of headway, with billboards and print media coverage.

The Texas Association of School Boards has compiled a "myth busters" document dispelling many of the myths about public schools in Texas. We'll feature some of these in the next few newsletters.

Texas schools have more than enough money already.

In 2003-04, Texas school districts spent about $31 billion for operating costs. The per-student cost for operations is about $7,209 -- very similar to the amount reported by the U.S. Census. Assuming students attend school seven hours a day for 180 days, the per-hour cost is a modest $5.72 With all the requirements in law (highly qualified teachers, security, testing, special program requirements, and other mandates) it is not hard to see why $40 per day doesn't stretch far enough. As mentioned above, this level of expenditure ranks Texas about 35th among the states in spending per student for operations and well below the national average.