EDUCATION REPORT YIELDS MIXED RESULTS

CHICAGO, Dec. 11 (UPI) - A new national study indicates that Illinois
schools are improving academically but losing ground on school safety
and teen drug use.

The National Education Goals Report says nearly a third of Illinois
public school students indicated they have been offered, sold or given
drugs on school property in 1995, a jump of 12 percentage points from
two years earlier.

Nearly 25 percent of the students surveyed said they had used
marijuana in the previous 30 days and 30 percent said they had
consumed at least five alcoholic drinks in one sitting during the
previous month.

The statistics date back to 1995 and were an increase from 1994 and
1993.

About half of public high school teachers in Illinois reported that
unruly students had disrupted class, an increase of 9 percent from
1991, but the number of fights on school property decreased 2 percent,
to 16 percent.

Illinois improved high school graduation rates to 89 percent compared
to 86 percent nationally and increased the number of students earning
college credit in advanced placement classes.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady