Surveys show that many educators are convinced that negative publicity is undermining public support for public schools. The public itself, while highly interested in school news, often turns to neighbors and realtors for information before their local newspaper or television station. While many newspapers and broadcast outlets have education specialists, many school boards are covered by an inexperienced reporter fresh out of college.

And it is easy for a reporter to make mistakes covering education. The beat seems deceptively simple -- after all, everyone's been to school. But, in fact, education is a field filled with complicated, sometimes questionable statistics and ferocious ideological wars. Getting the story straight is critical, but far from simple.

Public Agenda's Learning Curve guide is designed to help reporters improve their coverage by calling attention to some of the common mistakes made on the beat. In combination with the public opinion data and background information in our Education issue guide, we think Learning Curve offers a quick way for reporters to get up to speed on important aspects of covering the beat. We interviewed a number of journalists and education experts for the features in this section, and drew on our own public opinion research. Our Tipsheet feature will be updated weekly, pointing out pitfalls and potential story angles on the week's hottest education story. You can have the Tipsheet delivered directly to your e-mailbox by signing up for our free, twice-weekly e-mail alert.