Changes

Large numbers of Southerners have served in the U.S. military. During the Civil War southerners did not volunteer in large enough numbers to match the military needs of the south.  Approximately twenty percent of all Confederate soldiers were therefore draftees (compared to eight percent in the Union armies), and they were subject to “compulsory reenlistment.”<ref>Tinadall & Shi, ''America: A Narrative History'', 7th ed.(New York Norton, 2007):616-618.</ref>

Large numbers of Southerners have served in the U.S. military. During the Civil War southerners did not volunteer in large enough numbers to match the military needs of the south.  Approximately twenty percent of all Confederate soldiers were therefore draftees (compared to eight percent in the Union armies), and they were subject to “compulsory reenlistment.”<ref>Tinadall & Shi, ''America: A Narrative History'', 7th ed.(New York Norton, 2007):616-618.</ref>

The South also tends to lag, albeit only marginally, behind the rest of the nation academically. Reading and math scores of students in the region are slightly below national averages. <ref>http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states/</ref>

Liberals have attacked the South and Southerners as being poorly educated and illiterate.  While so-called "national average" academic test scores do show the region as a whole lagging "national averages", the results in all cases are within 1% of the "national average."  It should also be noted, not all states participated in the survey, and there is large disagreement whether so-called "national averages" in academic test scores exist.  Regional economic disparity, cultural factors, and other reasons impact on a state's level of spending on education.  And studies have shown no correlation between the amount of money spent on education and academic achievement.

 

 

|Average reading scale score sorted by all students (overall results),<br> grade 8 public schools: By jurisdiction, 1998 and 2005.<ref>U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), >[http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states/ 1998 and 2005 Reading Assessments].</ref>

 

 

==References==

==References==