Imagine an athlete training for the Olympic decathlon. The young man had been told that success would come by training specifically and constantly for the 100-meter dash and 110-meter hurdles. He did what he was told.

By now everyone who cares about National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results might be sick of thinking about them, in part because the 2015 results from what is often called the nation's report card were -- let's face it -- depressing.

Discomfort with history means that for the most part we as a country have allowed clouds of spun sugar to wrap around ugly truths. The young man steeped in racist ideology who murdered nine people in Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston last week has forced the nation to confront that complacence.

A blizzard of education reports and studies appears every year. This swirl of information, analysis, and commentary -- some of which is contradictory -- makes it difficult to understand the condition of America's public schools. In short, are the schools getting better or worse?