Fewer US Students Are Ready for College

Fewer US Students Are Ready for College

Fewer high school students in the United States were ready for college in 2015, say recent test results.

Only 37 per cent of seniors scored at or above proficiency¹ level in reading. The number of seniors scoring at or above the proficiency level for mathematics fell to 25 per cent.

The test is called the National Assessment² for Educational Progress, or NAEP. It is also known as the Nation’s Report Card.

The U.S. Department of Education has used this test to measure the ability of students in several subjects across the country since 1969.

The Education Department collected the scores of 13,200 students for the 2015 mathematics test and 18,700 students for the reading test. The department released the results of those two tests in April.

The results showed that average mathematics scores have changed little over the past 10 years. But they also showed the average reading score has decreased 5 points since 1992.

The National Assessment Governing Board is the organization that administers the test. Bill Bushaw is the executive director of the organization. He told the Wall Street Journal that he was unhappy with the lack of progress in increasing the skills and knowledge of students.

“These numbers aren’t going the way we want,” Bushaw said. “We just have to redouble our efforts to prepare our students to close opportunity gaps.”

The test is scored into four different levels: below basic, basic, proficient³ and advanced. But the level that officials consider to be college ready is not completely clear. Andrew Ho is a measurement expert who works at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

He also helps manage the Nation’s Report Card. Ho told National Public Radio that being college-ready means scoring somewhere between proficient and basic. "This is the [major] problem of standards," Ho said. "You can come up with a different and seemingly defensible standard every day over coffee."

But, Ho said, the Nation’s Report Card is the best test for examining how the average student in the U.S. performs. Unlike state tests, all students take the same national test and face the same standards. None are trained on how to take the test.

This means officials can measure the skills and knowledge of students rather than their test-taking abilities.

One major concern is that high schools are not demanding enough from their students. Despite the decrease in test scores, the Education Department reported the high school graduation rate in America was 82 percent in 2015. This is the highest graduation rate ever.

“If you get right down to it, the reading and math required by NAEP, the ACT, the SAT, colleges and careers is much greater than what high schools are saying is sufficient," Ho told NPR.

Another issue is that the number of students scoring at the “below basic” level is increasing. The number of students scoring below basic in math increased from 35 percent to 38 percent between 2013 and 2015. The number of students who scored below basic in reading also increased 3 percentage points to 28 percent in 2015.

Peggy Carr is the acting⁴ director for National Center for Educational Statistics, the part of the Education Department in charge of the test. She told the Wall Street Journal that officials think that the lower numbers are not connected to education policies, but to the number of students who are staying in high school. Carr said more students who were at risk of leaving high school without graduating took the test this year.

This means more students with histories of poor performance had their abilities measured. Testing more of this type of student may be why the number of students performing at the lower end increased, she suggested.

“There is a widening of the gap between higher and lower-ability students,” Carr said.

Students are not able to use their scores toward the college admissions process the way they do with SAT and ACT scores. That is why some educators claim that students do not try their best on this test. Carr told the Wall Street Journal that the motivation of students is hard to measure. But things like the number of answers left blank shows the level of student interest is the same as in past years. At the time of the test, 42 percent of test-takers said they had been accepted into a four-year college.

Words in This Story

senior – n. US a student in the final year of high school or college

proficiency – n. ability to do something well

report card – n. a written statement of a student's grades that is given to the student's parents (the "Nation's Report Card" is a report to the citizens about how the public schools perform)

administer – v. to manage the operation of (something, such as a company or government) 

opportunity gap – n. the ways in which race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, English proficiency, community wealth, familial situations, or other factors contribute to or perpetuate⁵ lower educational aspirations⁶, achievement, and attainment⁷ for certain groups of students

basic – adj. forming or relating to the first or easiest part of something

advanced – adj. far along in a course of progress or development

standard– n. a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable or desirable

defensible – adj. able to be thought of as good or acceptable

graduation – n.  the act of receiving a diploma or degree from a school, college, or university

ACT – abbr. A test used to test high school students for college admissions in the U.S.; originally an abbreviation of the name “American College Testing”

SAT – abbr. A test widely used for college admissions in the U.S.; originally called the Scholastic⁸ Aptitude⁹ Test, then the Scholastic Assessment Test

sufficient – adj. having or providing as much as is needed

motivation – n. a force or influence that causes someone to do something

1 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

2 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 proficient   

adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家

参考例句：

• She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。
• I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 perpetuate   

v.使永存，使永记不忘

参考例句：

• This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
• We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。

6 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

7 attainment   

n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣

参考例句：

• We congratulated her upon her attainment to so great an age.我们祝贺她高寿。
• The attainment of the success is not easy.成功的取得并不容易。

8 scholastic   

adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的

参考例句：

• There was a careful avoidance of the sensitive topic in the scholastic circles.学术界小心地避开那个敏感的话题。
• This would do harm to students' scholastic performance in the long run.这将对学生未来的学习成绩有害。

9 aptitude   

n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资

参考例句：

• That student has an aptitude for mathematics.那个学生有数学方面的天赋。
• As a child,he showed an aptitude for the piano.在孩提时代，他显露出对于钢琴的天赋。