VOA慢速英语--美国学生数学和阅读成绩不及格

A new report shows that most American fourth and eighth graders did not do well on math and reading tests. The latest so-called "Nation's Report Card" was released last week.

There were some exceptions. Students in Washington, DC, made important gains in both reading and math this year, according to the National Assessment¹ of Education Progress. Students in the state of Mississippi also made major improvements compared to earlier reports.

Nationally, however, America's eighth graders are falling behind in math and reading. And, math scores among fourth graders also decreased.

A little more than one-third of eighth graders are proficient² in reading and math. Proficient means to be skilled at doing something. About a third of fourth-graders are proficient readers. Over 40 percent are considered proficient in math.

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said the overall national results show a "student achievement crisis." She also said the problem cannot be fixed³ by giving more money to public schools.

Instead, she called for expanded school choice. This includes her proposals for school vouchers⁵ and greater dependence⁶ on privately⁷ run charter schools.

DeVos said last week that American children continue to fall behind students of the same grade in other countries. But she said with education freedom, American students can compete.

Scott Sargrad is with the Center for American Progress. He writes about education at the kindergarten through 12th grade levels, or K-12. Writing on Forbes.com, he said DeVos is wrong and that "money matters in education." He said the falling scores are because of lower spending on education following the Great Recession of 2008.

Sargrad added that education spending in almost half of the states have not returned to pre-recession levels.

Michael Petrilli, president of the education reform group the Thomas Fordham Institute, agrees. He says data show that scores on the test move up and down along with the country's economic situation.

Sandy Kress was an education advisor⁸ to former President George W. Bush. Writing for Education Next, he said it is "most disappointing that the nation has gone nowhere in the last 10 years."

The nationwide test is given to a randomly¹⁰ selected group of students in the fourth and eighth grades every two years.

Students made big gains in math in the 1990s and 2000s but have shown little improvement since then. Reading scores have risen a little since the tests began in 1992.

Both low- and high-performing eighth graders decreased in reading, but the decreases were generally worse for lower-performing students.

In Washington, D.C., public school leader Lewis Ferebee said the improved scores happened for a number of reasons. They include the start of free schooling¹¹ for all 3- and 4-year-olds living in D.C. The program began in 2008.

"Many of our students are getting a strong start in their learning," said Ferebee. He also credited Washington's effort to increase teacher pay. He says better pay permits D.C. schools "to be competitive at a time when there's a nationwide shortage of good teachers."

For the first time in the test's history, Mississippi fourth graders scored above the national average in math. In reading, they scored equal to the national average. The state remained behind national averages in eighth grade but continued to improve in math and stayed about the same in reading.

Carey Wright is Mississippi's State Superintendent¹² of Education. She said the southern state has been improving early reading education and has been working to help teachers improve math instruction.

America's big-city public schools educate more poor students as well as English language learners. In general, these schools also saw some good news. Big-city schools still performed below the nation as a whole, but the difference was less than before.

Words in This Story

assessment – n. the act of making a judgment¹³ about how well someone does something

achievement – n. something that has been done or achieved through effort : a result of hard work

according to – prep. as stated, reported, or recorded by (someone or something)

voucher⁴ - n. a document that gives you the right to get something (such as a product or service) without paying for it

charter school – n. in the U.S., a school that is established by a charter, is run by teachers, parents, etc., and uses tax money but does not have to be run according to the rules of a city or state

random⁹ – adj. chosen, done, etc., without a particular plan or pattern

select – v. to choose (someone or something) from a group

disappointing – adj. failing to fulfill¹⁴ someone's hopes or expectation

superintendent – n. a person who directs or manages a place, department, organization

1 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？

2 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。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。

5 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

6 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

7 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

8 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

9 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

10 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

11 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

12 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

13 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

14 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。