Re: What to teach (was: American students do poorly)

[Tim Burgess <tburgess@jaguar1.usouthal.edu>]

> As to another note on this topic, I won't buy into the 'but everybody in =
the
> States takes the tests so that dillutes the results'.  We've been using t=
hat
> excuse too long=20

If it is a valid point that still holds how can it be held "too long"?

> but we've always (in this century) educated everyone at the elementary an=
d
> secondary level.  The median level of academic performance is going down

I happened to browse the statistics yesterday (from DEHW statistics). In
1940 40% of the 25 year olds had graduated high school. This rose steadily=
=20
until the mid seventies when about 85% of the 25 year olds finished high=20
school. Enrollment in colleges quadrupled during this same time and=20
leveled out (at about 40%...but I have seen this measured in =FCdifferent=
=20
ways to show large variations.) So "we've always (in this century)=20
educated everyone" is not supported.

> taken at various levels.  Passing is only at the 26% level but at many
> elementary schools failure rates are approaching 50%.  Many reasons why
> (some even valid) but the simple fact is that the performance IS GETTING
> WORSE!

I am not sure what "passing" means on that particular test. I know that the=
=20
ACT and SAT tests with "interlocking items" to compare difficulty level=20
from year to year show some decline (not very large) from the 1950's=20
(assuming that one fourth of the number of students took the test=20
compared to today). Interesting to note is that the largest declines
were among the "white" subgroup starting in the 70's. Generally=20
small inreases are detected in "minority" scores.

How is this for stirring the pot? Could it be that educators need the sky t=
o=20
fall or we are not likely to be funded?

Tim




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Timothy C. Burgess, Ph.D.=20
Chair of the Science Department=20
UMS-Wright Preparatory School=20
65 North Mobile Street=20
Mobile, Alabama  36607                         Home: (334)-432-3024=20
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E-mail: tburgess@jaguar1.usouthal.edu=20
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