AMERICA, WE HAVE A PROBLEM
Is America facing an education crisis? The facts speak for themselves:
- The most recent reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (also known as “the nation’s report card”) show that:
- Only 39% of 4th graders and 31% of 8th graders are proficient in math.
- Only 32% of 4th graders and 29% of 8th graders are proficient in reading.
- Only 27% of 4th graders and 27% of 8th graders are proficient in science.
- Just 2% of 8th graders are proficient in writing.
- Average reading SAT scores are some of the lowest they’ve been in 35 years. Average math scores have remained mostly stagnant, with some slight increases in the last decade.
- U.S. 15-year-olds score below average among 57 participating countries in both math and science, and well below average among other OECD nations.
- Nationwide, nearly one in three students drop out of school before earning a high school diploma. (Among African-American, Hispanic and low-income students, nearly half drop out.)
- Even with a diploma, only half of graduates leave high school prepared to succeed in college, career, and life. According to ACT data, 57 percent of ACT-tested 2007 high school graduates are not prepared to take a credit-bearing, entry-level college algebra course.
- Only 56% of college students earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. (See which colleges actually graduate their students and which don't in the United States.)