A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

  FOR RELEASE:                                           Contact: David Thomas   November 26, 1996                                               (202) 401-1576

Final Results Issued on Student Achievement Trends in Mathematics, Science, Reading, and Writing

The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics today released a final report showing that American students have made some gains in math and science, and their achievement in reading and writing has remained stable.

The 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trends in Academic Progress report expands on initial findings issued last month, which provided information on performance in science, math, and reading for students ages nine, 13, and 17 years old; and in writing for students in grades four, eight, and 11.

"President Clinton's America Reads Challenge invites every parent, caring adult, school and library to join together to improve student achievement in reading and writing.Schools, students, and families just have to work harder at it," said U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley."We know that increased parental involvement, the availability of a wide variety of reading material, and practice in expressing ideas in writing are all key to students improving their performance in these areas.

"Equally important is that we continue to challenge our students in math and science.Last week we released an international study that showed that despite our recent significant gains in math and science in America, we still are only about average internationally. We must continue to press on much harder to ensure that our students succeed in this technological era.Average is simply not good enough."

Nationally, students have shown some substantial improvement in math and science over the past ten to 12 years, but a recent international comparison of 8th graders shows American students ranking among the middle of students from 41 countries.

Known as the "Nation's Report Card," NAEP has monitored trends in academic achievement since the 1970s and is the only continuing assessment of a nationally representative sample of U.S. students' academic performance.

The trend report showed that the average mathematics and science score for nine year olds was higher than it was more than 20 years ago.Thirteen year olds had higher average mathematics scores than in 1973, while their science scores were about the same as those in 1970.

The average science score for 17yearolds in 1994 was lower than the 1969 average, while their average math scores in 1994 did not differ much from 1973.

In writing, while fourth graders' performance remained stable, the average score for eighth graders decreased from 1992 to 1994, and for 11th graders from 1984 to 1994. In reading, achievement at all three ages in 1994 was generally as good as or better than in 1971, although some higher levels of performance have been noted since then.

Printed copies of this final report are available while they last from the National Library of Education at 1 800 424 1616 (202 219 1615 in D.C.).The final report also will be available from the U.S. Government Printing Office.Report in Brief: 1994 NAEP Trends in Academic Progress is available via the Internet at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/.