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

                       **********************                        STATEMENT PREPARED FOR                           RICHARD W. RILEY                      U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION                      ***************************               NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS                     RELEASE OF 1992 TREND REPORT                           WASHINGTON, D.C.                      WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 1994   

The NAEP report we are releasing today tells us that American education has taken a strong step forward in the teaching of math and science. We know what we are doing when it comes to teaching these core academic subjects which are so critical to this Nation's economic and technological future.

The commitment to new, tough, high standards and comprehensive reform in math and science -- an effort that has the strong support of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences and this Department -- is paying off for America's children.

The important point here is that the recent achievement of six American public school students, in winning the International Mathematics Competition, and winning against the best in the world with perfect scores, is not an aberration.

American educators are beginning to take charge on these two important fronts and we are starting to see positive and sustained results. This is good news and bodes well for the voluntary national standards that we will be releasing in all of the core academic subjects and our efforts to improve American education through the Goals 2000 Act.

At the same time, this report tells us that our national progress in reading and writing is, at best, only stable. We are holding our own in almost all cases and the overall trend in reading since 1971 is modestly upwards. But holding our own in the Information Age is simply not good enough. Last year's Reading Report Card (which contained some new tougher items) showed that 25 percent of all seniors are reading at or below the basic level. This continues to cause me serious concern.

We live in an unprecedented era of new knowledge and our children must be prepared for the future. We can do better and I am especially concerned about the lack of progress in the reading achievement of students in the age 9 category.

As much as we live in an electronic age -- and I am a serious advocate of using computers and other technology to help children learn -- the old-fashioned idea of parents reading to their children and helping them to improve their writing still counts.

In writing, we know that the number of 8th grade children who are receiving at least an hour of writing instruction per week has increased from 70 percent to 85 percent since 1988. This might be one explanation for the sharp rise in writing scores for 8th graders since 1990 but at this point we want to be very cautious and wait for more trend results before coming to any certain conclusion.

My message to parents, as we get ready for the school year, is to slow down your lives, roll up your sleeves, and find that quiet time to help your children improve their reading and writing. When you set the example, your children follow.

Every parent I have met in the last year-and-a-half as I have traveled around the country, is trying to do the right thing by their children. They are being responsible, juggling jobs, worrying about their children's safety and doing all they can to hold the family together. So it is very hard to ask parents to do more.

But we know what makes for success in reading and writing, and parents can play a powerful role to make sure it happens. Get control of the remote control, get your teenagers off the telephone, don't answer your beeper, unplug the fax machine if you have one and read to your children.

In a few weeks, I will be announcing a major new, national partnership in recognition of the important and critical role that parents have in the learning process -- they have the most important jobs in America when it comes to our children's learning.

Schools need to extend themselves -- to be parent-friendly. Community and religious groups, and business too, all have a powerful and positive role to play in designing new ways for parents to help foster their children's education.

It makes a difference. As this report notes, doing homework is up, and excessive TV-watching is down in most but not all age groups. That's good news and surely the result of parents weighing in on the side of learning, getting their children to buckle down and the changing expectations of young people themselves who know that they must learn more to get ahead.

But I am concerned by a growing disparity among teenagers -- some are disconnected from learning while others are forging ahead and recognizing the long-term rewards of education.

This report seems to suggest that one group of teenagers is really hooked into what it takes to get ahead. They are taking the tougher courses in math and science.

However, one third of students at age 17 tell us that they typically do not do daily homework in all of their subjects. In addition, these teenagers are some of America's most avid television viewers and more of them are watching six or more hours of television a day then previously.

I know that school can certainly be boring at times to a 17-year- old. It was to me at times. But the real world of jobs and getting into college depend on our finding ways to keep these very important young people hooked into education.

What else can be said about this important report as we head into the new school year?

First, I am pleased to see that more students are taking tough academic courses like Algebra II, biology and chemistry. This is a very positive trend. Yet, much more needs to be done if this Country is going to be first in the world. Less than half of the 17-year-olds tested are taking chemistry and only 10 percent are taking calculus or pre-calculus.

Second, there has been progress by all racial groups. Furthermore, African-Americans and Hispanics reduced the gap between their performance and that of white Americans when it comes to math and science proficiency. But we cannot be satisfied given the large gap that still remains. The progress that we have seen has stalled since the late 1980's.

A good education remains the one sure way to improve equality in America. But I am afraid that too many of our minority youth -- young people who have the potential to learn -- are using ignorance as a symbol of their own despair. We need to turn this type of thinking around.

In summary, it appears that when America gets serious about improving education -- like the improvement of math and science -- when we all work together to raise standards, raise expectations and make the comprehensive effort to improve and to reform our schools -- we make sure and certain progress.

This is a very positive development. It tells us that the good work of the last ten years in making the case for high standards is paying off -- and that the Goals 2000 Act, with its commitment to putting excellence back into American education for every child, is the right way to go.

Thank you.