| Better |
Stayed
the
Same |
Worse |
Priorities |
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Reading, Math, & Science |
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NAEP 4th grade reading scores in high-poverty schools improved, while overall reading scores held steady (94-98, 92-96). |
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NAEP 8th grade overall math scores and math scores of high poverty students improved (92-96).
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The percent of high school graduates with 4 years of English and 3 of science, math, and social studies increased by 5 percentage points (94-98). |
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The number of AP tests with scores meeting college requirements increased overall and for minority students (94-98). |
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The number of states with challenging content standards went from 42 to 50 and the number of states with challenging performance standards increased from 8 to 25 (97-99). |
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Teachers & Teaching |
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The percent of teachers who "Feel Very Well Prepared" to implement higher standards" did not change significantly (96-98). |
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The percent of 7-12th grade teachers with a major/minor in their main field of teaching increased 1 to 8 percentage points (94-98). |
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The number of nationally board-certified teachers increased five-fold, from under 1,000 to nearly 5,000 (97-99). |
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New elementary school teachers' performance in math on the Praxis I did not change significantly (96-99). |
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Technology in the Classroom |
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The percent of instructional rooms with Internet access increased 60 percentage points from 3% to 63%, and the number of students per instructional/ multimedia computer decreased (94-99, 94-98). |
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Between high- and low- poverty schools, the gap in the percent of classrooms with Internet access widened to 35 percentage points (95-99). |
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The percent of higher education institutions offering distance education increased to 44% (95-98), and the number of course offerings doubled to over 50,000 (94-98). |
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Alcohol, Drugs, & Violence |
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The percent of 8th, 10th and 12th graders reporting that they used alcohol over the past 30 days did not change significantly (93-99). |
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The percent of 8th, 10th and 12th graders reporting that they used drugs over the past 30 days increased from 18 to 26% for 12th graders (93-99). |
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The number of serious violent crimes occurring in school or while going to school against students ages 12-18 declined from 12 to 8 per 1,000 students (93-97). |
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Public School Choice & Charter Schools |
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The number of charter schools in operation increased from 100 to 1700 (95-00). |
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The number of students in schools chosen by students or their parents increased from 11% to 15% (93-99). |
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Pre-School |
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Preschool participation has increased slightly, while the gap in participation between high- and low-income children has remained steady (94-98). |
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The percent of children in K-3 who attend a center-based program after-school increased by nearly one-third (96-98). |
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Family Involvement in Education |
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The percent of 3-5 year olds whose parents report reading to them regularly increased slightly to over 80% of parents (93-96). |
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The percent of family members who reported attending parent-teacher conferences/meeting with child's teacher remained at about 70% of parents (96-99). |
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High School Completion |
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The percentage of high schools completers or GED remained near 90% (93-98). |
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The percentage of recent school dropouts remained at about 5% (93-98). |
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Opportunities for Students with Disabilities |
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The percentage of students with disabilities being educated in regular classrooms increased by nearly 13 percentage points (91-96). |
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College Participation & Student Aid |
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The percentage of high school completers ages 25 to 29 with a bachelor's degree or higher increased for Whites (28%-35%), Blacks (13%-18%) and Hispanics remained steady from 1994-98. |
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The percent of high school graduates immediately enrolling in college increased for Blacks (52%-59%) and Whites (64%-68%), but held constant for Hispanics at 55% (1994-98). |
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SAT scores went up by 13 points (93-98), and ACT scores slightly increased. (94-99). |
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The loan default rate declined by 3 percentage points (93-97). |
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The median debt burden of students to the federal government increased one percentage point to 8.4% of income, showing that students are taking on more debt. |
