Archived Information The National Education Goals Report - 1993 Building a Nation of Learners September 1993 Volume One: The National Report [This document includes the text for the Foreword, Introduction, and Chapters 1 and 2 of the Report. The exhibits, appendices, and the text for Chapters 3 and 4 are not included.] Foreword -------- The National Education Goals remain at the forefront of the movement to build a nation of learners. In the past year, the Presidency changed hands, as have over half the Governorships in the four years since the Education Summit in Charlottesville, Virginia. These changes serve to underscore the continuity, bipartisanship, and long-term nature of the National Goals process. Where vision and commitment count the most, however, is at the community and neighborhood levels. Only through an enduring partnership of families, educators, employers, and other dedicated citizens can America's learning enterprise--our local schools--be transformed to help all our children reach their full potential. Only then will we become a nation of lifelong learners. And only then can we be confident of meeting the competition in this global economy, assuring a high quality of life, and preserving our democratic system and ideals. This Report continues our commitment to let the American people know the results we are getting in education. We strive to present the facts plainly, this year in two volumes: Volume 1 describes our educational standing as a nation, while Volume 2 profiles performance in the individual states. We also offer a vision of how high standards can help mobilize grass-roots partnerships and move the United States toward quality education. And continue to move forward we must--at an accelerated pace--in order to attain the Goals by the year 2000. Over the past year, the National Education Goals Panel has worked hard to bring the Goals and the vision of high-performance learning for all to this nation's communities. The theme for this third annual Report, "Setting Standards, Becoming the Best," highlights that outreach and partnership effort. Along with state and local goals, vision documents, and progress reports, we hope this Report will become a tool for continuous improvement. Sincerely, E. Benjamin Nelson, Chair (August 1992 - August 1993) National Education Goals Panel, and Governor of Nebraska Governors --------- John R. McKernan, Jr., Chair (August 1993 - August 1994) National Education Goals Panel, and Governor of Maine Evan Bayh, Governor of Indiana Terry E. Branstad, Governor of Iowa Carroll A. Campbell Governor of South Carolina Arne H. Carlson Governor of Minnesota John Engler Governor of Michigan Roy Romer Governor of Colorado Members of the Administration ----------------------------- Carol H. Rasco, Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Richard W. Riley Secretary of Education Members of Congress ------------------- Jeff Bingaman U.S. Senator State of New Mexico Thad Cochran U.S. Senator State of Mississippi William Goodling U.S. Representative State of Pennsylvania Dale Kildee U.S. Representative State of Michigan ----------------------------------------------------------------- The National Education Goals ---------------------------- Goal 1: By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn. Objectives: - All disadvantaged and disabled children will have access to high quality and developmentally appropriate preschool programs that help prepare children for school. - Every parent in America will be a child's first teacher and devote time each day helping his or her preschool child learn; parents will have access to the training and support they need. - Children will receive the nutrition and health care needed to arrive at school with healthy minds and bodies, and the number of low-birthweight babies will be significantly reduced through enhanced prenatal health systems. Goal 2: By the year 2000, the high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent. Objectives: - The nation must dramatically reduce its dropout rate, and 75 percent of those students who do drop out will successfully complete a high school degree or its equivalent. - The gap in high school graduation rates between American students from minority backgrounds and their non-minority counterparts will be eliminated. Goal 3: By the year 2000, American students will leave grades four, eight, and twelve having demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter, including English, mathematics, science, history, and geography; and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our modern economy. Objectives: - The academic performance of elementary and secondary students will increase significantly in every quartile, and the distribution of minority students in each level will more closely reflect the student population as a whole. - The percentage of students who demonstrate the ability to reason, solve problems, apply knowledge, and write and communicate effectively will increase substantially. - All students will be involved in activities that promote and demonstrate good citizenship, community service, and personal responsibility. - The percentage of students who are competent in more than one language will substantially increase. - All students will be knowledgeable about the diverse cultural heritage of this nation and about the world community. Goal 4: By the year 2000, U.S. students will be first in the world in science and mathematics achievement. Objectives: - Math and science education will be strengthened throughout the system, especially in the early grades. - The number of teachers with a substantive background in mathematics and science will increase by 50 percent. - The number of U.S. undergraduate and graduate students, especially women and minorities, who complete degrees in mathematics, science, and engineering will increase significantly. Goal 5: By the year 2000, every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Objectives: - Every major American business will be involved in strengthening the connection between education and work. - All workers will have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills, from basic to highly technical, needed to adapt to emerging new technologies, work methods, and markets through public and private educational, vocational, technical, workplace, or other programs. - The number of quality programs, including those at libraries, that are designed to serve more effectively the needs of the growing number of part-time and mid-career students will increase substantially. - The proportion of those qualified students (especially minorities) who enter college, who complete at least two years, and who complete their degree programs will increase substantially. - The proportion of college graduates who demonstrate an advanced ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems will increase substantially. Goal 6: By the year 2000, every school in America will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning. Objectives: - Every school will implement a firm and fair policy on use, possession, and distribution of drugs and alcohol. - Parents, businesses, and community organizations will work together to ensure that schools are a safe haven for all children. - Every school district will develop a comprehensive K- 12 drug and alcohol prevention education program. Drug and alcohol curriculum should be taught as an integral part of health education. In addition, community-based teams should be organized to provide students and teachers with needed support. Introduction ------------ This third annual National Education Goals Report continues an unprecedented process of national education renewal begun at the Charlottesville Education Summit in 1989. Four years ago the nation's Governors and the President agreed on six national Goals for education to be achieved by the year 2000. The Goals were intended to energize public opinion and ongoing education reform efforts by holding us to much higher expectations for all students and for the schools and learning systems that serve them. The Governors and the President envisioned a system that would be "worldclass" from early childhood through adulthood. Specifically, they challenged all of us to expect that by the beginning of the next century: 1. All children in America will start school ready to learn. 2. The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent. 3. American students will leave grades four, eight, and twelve having demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter, including English, mathematics, science, history, and geography; and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our modern economy. 4. U.S. students will be first in the world in science and mathematics achievement. 5. Every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. 6. Every school in America will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning. The Initial Challenge: Creating a National Goals Accountability Process The President and the nation's Governors understood that creating national education goals would prove a hollow gesture without also establishing a process for holding the nation and the states accountable for their attainment. They established the National Education Goals Panel to be at the center of that process. The Panel is comprised of eight Governors, two senior national Administration officials, and four members of Congress. Representation is balanced equally among Democrats and Republicans. This unique intergovernmental and bipartisan partnership is indicative of a commitment to a results-based national goals accountability system that transcends levels of governance and political affiliation. Significantly, the Goals Panel has continued through two national Administrations of opposite political parties. Since its creation in July of 1990, the Panel has worked hard to lay a foundation upon which to build a cumulative record of progress. Each year at the anniversary of the Charlottesville Summit, the Panel issues a comprehensive report to the nation on the progress being made in achieving each of the six National Education Goals. The purpose of these reports is not measurement for measurement's sake, but rather to reinforce our common commitment to the National Goals process by clearly revealing where we have made progress and where we need to work harder. With the encouragement and support of the Goals Panel, states and local communities throughout the nation have begun to create their own new education reporting mechanisms for charting their progress in achieving the National Education Goals. They also continue to organize their education reform strategies around the Goals framework. The Challenges Ahead: Developing Voluntary Nationwide Standards and Communicating with the American People This third annual National Goals Report focuses on the rationale for and potential implications of the movement it has come to be most closely associated with: establishing voluntary nationwide education standards. The creation of a central framework and structure for reporting progress on the National Education Goals was a major initial accomplishment of the Panel. Early on, however, the Panel recognized that for the Goals to be achieved, clear nationwide standards, reflecting what it is we want all students to know and be able to do, needed to be developed. In 1991, the Panel helped to create the National Council on Education Standards and Testing (NCEST) and later endorsed the Council's recommendations for nationwide standards-setting and related new systems of student assessment. The publication of the NCEST Report in January 1992 led to an explosion of new efforts to define education standards at the national, state, and local levels. Because of these efforts, there will soon be a common understanding of the content knowledge we want all children and young people to master. Associations, researchers, educators, and policymakers are working together to establish content standards in major subject areas--mathematics, science, history, geography, language arts, foreign languages, and the arts. The best professional knowledge is being applied to another important task--to create performance standards, or determining how good is good enough in learning content in the different subjects. The Goals Panel will continue to be integral to these efforts and is confident that they place us on a trajectory for achieving the National Education Goals. We also believe, however, that for standards- based reform to actually lead to accomplishing the Goals, we should follow five critical principles: 1. The development of nationwide standards must be highly inclusive, blending expert classroom knowledge with that of researchers, policymakers, and the general public. Previous attempts to set education standards have taught us that for this process to succeed, no single individual, group, or constituency can establish them. What is needed is a broad-based national dialogue of what we should expect all our students to know and be able to do, out of which an informed consensus can emerge. 2. The standards must not be considered a uniform national curriculum. Rather, they should be viewed as guides and goals, establishing criteria for the development of unique and independent state and local curricula and instructional practices. 3. The standards must be deliberately set at high levels. After more than ten years of intensive attempts to reform American public education, two compelling facts are evident--expectations for student achievement have been disastrously low for all students, and these low expectations play a critical role in explaining our poor educational performance. The National Education Goals and the nationwide standards-setting process must commit us to high levels of mastery of knowledge by every child. 4. The standards must be viewed as dynamic, subject to periodic review and change. Standards should be reviewed and modified at regular intervals so that American students keep pace with the growth of knowledge. 5. The importance of nationwide standards must be clearly and effectively communicated to the American people. We have started a crucial effort that will only be successful if the public is committed to it. The American people must understand that the nationwide standards movement has the potential to give every child an excellent education. They must view the standards as a platform that can raise the level of education for all children, rather than as a gate that allows some in and keeps others out. The National Education Goals Panel is committed to promoting these principles. It plans to work along with a new National Education Standards and Improvement Council and others to develop criteria and a process for reviewing and approving nationwide standards that are consistent with these criteria, and to educate the public on the subject of nationwide standards.l The Panel already has begun initial efforts in this regard by soliciting recommendations for standards review criteria and procedures from one of its commissioned Task Forces and by focusing this third Goals Report on the nature, importance, and future of the nationwide standards-setting movement. With this third annual Report, the Goals Panel also begins its most concerted effort to date to communicate with the American people about the importance of the National Education Goals, the work of the Panel, and the relevance of these efforts to all Americans. It is clear that our efforts have had a major positive influence on the education reform movement and its emphasis on new systems of accountability and high standards. And key Panel findings, such as those published last year on international comparisons of student achievement and attitudes about educational performance, have served to reinforce among the education policy community the need for fundamental education reform and restructuring. However, while this is gratifying, knowledge and commitment on the part of our education leaders is not enough. The National Education Goals can only be met with adequate understanding and commitment by the American people. This public commitment does not yet exist. For example, according to recent studies by the Public Agenda Foundation, the general public believes that a top education priority is to make sure that all students graduate with at least an eighth-grade education. However, the Goals Panel and other education leaders have consistently emphasized the need for all students to learn at demonstrably higher levels, so that the nation will be strong and prosperous in an increasingly skilled and global economy. The Goals Panel is working to bridge this perception gap. Evidence of this new thrust is seen in the opening Report chapter, "Setting Standards: Being the Best," which describes for citizens the meaning and importance of "world-class" nationwide education standards. The Executive Summary has a new format this year that focuses on the importance and implications of key Panel findings on our progress in achieving the National Goals for parents and citizens. These changes, as well as other modifications to improve the readability of this Goals Report, should be viewed as precursors to sustained efforts planned for the coming year to increase public understanding of, and support for, the National Education Goals process. In future months, the Panel will continue to strengthen its activities to underscore for the American people how world-class standards can improve the quality and nature of learning. It also will engage in other efforts designed to stimulate informed bottom-up, community-based reform that addresses. local needs within the context of national priorities. Key 1993 Goals Report Findings As in the past, this third annual Goals Report contains the most up-to-date information currently available on our current status relative to meeting the six National Goals. It builds upon the information presented in the previous two years, and includes new findings on the status of American education. Overall, the findings continue to reveal how far we are from achieving the Goals. They show modest progress in some areas (mathematics achievement, school safety), but stagnation or movement in the wrong direction in others (high school completion, adult literacy). Overall, this Report shows that the current rate of progress is wholly inadequate if we are to achieve the National Education Goals by the year 2000: - New analyses conducted for the Goals Panel show that nearly one-half of all infants born in the United States begin life with one or more factors (such as tobacco or alcohol use by their pregnant mothers) that are considered risky to their long term educational development. - While increasing markedly in the early 1980s, the high school completion rate among 19- and 20-year-olds has been relatively stable since then, and remains short of the national Goal of 90 percent. - Between 1990 and 1992, the percentages of students in Grades 4 and 8 who met the Goals Panel's performance standard in mathematics increased, but the percentages are still low--about one out of every five students in Grade 4 and one out of every four students in Grade 8. Only one in four fourth grade students met the Goals Panel's performance standard in reading. - The literacy of young adults (aged 21-25) has slipped since the mid-1980s. The average scores of young adults on such tasks as understanding and using information from a newspaper or a pamphlet, locating information in a chart or map, or using mathematics in everyday situations were slightly lower in 1992 than the average scores of young adults seven years earlier. - While the incidence of students being victimized at school appears to have declined modestly in recent years, the levels are still unacceptably high. About one in five 8th graders reported being threatened with a weapon in 1992, while about one out of ten said that they carried a weapon with them onto the school grounds. Before the adoption of the National Goals, the information we had on the performance of our educational system was fractured at best, woefully incomplete, and often misleading. Given this condition, it is no wonder that we supported for too long a system that was not living up to its potential nor allowing all our children to fulfill theirs. This third National Goals Report reflects the Panel's continued and sustained commitment to evaluate our performance fully and frankly. By documenting, without equivocation, how much more effort is needed from all Americans to ensure a world-class education for all, we are creating the conditions necessary for a significant renewal of American education. Chapter 1: Setting Standards, Becoming the Best ------------------------------------------------ Americans thrive on challenge. We settled a massive land, created a new form of government, developed into an economic leader, and landed on the moon--all because these were challenges that did not daunt us. In personal performances, too, we admire and reward those who set high standards for themselves and meet the challenge, as superior athletes, or exceptional pianists, or Nobel laureates in science and literature. Four years ago the nation's Governors and the President challenged the American people again, this time to rebuild their education system so that it is among the best in the world. The six National Education Goals are the framework for this effort. A scant century following Independence, the American public school system had evolved to attempt what no other country had done--to provide universal access to a free education. At the time, the public equated progress through the system with results. A de facto set of measurements documenting student progress emerged, consisting of high school diplomas, course credits, time spent on subjects, and nationally devised tests that assumed certain content had been covered and that such content was important. With diplomas in hand, young people, as well as their parents, employers, or college teachers, believed that they had been prepared adequately for the years ahead. We now know that this is not true. Our schools are not organized around high standards for our students; at best, we have a minimum curriculum, reinforced by mediocre textbooks and teaching methods. Our low expectations for most students, growing out of the haphazard and disconnected system with which we had become much too comfortable, might have continued to be acceptable were it not for two very important realizations in the past decade. First, the standards we have in education do not match with the performance needs demanded by citizenship and employment in our society. Second, our minimal and fractured system of standards is significantly below that of countries with which we compete for leadership, economically and politically. Consider today's demanding marketplace. Will a worker who punches the clock, stays the required amount of time, has only minimum skills, and applies a scant amount of effort be assured a paycheck? In essence, this has been the context of public education--minimal expectations and a guaranteed endorsement. Now consider the dilemma of a business person dependent upon employees skilled in statistical measurement using new technologies. In the pool of young people the employer can draw from, only 35%, on the average, will have completed three years of a challenging mathematics sequence before leaving high school. Worse, the employer knows neither what knowledge they actually have nor if they can apply it in an advanced workplace. The employer's competitors around the world, however--in Korea, or Canada, or Spain or several other countries--recruit young workers who consistently outperform our students academically. Business leaders and many policymakers in the United States believe that this situation is intolerable. Initial reforms attempted to shore up the existing structure--more high school graduation requirements, more seat time, teachers better prepared to teach academic subjects. With the adoption of the National Goals, the conversation has shifted to results--what is our education system accomplishing and how do we become the best? The answers to those questions lead directly to the need for nation-wide standards. In order to be competitive and to get the most from our investment in education, those standards arguably must be set very high. Moreover, in order to be fair, to preserve our pluralistic society, and to protect our democracy, those standards must challenge all students. The movement to nationwide standards is intended as a powerful lever for changing American education. It represents a new emphasis, one that focuses on quality learning for all children, not merely access for all. High performance is no longer considered an exception; exceptional performance is expected to become the norm. The scope and nature of efforts to develop nation-wide standards are unprecedented. For a national consensus to emerge, a host of concerns must be addressed, and a common vocabulary is essential. Certain questions need clear answers: What is a Nationwide Education Standard? Education standards are what all students should know and be able to do with their knowledge. Moreover, they imply that mastery should be at a very high level. Besides being rigorous, such standards must reflect what has been called "a thinking curriculum"--a curriculum that forces students to use their minds well, to solve problems, to think, and to reason. The term "world-class" is often used to describe standards that meet or exceed those of our strongest competitor nations. Standards refer to both content and performance. Content standards describe the areas of knowledge all students should have access to if they are to become the productive and fully educated citizens of tomorrow. The content standards should be challenging and focused, reflecting the most important ideas and skills needed. Although they are currently being developed separately in different academic subject areas (mathematics, history, the arts, etc.), content standards should ultimately enhance efforts to link specific ideas and skills from different subjects together in meaningful and useful ways. But exposure to knowledge alone does not guarantee learning at high levels. We also need to have assurance that students have more than just a cursory knowledge of content, and that is the role of performance standards. Basically, performance standards should demonstrate how good is good enough. Performance is usually evaluated in terms of successive levels of mastery. Writing out the answers to simple questions about a passage from literature might be considered a novice level. Elaborating on the meaning of the passage might indicate a higher level of learning. Comparing the passage to another source and analyzing the differences might be even still higher. The essential point is that students must show how well they have learned the content. Nationally, we will need to know what percentages of students are reaching what levels of performance on content so that the public will know how the education system is performing. By having such standards, we turn the traditional mode of schooling around. In the past, how students were taught was mostly fixed, and the results varied--some students failed, most learned at least some of what they were taught. To enable all students to learn at high levels, varied instructional strategies are needed to challenge them. The standards are fixed, but the means of reaching them are varied. The standards being discussed and developed are unconventional for American schools today because they reflect deliberately higher achievement. However, they also are realistic. In truth, we just have not asked as much of students and schools in the past as they are capable of performing. For example, only one of 11 eighth graders understands measurement or geometry concepts, compared to two of five students in Korea. Only one of 15 American high school seniors can solve problems involving Algebra, and fewer than five percent can interpret historical information and ideas, not because they cannot do these things but because so few are exposed to high content instruction. Get Specific. What Are Some Examples of What All Students Should Know and Be Able To Do? Suppose we are watching a fourth grader use numbers. In a typical mathematics classroom today, this probably means simple arithmetic, adding and averaging similar columns of figures--dull stuff. However, our student has been learning mathematics since kindergarten under the standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. So, she knows how to analyze sets of data, draw a line plot, and decide on an analytic approach. She takes two sets of data collected on samples of bears--grizzlies and black bears. She analyzes their sex and their weight and plots the results of her work on a graph. Is she skilled in arithmetic? Certainly! Can she apply her knowledge, and is she eager to do so? You bet! Is she bored or intimidated by math? No! Is she up to high standards work? Yes! In a middle-grades science classroom, we might watch a small group of students learn about the common properties of matter, such as the particle model, and the fact that a total mass of materials involved in any observed change remains the same. They have an ice cube in a jar and record what changed and did not change as the ice melted--color, wetness, temperature, mass, shape, volume and size. They work to identify one factor they regard as critical to the melting process and express it as a question, which they proceed to investigate. They then draw s and share and discuss them with the whole class. These students have used the scientific method, solved problems as a group, analyzed data, expressed their findings in writing, and defended their analysis in discussion. Regrettably, only about one-fourth of eighth graders in a typical science class in the present system regularly write up science experiments, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Now we are looking over the shoulders of graduating seniors taking a more conventional test in American history, but at an advanced level. They have three hours to answer four questions which they may select from several categories. Let's pick the general category. One of the questions asks students to analyze whether government regulation did more harm than good to the American economy between 1880-1920. Another has them explain why evangelical protestantism has been an important force in American life and what effects it had in the period 1800-1880 or 1900- 1960. Another asks them to offer evidence for the existence and influence of a "military-industrial complex" in the conduct of American foreign policy from 1954 to 1974. These questions, taken from an actual test in England, illustrate the level and depth that other countries expect their students to know. The challenge to these students does not stop at mastering historical facts. They must also integrate this knowledge far beyond traditional rote memorization. Content and performance standards set high expectations for children. They also challenge educators and parents to become effective teachers. And they set all of us on a path toward becoming active, lifelong learners. How Are Nationwide Standards Being Set? Three principles guide what is happening in setting high nationwide content standards. One is that their use is entirely voluntary. The standards are not a centrally imposed national curriculum, but rather a resource to help schools, districts, and states anchor their curriculum, instruction, assessment, and teacher preparation efforts. They are reference points for public understanding, providing a common focal point for school people, parents, and other interested citizens to agree on what is important and to work together to improve education results for all. A second element is that nationwide standards are not fixed forever. They are intended to be continually discussed and improved. The development and distribution of the initial content and performance standards in a subject should only be the beginning. The third important element is the truly inclusive process that is being used to reach a consensus on nationwide standards. Every possible interest is involved. At the core are the real experts--the master teachers of history, civics, geography, science, English and language arts, foreign languages, and the arts. Their partners are researchers and academic experts. A lengthy process of feedback and revising follows the initial development. This is the process used by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in developing the standards it announced four years ago. The process has become a model for other subject areas. Separate but related individual projects focus on content standards or address particular aspects of higher performance. For example, more than one-half of the nation's students are in states or school districts involved with the New Standards Project, a foundation- funded effort to arrive at high standards through assessments which rely on students' abilities to reason and solve real world problems. The 300 schools in the Coalition of Essential Schools are developing a core of learning and new ways for students to display what they have learned. Many state-instigated efforts are changing the education of students from one based on time spent in class to one based on challenging content. Maine's Common Core of Learning, New Mexico's Standards for Excellence, Michigan's Partnership for New Education, and the curriculum frameworks developed in California are examples of where research and best practice knowledge are coming together to stimulate higher levels of learning. Some argue that those closest to students, the teachers, are those most capable of making content decisions for their classrooms. On the other hand, some believe that a uniform national curriculum is the only way to ensure progress. In a uniquely American way, we have opted for a balanced approach, with local classroom decisions guided by a common core framework that reflects a nationwide consensus about what is most important for students to learn. We do not want to be stifled by a national curriculum. Nor do we want a hit-or-miss education system. We want everyone to be working from their own unique context toward the common goal of providing challenging content for all students. If All of These Efforts Are Already Taking Place, What is There Left To Do? Despite the many efforts under way to set new standards, most students in this country are still taught unchallenging curriculum and are still not aware of what they should be aiming for in their studies. In addition, parents, teachers, and the broader general public remain largely ignorant about what they should expect students to know and do as a result of their education. Without a process to reinforce and build on the power of high expectations in the public's mind, even what has been accomplished so far might prove to be short-lived. All of the individual efforts under way to develop high-quality content and performance standards need to become part of a nationwide commitment by all citizens to hold all students to high standards. These in turn can become the foundation for locally determined changes in assessment, teacher preparation, curriculum, classroom organization, and other policies and practices that must occur for the standards to be met. Ultimately, it is only by local communities adopting standards-based systemic approaches to reform that we can obtain the fundamental changes in our schools necessary for achieving the National Education Goals. At the moment, the prospects are unprecedented for renewing public education throughout the country. The public demand, the professional commitment, the research knowledge available about how children learn best, and the growing recognition of the interrelatedness of this country's human investment with what is happening around the world provide excellent conditions for change. We must build on these possibilities. How Can We Assure That All Students Have Equal Opportunities to Meet The New Standards? American society is morally committed to equal opportunity. For too many students, disastrously low expectations compound disparities in the quality of schools. These students face a dim future. Taxpayers and voters, however, are unlikely to increase resources for schools without a conviction that dramatic improvements in learning will result. High standards for all is a way to say that we will refuse to settle for low levels of learning for any student. The experiences of the many initiatives under way to create that high quality are almost unanimous about one important result. The process of being included in the development of high standards and of good assessment systems linked with the content becomes a process of renewal for teachers and administrators. With new skills, heightened awareness of what challenging content is, and experiences of seeing how changes in their instruction produce good changes in students, their expectations rise--for all students. Positive attitudes by students and families toward higher standards are vital, too, but they go in tandem with changes in classroom practice. Certainly, assuring equal opportunities depends on a number of additional factors. Having a nationwide consensus on high standards, however, is essential if we are to end the invidious consequence of our present system--one set of standards for the advantaged, another for the disadvantaged. What Are The Next Steps? By the end of 1994, most of the projects working on academic standards will have completed at least a first draft of their recommendations. The National Education Goals Panel and proposed National Education Standards and Improvement Council will work together to assure quality and to certify the results of the standards-setting process, with the former focusing on overall policy and the latter providing technical expertise. The Goals Panel already has appointed a Standards Review Technical Planning Group to recommend criteria to be used to review and certify the upcoming voluntary nation-wide content standards. These steps are the first part of the systemic reform process envisioned by the National Goals. They say, in effect, that the nation is committed to the long-haul process of building a world-class education system. Conclusion All students will have opportunities to learn at higher levels when American society acts on its belief that this result is important now and in the future, it is fair, and it is possible. High standards are the very heart of education reform in this country. They are reference points to be used by states and localities nationwide in developing renewed education systems that will be high-performing, equitable for all, and accountable. Think what reforms would look like without standards, without an agreement on what we expect from our students, and without a commitment that all students will be challenged to work with stimulating content, think critically about it, or use it in meaningful ways. The search for high standards already has invigorated the teaching profession, brought researchers and practitioners together in thoughtful ways, and begun to fashion education policymaking into a more effective role. In essence, the emerging consensus on standards will drive systemic education reform. New nation-wide standards will finally allow us as a people to agree on where we want to be. Standards also will allow American education to begin to meet the challenge set four years ago and move it toward its potential and toward the results American society wants for all its children. Chapter 2: Indicators for the 1993 Report: Measuring National Progress Toward the Goals Goal 1. Readiness for School ----------------------------- Introduction Infants born in the coming year will enter the first grade in the year 2000. Will the nation be able to say that these children are the most ready to learn of any group of six-year-olds in our history? On the basis of the dimensions of school readiness that the National Education Goals Panel has identified (physical well-being and motor development, social and emotional development, approaches toward learning, language usage, and cognition and general knowledge), we have much to do. The "we" means all of us--parents, health and education personnel, policymakers, and others involved with institutions that support infants and young children. The dimensions of readiness tell us that being ready to learn means more simply having rudimentary academic skills. In fact, new data reported in this 1993 Goals Report indicate that very few kindergarten teachers believe that children must know how to count or recite the alphabet before entering their classes. The characteristics that kindergarten teachers believe are most important for school readiness are those that begin in infancy, such as the ability to communicate, curiosity, and sociability. Even earlier, mothers who have received prenatal care throughout a pregnancy, avoided drugs and alcohol, and made sure that their babies started life with proper medical care and nutrition are much more likely to have healthy infants who will grow into young children ready to learn when they enter school. We now know that an alarming number of infants in this country are born with one or more health risks. We also know that a large number of the very young do not enjoy a childhood most adults would consider desirable. Many are not receiving the kind of support that enriches childhood. Only about one-half of three- to five-year-olds are read to every day by their parents. Less than 40% of two-year-olds receive complete immunizations. Poor children in particular (constituting about one-third of those enrolling in school each year) are less likely than others to have a regular source of health care when they are sick, and to be enrolled in preschool. The gaps in care between poor children and those in wealthier families, identified in earlier Goals reports, remain large. Children who start school with health problems, limited ability to communicate, or a lack of curiosity are at greater risk of subsequent school failure than other children. Helping these children after they enter school is a costly remedy for failing to nurture them when they were very young. However, assuring that every child is ready to learn is important beyond the money that would be saved. A commitment to meet this Goal would bring together families, communities, businesses, schools, and other support resources for the purpose of giving all children the opportunities to become effective, competent learners. By sharing this common mission to nurture America's youngest citizens, we become a stronger society. And young children growing up in such a society, where childhood is protected and enriched, will be ready, even eager, to learn. Goal 1. Readiness for School: By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn. Objectives: - All disadvantaged and disabled children will have access to high quality and developmentally appropriate preschool programs that help prepare children for school. - Every parent in America will be a child's first teacher and devote time each day helping his or her preschool child learn; parents will have access to the training and support they need. - Children will receive the nutrition and health care needed to arrive at school with healthy minds and bodies, and the number of low-birthweight babies will be significantly reduced through enhanced prenatal health systems. What we have learned since the 1992 Report Readiness for School The 1993 Goals Report updates information presented last year on prenatal care and birthweight, family-child activities, and enrollment in preschool programs. More recent data are also presented on such health indicators as routine care and immunizations, while additional important information is presented on health insurance and parent and teacher perceptions of school readiness. Direct Measures of the Goal School Readiness Although the Panel does not yet have a direct measure of this Goal, activities have taken place within the past year which have brought us closer to the development of a sample-based measure. Specifically, a report has been prepared which comprehensively defines the five dimensions of readiness which the Panel previously identified: physical well-being and motor development, social and emotional development, approaches toward learning, language usage, and cognition and general knowledge. The Goals Panel has worked with the National Center for Education Statistics on a contract to conduct a longitudinal study of early childhood consistent with the five dimensions of children's readiness. Direct Measures of the Objectives Children's Health and Nutrition In 1990, nearly one-half of all infants born in the United States began life with one or more factors (such as tobacco or alcohol use by their pregnant mothers) that are considered risky to their long-term educational development. In 1991, only 37% of all 2-year-olds had been fully immunized for major childhood diseases. Nearly nine out of ten 3- to 5-year-olds have visited a doctor during the past year for routine health care; about half have visited a dentist. Nearly all 3- to 5-year-olds have a regular source of health care for routine care. However, fewer children have a regular source of care when they are sick, especially those in low-income families. Family-Child Activities About half of all preschoolers are read to daily by their parents or other family members. Less than half are told stories several times per week or are taken to visit a library once per month. Between 1991 and 1993, the percentage of preschoolers whose parents engaged in literacy activities with them on a regular basis increased. Readiness for School Nearly nine out of ten preschoolers participate in errands or family chores with their parents regularly. However, fewer participate regularly in other types of family activities that can help them learn, such as attending events sponsored by community or religious groups (50%), discussing family history or ethnic heritage (43%), or going to plays, concerts, live shows, art galleries, museums, historical sites, zoos, or aquariums (42%). Preschool Programs Less than half of all 3- to 5-year-olds from families with incomes of $30,000 or less are enrolled in preschool. Fifty-six percent of all 3- to 5-year-olds with disabilities attend preschool programs. Additional Important Information Parent and Teacher Perceptions of School Readiness Parents and teachers agree that children's general ability to communicate and to approach new activities enthusiastically are important for school readiness. Most parents also feel that specific skills and knowledge of letters or numbers are important, but teachers are far less likely to believe that children must know these things before entering kindergarten. What we still need to know We still need direct, sample-based indicators of school readiness derived from the five dimensions of readiness identified and endorsed by the Panel. Baseline indicators incorporating these dimensions should be forthcoming later in the decade from the National Center for Education Statistics' longitudinal study of early childhood. Over the coming year, the Panel will continue to collaborate with the National Center for Education Statistics in this assessment effort as well as act to further the development of a full-fledged Early Childhood Assessment System. Goal 2: High School Completion ------------------------------- Introduction A generation ago, school dropouts did not face insurmountable barriers that prevented them from making a living. Today's young dropouts face a different world. Employment opportunities are expanding for those with higher skill levels--those most able to adapt to technological changes--and rapidly disappearing for those with only rudimentary skills. American workplaces are rapidly changing, and workers with advanced skills are being rewarded with higher wages. The youth who left school before graduating in 1990 can expect to earn less than one half as much as the high school dropout of 1973. Over a lifetime, today's dropout will earn, on average, $200,000 less than a high school graduate. These individual decisions to drop out--being made by approximately 380,000 youths in grades 10-12 in 1992--have enormous economic consequences for society as well. One-half of the heads of households on welfare failed to finish high school. Of the more than 1.1 million persons incarcerated in 1990, 82 percent were high school dropouts. The average annual cost of supporting one prisoner--$22,500 a year-- would provide six children with a year of Head Start. It is much more cost-effective to provide the learning environment and support that enable young people to complete school, rather than pay for the consequences of their decisions to drop out. Decisions to drop out have more than economic consequences. Dropouts lose connections to adults and influences that can create purposefulness in their lives, the possibilities for careers, the skills for lifelong learning, healthy choices for themselves, and responsible choices on behalf of others. This Report indicates little if any progress on Goal 2 in recent years. While the high school completion rate for 19- and 20-year-olds increased markedly in the early 1980s, it has remained relatively unchanged since then, and is still short of the national Goal of 90 percent. While school-related reasons dominate the explanations for dropping out of school, an alarming number of youths cite pregnancy and conflicts with jobs as reasons for dropping out. Obviously multiple problems--school failure, teenage pregnancies, and disconnections between school and work, to name a few--must be addressed if Goal 2 is to be achieved. High School Completion Goal 2: By the year 2000, the high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent. Objectives - The nation must dramatically reduce its dropout rate, and 75 percent of those students who do drop out will successfully complete a high school degree or its equivalent. - The gap in high school graduation rates between American students from minority backgrounds and their non-minority counterparts will he eliminated. What we have learned since the 1992 Report High School Completion The 1993 Goals Report presents updated information on the percentage of young adults with a high school credential and the percentage who have dropped out. New information includes a ten-year comparison (1980-82 to 1990-92) of the percentage of students who dropped out between the 10th and 12th grades and reasons younger and older dropouts gave for leaving school. Direct Measures of the Goal High School Completion In 1992, the high school completion rate was 87% for 19- to 20-year-olds and 88% for 23- to 24-year-olds. Although the high school completion rate increased markedly in the early 1980s among 19- to 20-year-olds, it has remained relatively stable since then. Direct Measures of the Objectives School Dropouts Between 1975 and 1992, the overall dropout rate for 16- to 24-year-olds declined slightly, from 14% to 11%. The gap in dropout rates between White and Black students narrowed from a 12-point difference in 1975 to a 6-point difference in 1992. Dropout rates for Hispanic students have been consistently higher than the rates for Black and White students. Over the past 10 years, the percentage of students who dropped out between the 10th and 12th grades has been cut nearly in half. High School Completion Additional Important Information Factors Related to Completion and Dropping Out While school-related reasons were the most common explanations given for dropping out of school in 1992, large numbers of students cited family- and job-related factors as reasons for dropping out. Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than Whites to cite family-related factors as reasons for dropping out. During the period between 1988 and 1992, older dropouts were much more likely than younger dropouts to cite inability to work and go to school at the same time as a reason that they dropped out of school. What we still need to know We still need a consistent nationwide record system that will allow comparable state high school completion and dropout data to be reported on a regular basis. The Panel has proposed such a system--the Voluntary State/Local Student Record System--and will continue to encourage its development and implementation. In the interim, the Panel will report the best high school completion and dropout data available. Goal 3: Student Achievement and Citizenship -------------------------------------------- Introduction The National Education Goals were created out of concern that our current education system is not preparing American students well for the 21st century. Today, too few students attain high achievement, our standards generally do not match those of the education systems in most developed nations, and no one feels accountable for results. Goal 3 states that all students should move on at critical points in their education with the requisite knowledge and ability. This means that we need: - Nationwide content and student performance standards that (a) reflect what we believe all students should know and be able to do at designated grade levels, and (b) match or surpass standards for student achievement in other developed countries. Efforts to develop voluntary standards in all major subject areas are under way (see Chapter 1). - A voluntary system of assessments that is aligned with these nationwide standards. Our tests must measure for the outcomes we want. They must determine whether students can use knowledge for problem-solving, have mastered content far beyond the so-called basics, and are able to infer and create new knowledge. Developing such assessments is a complex task. However, many of the nation's leading researchers and educators are collaborating to fill the need for more challenging assessments. The National Education Goals Panel and the proposed National Education Standards and Improvement Council will establish criteria to be used voluntarily to judge developing nationwide standards. They will also ensure that the standards-development process is ongoing and is communicated well to the American public. This latter task--to inform and involve the public in making sure that all our students are challenged academically-- is critical to a rebuilding of the school system. Americans must want better than low-level, minimal learning expectations for children and youth if we are to meet Goal 3. The 1993 Goals Report includes some mildly encouraging news regarding student achievement and young citizen participation. Student achievement in mathematics improved modestly between 1990 and 1992, and voter participation increased among young adults between 1988 and 1992. However, the data also indicate how far we are from achieving the Goal, especially among minority groups. We are still not expecting and supporting all of our students to attain the academic mastery of which they are capable. Goal 3: By the year 2000, American students will leave grades four, eight, and twelve having demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter, including English, mathematics, science, history, and geography; and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our modern economy. Objectives: - The academic performance of elementary and secondary students will increase significantly in every quartile, and the distribution of minority students in each level will more closely reflect the student population as a whole. - The percentage of students who demonstrate the ability to reason, solve problems, apply knowledge, and write and communicate effectively will increase substantially. - All students will be involved in activities that promote and demonstrate good citizenship, community service, and personal responsibility. - The percentage of students who are competent in more than one language will substantially increase. - All students will be knowledgeable about the diverse cultural heritage of this nation and about the world community. What we have learned since the 1992 Report Student Achievement and Citizenship The 1993 Goals Report updates the percentage of students who have met the Goals Panel's performance standard in mathematics and presents new information on those who have met the standard in reading. It presents illustrative items from the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), demonstrating that students who meet the Goals Panel's performance standard are able to answer much more challenging questions on tests of mathematics and reading than those falling below this standard. New information is also presented on the percentage of 12th graders who perform community service. Updates are provided on the numbers of students who have taken Advanced Placement examinations and who vote. Additional important information is presented on the percentage of students who participate in challenging courses and a twenty-year comparison of the types of programs in which high school seniors have enrolled. Direct Measures of the Goal Student Achievement in Mathematics Fewer than one out of every five students in Grades 4 and 12, and one out of every four students in Grade 8, have met the Goals Panel's performance standard in mathematics. The percentages of 4th and 8th graders who met the Goals Panel's performance standard in mathematics increased from 13% to 18%, and 20% to 25%, respectively, but the percentage of 12th graders who met the standard stayed about the same. Student Achievement in Reading In 1992, approximately one out of every four students in Grades 4 and 8 met the Goals Panel's performance standard in reading. More than one-third of all 12th graders met the standard. Advanced Placement Participation and Performance Between 1986 and 1993, the numbers of Advanced Placement examinations taken in English, mathematics, science, and history increased by 80%, the number taken in foreign languages more than doubled, and the number taken in fine arts nearly tripled. For every 1,000 11th and 12th graders enrolled in 1993, 85 Advanced Placement examinations were taken in English, mathematics, science, and history (an increase of 13 since 1991). Eight examinations (per 1,000 11th and 12th graders) were taken in foreign languages and two were taken in fine arts. Nearly two-thirds of the examinations taken in English, mathematics, science, and history, and approximately three-fourths taken in foreign languages and fine arts were graded at 3 or above, which is generally high enough to make students eligible for college credit. Citizenship and Community Service In 1992, 44% of 12th graders reported that they performed community service during the past two years. Student Achievement and Citizenship Between 1972 and 1976, the percentage of 18- to 20-year-olds who registered to vote and who actually voted dropped substantially. Rates remained fairly steady until 1988, and then increased in 1992. In 1992,53% of all 18- to 20-year-olds were registered to vote, and 42% actually voted. Additional Important Information Participation in Challenging Courses The percentage of high school graduates who completed four years of English rose sharply between 1982 and 1987, then dropped slightly in 1990. The percentage of students who completed the sequence of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics has continued to increase slowly since 1982. Between 1982 and 1987, the percentage of high school graduates who completed the sequence of Algebra 1, Algebra 11, and Geometry increased substantially. Since 1987, the percentage has remained constant. During the same period (1982--1990), the percentage of high school graduates who had completed Calculus increased slightly. The percentages of high school graduates who completed courses in U.S. and World History, Geography, foreign languages, and fine arts increased substantially between 1982 and 1990. Academic Programs Between 1972 and 1980, the percentage of high school seniors enrolled in an academic or college preparatory program decreased 8 percentage points. However, by 1992, the percentage had risen slightly higher than its 1972 level. The percentage of female students enrolled in academic or college preparatory programs has increased 5 percentage points over the past twenty years, compared to a decrease of 2 percentage points for males. What we still need to know We still need to know how U.S. students stack up against world-class standards in challenging subject matter. The good news is that nationwide standards in all subject areas are under development. The Goals Panel will continue to collaborate with the agencies and departments which oversee these standards development efforts and will press on to delineate criteria on which standards may be judged as "world-class". Achievement Level Data from the 1990 and 1992 National Assessments of Educational Progress (NAEP) The line signifying the Goals Panel's Performance Standard classifies student performance according to achievement levels devised by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). These achievement-level data have been previously reported by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Students with NAEP scores falling below the Goals Panel's Performance Standard have been classified by NAGB as "Basic" or below; those above have been classified as "Proficient" or "Advanced." The NAGB achievement levels represent a reasonable way of categorizing overall performance on the NAEP. They are also consistent with the Panel's efforts to report such performance against a high-criterion standard. However, the methods used to derive the NAGB achievement "cut points" (i.e., the points distinguishing the percentage of students scoring at the different achievement levels) have been questioned and are still under review. The Panel will continue to monitor subsequent work in this area, and reserves the right to alter its reporting approaches based on new findings. Goal 4: Science and Mathematics -------------------------------- Introduction Nearly every day the front page of a newspaper or the evening television news describes an event that requires clear, informed thinking about science or mathematics. While it is important for us to be knowledgeable in a broad range of subjects, science and mathematics are particularly vital in the decisions we make in jobs, use of resources, health, and everyday consumer activities. Our nation's ability to compete globally rests upon strong science and mathematics skills and our ability to apply this knowledge to emerging technologies. That is why Goal 4 is unequivocal--it sets the very highest standard possible. Yet positive student attitudes about science and mathematics decline precipitously as students grow older. International and national assessments reflect this loss. Our 9-year-olds perform relatively well in science and mathematics, but by age 13 their knowledge of mathematics and science is well behind that of students from countries in both Europe and Asia. Surveys of students and parents indicate a prevailing attitude in this country that science and mathematics are not important subjects for most students and that high achievement results from something other than hard work. Contributing to this attitude is a long-term tendency of American schools to minimize the importance of science and mathematics instruction, especially in the early grades. Only 15 percent of all 4th graders, for example, receive instruction from a teacher who has been specially trained to teach mathematics. Less than one-fourth of elementary teachers feel qualified to teach specific sciences. Even at the high school level, about 20 percent of science teachers and 30 per- cent of mathematics teachers have degrees outside the fields in which they are teaching. Outmoded instruction may also play a part in why students gradually lose inter- est in science and mathematics. Three years ago the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommended that all students should use computers and calculators in their classes. According to data in this Goals Report, computers are becoming more available in the early grades and calculator use has become more wide- spread in the middle grades. Even so, only 56% of 8th graders regularly use calculators and only 20% have computers in their classrooms. And despite the fact that Algebra is the gateway subject to more advanced mathematics, less than half of all 8th graders (48%) currently attend classes that heavily emphasize this topic. For our students to be well-informed and competent, science and mathematics knowledge must become "basic" in this country. It is as important for individuals as it is for the nation as a whole if we are to prosper. This is why so much effort is going into developing higher curriculum standards for all students in science and mathematics, ones that foster critical thinking, application of knowledge, and integration of technology. The goal is to be more than just adequate. It is to be excellent, to be the best. Science and Mathematics Goal 4: By the year 2000, U.S. students will be first in the world in science and mathematics achievement Objectives - Math and science education will be strengthened throughout the system, especially in the early grades. - The number of teachers with a substantive background in mathematics and science will increase by 50 percent. - The number of U.S. undergraduate and graduate students, especially women and minorities, who complete degrees in mathematics, science, and engineering will increase significantly. What we have learned since the 1992 Report Science and Mathematics The 1993 Goals Report presents updates in mathematics instructional practices in Grades 4 and 8, priority of mathematics in schools, trends in Advanced Placement science and mathematics examinations, degrees earned in science, mathematics, and engineering, and student attitudes toward mathematics. Direct Measures of the Objectives Strengthening Science and Mathematics Education In 1992, teachers reported that substantial numbers of 4th and 8th graders were not receiving the kind of instruction recommended by mathematics education experts, such as working with mathematics tools and equipment, developing reasoning and problem-solving skills, and learning to communicate mathematics ideas. Between 1990 and 1992, the percentage of 8th graders whose teachers reported that they used calculators in mathematics class at least once a week increased 14 percentage points. During the past seven years, the number of Advanced Placement examinations taken in science has increased 64% in Biology, 83% in Chemistry, and 129% in Physics; the total number taken in Calculus nearly doubled. Degrees Awarded in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering In 1991, 137 science degrees and 5 mathematics degrees (per 1,000 22-year-olds) were awarded to U.S. citizens. Between 1989 and 1991, increases in science degrees awarded were greatest among females and Blacks. Science and Mathematics American students earned over half a million science degrees in 1991, and over 17,000 degrees in mathematics. The combined number of undergraduate and graduate degrees earned by females increased 13% in science (versus a 9% decrease for males) between 1979 and 1991; the combined number earned in mathematics increased 5% for males and 35% for females. Between 1979 and 1991, the combined numbers of undergraduate and graduate degrees earned in science increased for American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic students, but decreased slightly for Black and White students. The combined numbers of degrees earned in mathematics increased for students in every racial/ethnic group. What we still need to know We still need internationally benchmarked standards of student achievement in mathematics and science by which to compare our students with students from other countries reliably. In the interim, the Panel will continue to report the best available international data and encourage and monitor the development of valid, reliable, internationally comparable measures. The Goals Panel will promote research that delineates comparable standards in mathematics and science around the world and assessments that reflect those standards. Goal 5: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning --------------------------------------------- Introduction Lifelong learning has never been more important. With the speed and scope of change taking place in technology and around the world, the skills needed to be an effective worker and citizen are rapidly increasing in complexity. To survive and prosper, Americans must choose to value and invest in continued learning. Any other choice has serious consequences for individuals and for society. Most Americans today can write and compute on a simple level. Most also believe that they read and write well. Last year the Goals Report pointed out that literacy standards in today's environment require more than rudimentary skills. This year's Goals Report presents new data showing that Americans actually do not read and write well, despite their self-perceptions. Even college graduates, on average, have only middle-level literacy skills. More alarming is the finding that the average literacy skills of young adults are lower than they were seven years ago. These data do not bode well for American businesses. Overseas competitors are showing us that greater productivity depends upon higher worker skills and the creation of a high-performance work environment. Still, the American public is not sure how higher literacy relates to their own standard of living. They are worried about the economy and our competitiveness, but often they fail to see the link between further adult learning and either their own security or that of the country. New information shows how direct those links are. In 1992, adults scoring at the highest levels of literacy were much more likely to have been employed than those scoring at the lowest levels; their weekly wages were more than double those of adults with the lowest literacy levels. Other new data in the 1993 Goals Report reflect some positive response on the part of our post-secondary education system toward the need for continued learning. As young people's interest in careers demanding high skills has increased over the last two decades, so have college enrollment rates. Still, only about one-third of young adult high school graduates possessed a two- or four-year post-secondary degree in 1992. Furthermore, just as we are not sure of what K-12 students are learning because of inadequate standards and measurements, we also are not sure of the standards underpinning higher education. We need to know more than just how many students complete college. We need a clearer understanding of the knowledge and skills these graduates attain and how they relate to the demands of a world marketplace and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. This year, the Goals Panel endorsed the development of a national sample-based collegiate assessment system to provide such an understanding. To believe in the value of lifelong learning is to believe in being a literate adult, possessing internationally competitive knowledge and skills in the work-place, and being an informed and engaged citizen. That is a choice with excellent consequences for all. Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning Goal 5: By the year 2000, every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Objectives - Every major American business will be involved in strengthening the connection between education and work. - All workers will have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills, from basic to highly technical, needed to adapt to emerging new technologies, work methods, and markets through public and private educational, vocational, technical, workplace, or other programs. - The number of quality programs, including those at libraries, that are designed to serve more effectively the needs of the growing number of part-time and mid-career students will increase substantially. - The proportion of those qualified students (especially minorities) who enter college, who complete at least two years, and who complete their degree programs will increase substantially. - The proportion of college graduates who demonstrate an advanced ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems will increase substantially. What we have learned since the 1992 Report Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning The 1993 Goals Report presents new information from the National Adult Literacy Survey on the percentage of adults who are able to perform various literacy tasks and how this performance relates to outcomes such as employment status, average number of weeks worked, weekly wages, and voting behavior. New information is also presented on a twenty-year trend of career expectations of high school seniors. This section also updates information on college enrollment and completion and voter participation. Direct Measures of the Goal Adult Literacy Nearly half of all American adults read and write at the two lowest levels of prose, document, and quantitative literacy in English. While these adults do have some limited literacy skills, they are not likely to be able to perform the range of complex literacy tasks that the National Education Goals Panel considers important for competing successfully in a global economy and exercising fully the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Despite the fact that nearly half of all American adults read and write at the two lowest levels of proficiency, nearly all American adults believe that they read and write English well. Even among those at the very lowest proficiency level, roughly three-fourths reported that they read English well, and slightly more than two-thirds reported that they write English well. On average, adults with a high school credential or less scored in the two low- est English literacy levels. However, even adults with college degrees scored, on average, no higher than the third of five literacy levels. Adults whose parents had completed high school or beyond scored 1 to 1 1/2 levels higher on English literacy tasks in 1992, on average, than adults whose parents had not completed high school. Average English literacy scores were highest among White adults and lowest among Hispanics. However, among Hispanics, literacy scores were markedly higher among adults born in the U.S. than among immigrants. In 1992, average literacy scores of 21- to 25-year-olds and 28- to 32-year-olds were slightly lower than the scores of young adults seven years earlier. Workforce Skills On average, English literacy scores attained by adults in white-collar occupations were one level higher than scores attained by adults in blue-collar occupations. Scores attained by employed adults were, on average, one level higher than scores attained by unemployed adults or those out of the labor force. Direct Measures of the Objectives Post Secondary Enrollment and Completion Enrollments in post-secondary institutions immediately following high school increased markedly between 1974 and 1991. In 1991, about six out of ten high school graduates enrolled in either two- or four-year colleges. In 1992, three out of ten high school graduates aged 25-29 possessed an associate's or bachelor's degree. An additional 5% had a postgraduate degree. Direct Measures of the Goal Citizenship The percentages of U.S. citizens who registered to vote and who actually voted in national elections in 1992 were almost identical to the percentages 20 years earlier. In 1992, 73% of all U.S. citizens were registered to vote, while about two- thirds actually voted. Between 1988 and 1992, the percentages of all U.S. citizens who registered to vote and who voted increased by three and five points, respectively. Additional Important Information Literacy Skills and Voting Behavior In 1992, nearly 90% of adults eligible to vote who scored at the highest level of English literacy (Level 5) had voted in a national or state election during the previous five years, compared to about 55% of the adults at the lowest level of literacy (Level 1). Literacy Skills and Economic Productivity In 1992, adults who scored at higher literacy levels were far more likely to have been employed than those who scored at the lower literacy levels. Moreover, adults at the highest level of literacy had worked, on average, more than twice as many weeks during the previous year and earned more than double the median weekly wages of adults at the lowest level of literacy. Career Expectations Over the past twenty years, the percentage of high school seniors who reported that they expect to follow career paths which demand high skills and higher education has increased dramatically, especially among females. What we still need to know We still need to develop consensus standards specifying our expectations for what adults should know and be able to do. We also need ways to measure the higher order skills of college graduates. In the year ahead the Goals Panel will work closely with the National Institute for Literacy to begin a process for defining adult literacy standards. We also will continue to monitor the National Center for Education Statistics' efforts to develop new sample-based assessments of college graduates' higher order skills. Goal 6: Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-free Schools ------------------------------------------------- Introduction No child or youth should be fearful on the way to school, afraid while there, forced to deal with frequent disruptions in the classroom, or pressured to use unhealthy or illegal substances. Students in such environments are much less likely to meet the Goals we set for them: to stay in school, perform at higher academic levels, and excel in mathematics and science. Yet more and more of them must cope with the theft and vandalism of their property. Increasingly, they must deal with in-school assaults by other students with weapons. And, as new data in the 1993 Goals Report reveal, many are approached--inside their schools--by those wanting to give or sell them an illegal drug, and most report that the misbehavior of others interferes with their own learning. Certainly, Goal 6 cannot be attained by the schools alone. In order for schools to be safe, disciplined, and drug-free, families must foster healthy habits and communities must surround children and youth with positive experiences. Even so, schools have an important role to play in creating healthy learning environments for students. If teaching and learning are to occur in an environment free of fear of violence, then any percentage of students who report they bring weapons to school is intolerable (the percentages are 9% of 8th graders, 10% of 10th graders, and 6% of 12th graders). The data also tell us that students are aware of considerable gang activity among their peers and that an alarming percentage in secondary schools feel unsafe at school or getting to or coming from school. Many students also report that their teachers frequently have to interrupt class to deal with problems of student misbehavior. And despite a widespread decline in student drug use over the past decade, nearly one in four 12th grade students still reported being approached at school last year by someone trying to sell or give them an illegal drug. Young people have an obligation to be serious about school. But schools, helped by their surrounding communities, also have an obligation to create the conditions necessary for teaching and learning to take place. Only then can students be expected to take responsibility for learning. Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-free Schools Goal 6: By the year 2000, every school in America will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning. Objectives - Every school will implement a firm and fair policy on use, possession, and distribution of drugs and alcohol. - Parents, businesses, and community organizations will work together to ensure that schools are a safe haven for all children. - Every school district will develop a comprehensive K-12 drug and alcohol prevention education program. Drug and alcohol curriculum should be taught as an integral part of health education. In addition, community- based teams should be organized to provide students and teachers with needed support. Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-free Schools What we have learned since the 1992 Report The 1993 Goals Report presents new information on indicators such as the sale of drugs at school, obtaining drugs at school, being under the influence of alcohol or other drugs while at school, witnessing other students under the influence of alcohol or other drugs while at school, carrying weapons to school, student membership in gangs, student safety, precautions to ensure safety, and disruptions in the classroom. In addition, updates are presented on at-school and overall drug use by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, student victimization, skipping school and skipping classes, and student attitudes toward drug use. Direct Measures of the Goal Drug-free Students and Schools At-School Use In 1992, one in ten 8th graders, nearly one in five 10th graders, and nearly one in four 12th graders reported that they had been approached at school by some- one trying to sell or give them drugs during the previous year. More than one-fourth of all students report that beer or wine, liquor, and marijuana are easy to obtain at school or on school grounds. The vast majority of students report never being under the influence of alcohol or other drugs while at school. However, about one-third of all students report that they have witnessed other students high on drugs or drunk at school. Overall Use Although alcohol and other drugs are rarely used at school, overall use is much higher. In 1992, more than three-fourths of 12th graders used alcohol during the previous year, and almost one-fourth used marijuana, according to student reports. However, overall student use has continued to decline since the early 1980's. Schools Free of Violence and Crime In 1992, 9% of 8th graders, 10% of 10th graders, and 6% of 12th graders reported that they had brought a weapon to school at least once during the previous month. The percentages of students, by grade, who habitually carried a weapon (10 or more days in the previous month) were 2%, 4%, and 3%, respectively. Substantial numbers of 8th, 10th and 12th graders continue to be victims of violent acts, theft, and vandalism at school, according to student reports. Black and Hispanic students are more likely than White students to be victims of violent acts at school involving weapons. Between 1990 and 1992, fewer 12th graders reported that their property had been stolen at school. Over one-third of all students report that other students at their school belong to fighting gangs. Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-free Schools While most students feel safe in or around their schools, substantial numbers report feeling unsafe some or most of the time. In 1992, 7% of 8th graders reported staying home from school at least once during the previous month because of concerns for their physical safety. Disciplined Environments Conducive to Learning In 1992, the majority of students in Grades 8 and 10 reported that student disruptions were fairly common occurrences in their classes. About half of the students estimated that disruptions occurred only occasionally (five times a week or less), but 11-15% of the students reported that teachers interrupted class twenty times a week or more to deal with student misbehavior. About one in twenty 8th and 10th graders reported that other students interfered with their own learning at least twenty times a week. Skipping school and classes is a fairly common practice among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, according to student reports. Between 1990 and 1992, the percent-age of 12th graders who skipped class increased. Increases were most prevalent among Black students. Additional Important Information Student Attitudes Toward Drug Use In 1992, students in higher grades were less likely than younger students to report that they disapproved of adults drinking large quantities of alcohol or trying marijuana, and were more likely to engage in these behaviors themselves. However, between 1991 and 1992, the percentage of high school seniors who reported disapproving of adults having five or more drinks in a row once or twice each weekend increased. Student Safety Sizable proportions of students and their parents report that they take one or more precautions to ensure students' personal safety at school or on the way to or from school. Staying in a group and staying away from certain places in school were the precautions most frequently cited by students; talking to students about ways to avoid trouble and setting limits on the amount of money taken to school were the precautions most frequently cited by parents. What we still need to know We still need a comprehensive definition of "disciplined environment conducive to learning" and a set of indicators to measure its presence or absence. The Panel has established a Task Force to develop the needed definition and the dimensions that characterize it. Based on the results of these efforts, new and improved indicators will appear in future Goals Reports. *** Last update: 1/28/94 (kms) ***