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

Major Issues and Trends: Goals 1-3

Progress Toward the Fulfillment of the National Goals

The initial problem facing those responsible for monitoring the education system is the rapid but conscientious development of benchmark standards and measurements to use in assessing progress.

In some areas, instruments such as the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) were already available. In other areas, more pointed and precise standards and tests had to be devised. The process has been careful; yet results are already apparent in each of the areas included in the six original National Education Goals, though in some more than others.

Goal #1

By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn.

Goal #1 addresses the conditions that conspire to produce literally millions of at-risk children in the United States: the breakdown of the family, poverty, disease, malnutrition, and a growing skepticism toward the idea that education can significantly improve a child's chances for success. Students who enter the first grade with a vocabulary of fewer than a hundred words, who have no understanding of numbers, and who have received no encouragement to exercise their natural intellectual curiosity are doomed to failure from the outset. In confronting the conditions addressed in Goal #1, educational leaders immediately recognized the necessity to clarify the meaning of the phrase "ready to learn." After deliberating on the various implications of the phrase, the National Education Goals Panel finally concluded that "'being ready' means being prepared to participate successfully in formal schooling."

The second major problem posed by Goal #1 was the lack of any direct way to measure the Nation's progress toward achieving readiness for school. In its report Measuring Progress Toward the National Education Goals: Potential Indicators and Measurement Strategies,issued on March 25, 1991, the Goals Panel rejected the idea of "a pre-school national readiness test." However, the Panel later endorsed the development of an "Early Childhood Assessment System" for the Nation. This "system," voluntary and to some degree different from State to State, would be designed to collect information about a nationally representative sample of children -- from their teachers, their parents, and from the children themselves -- at several times during the kindergarten year. According to the Report of the National Goals Panel,

The information collected would address five critical dimensions of children's growth and readiness for learning. These are:

Physical Well-Being and Motor Development

The various aspects of a child's health and physical growth, ranging from being rested, fed, properly immunized, and healthy, to the development of skills and abilities for running and jumping and using crayons and puzzles.

Social and Emotional Development

The sense of personal well-being that allows a child to participate fully and constructively in classroom activities by taking turns, following directions, working independently and as a group member, and developing friendships.

Approaches Toward Learning

The qualities of curiosity, creativity, motivation, independence, cooperation, interest, and persistence that enable children from all cultures to get involved in and maximize their learning.

Language Usage

The uses of oral and written language -- talking, listening, scribbling, composing, and being read to -- that enable children to communicate effectively with others and express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Cognition and General Knowledge

The familiarity with basic information, including patterns and relationships, causes and effects, and solving problems in everyday life.

Though this assessment system is still in the process of development, the Goals Panel, using NAEP and other resources, has already begun to monitor progress in pursuit of Goal #1. Some of the signs are encouraging. Others are less so.

For example, over the past two decades, more and more children have begun to attend preschool programs. Between 1973 and 1991, the percentage of 3- to 5-year-olds enrolled in nursery school nearly doubled, from 19 percent to 37 percent. And this is not simply the result of affluence. Enrollments have increased for all children, regardless of family income, although they have remained substantially higher for children from high- income families than for children from middle- or low-income families.

On the other hand, the quality of preschool programs is not uniformly high. For example, in 1990, preschool centers were more likely to meet recommended quality standards for older children (3 to five years of age) than for infants and toddlers.

One of the most important strategies recommended for the achievement of Goal #1 is greater family involvement with children. Research indicates that children whose parents show an interest in the early learning of their children, particularly during the first three years, are most likely to succeed when they enter kindergarten and the first grade. Yet in 1991, fewer than half of all preschoolers were read to daily and fewer than half were told stories by their parents several times a week. Only about one-third were taken to visit a library during the previous month. However, in 1991, about three-fourths of all 3- to 5-year olds were taken to parks and playgrounds during the previous month. Both activities are important; yet too few parents are involved in motivating their children to read and learn.

During the year 1993, the Goals Panel worked with other agencies and organizations to define and develop further the Early Childhood Assessment System in order to allow parents, teachers, and the general public to know whether or not children are starting school ready to learn and whether or not reform efforts are helping them to do so. More revealing data is being collected.

Many educators regard the achievement of Goal #1 as the key to revitalizing the U.S. education system. If children come to school physically, emotionally, and intellectually prepared to learn, they argue, then the achievement of the other Goals will come naturally and inevitably. Moved by this conviction, many public policy leaders are calling for a greater emphasis on preschool and kindergarten activities and expanded health care for young people. Some members of Congress are suggesting Federal legislation to address these issues.

Goal #2

The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent.

Given an increasing demand for advanced education and postsecondary training in the highly competitive international marketplace, educators and business leaders are concerned that a large number of U.S. students are dropping out of high school to take unskilled jobs or to accept public assistance. The loss of this potential may be too great for the economic system to bear, and Goal #2 addresses the necessity to keep more young people in high school and to encourage greater numbers to enroll in some form of postsecondary education or training.

In confronting the problem of dropouts, the Nation's educators again faced problems of definition and methodology. After examination of several alternatives, the Goals Panel recommended the creation of a "Voluntary State/Local Student Record System" that would eventually provide comparable state high school completion and dropout data to be reported on a regular basis.

In the meantime, the Goals Panel pursued other ways to obtain data on this important aspect of the Nation's educational system. For example, the Panel's 1992 Report updated information on the percentage of 19- to 20-year-olds and 23- to 24-year-olds who received a high school diploma or the equivalent. The findings reported included the following:

In 1991, the high school completion rate for 19- to 20- year-olds and 23- to 24-year-olds was 85 percent -- five points below the target goal of 90 percent. Although the completion rates for both groups dropped by one percentage point, these differences were not statistically significant, though still cause for concern and continued monitoring.
Between 1975 and 1991, high school completion rates for 19- to 20-year-olds improved nine percentage points for Blacks, three percentage points for Whites, and two percentage points overall.
Completion rates for Hispanics have remained consistently lower than the rates for other groups. Among Hispanics 16- to 24-year-olds who were born outside of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 43 percent were dropouts, compared to a dropout rate of only 8 percent for non-Hispanics born outside the United States. However, when one looks exclusively at Hispanics born within the U.S., their dropout rate is still more than double that of non-Hispanics. The U.S.Department of Education has funded several major programs to study and recommend solutions for the problem of Hispanic dropouts.
In 1991, 13 percent of all 16- to 24-year-olds in the United States were high school dropouts. Although this represents a one-percentage-point increase from 1990, the change is not statistically significant. Again, the figure is cause for concern and continued monitoring.

As for the reasons why students leave school, a recent study indicates that the two most cited motives for dropping out of school are: (1) a dislike of school, and (2) an inability to keep up with the work. Male students were especially likely to cite school-related reasons for dropping out, while females were more inclined to cite family- and job-related factors.

A good many of those who leave school would be inclined to return if schools could accommodate their academic and personal needs. For example, a survey reveals that 86 percent of Blacks, 67 percent of Hispanics, and 56 percent of Whites say they would return to school if they felt they could get a good job after graduation. Also, 85 percent of Blacks, 57 percent of Hispanics, and 53 percent of Whites say they would return if they felt they could graduate.

Clearly the achievement of Goal #2 depends on motivation as well as on classroom proficiency. Young people must be convinced that remaining in school will significantly benefit their lives for decades to come. They must be moved to consider long-term consequences as well as short-term benefits and to weigh their future potential carefully before they decide to walk away from the opportunities that education affords. Providing young people with incentives to succeed in school is one of the greatest challenges facing the U.S. education system.

Goal #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*1.

*1In 1994 the U.S. Congress added foreign languages, civics and government, economics and arts to the list of subjects in which students will demonstrate competency. These subjects are not included in this section.

This Goal addresses the inability of millions of U.S. students to master advanced skills and knowledge in the most fundamental areas of the curriculum, a weakness clearly identified in both national and international tests. While our young people seem to have mastered the most basic skills, too many are unable to understand complicated ideas in prose or to solve mathematical problems at an advanced level. Test results over the past five years indicate that U.S. students are making some progress toward the achievement of Goal #3, but these results are by no means reassuring. Only a portion of those tested had mastered the basic knowledge and skills required to live up to the expectations of this Goal. For example:

In 1988, 11% of all American 8th graders had not mastered simple reading comprehension. By 1990, 60% of these same low-achieving students (now in the 10th grade) had mastered simple reading comprehension, but 40% still had not.
In 1988, 55% of all American 8th graders had not mastered simple operations with decimals and fractions. By 1990, over one-third of these same lower-achieving students (now in the 10th grade) had mastered this type of knowledge, but about two-thirds still had not.
In 1988, 26% of all American 8th graders had not mastered everyday science knowledge about the natural world (e.g. the fact that the moon does not produce its own light but reflects the light of the sun). By 1990, over half of these same lower-achieving students (now in the 10th grade) had mastered this type of knowledge, but 45% had not.

Even among higher achieving students, the gap between current ability and the achievement of Goal #3, while narrowing, is still substantial.

In 1988, 22% of all American 8th graders had mastered simple problem solving. By 1990, nearly two-thirds of these same higher-achieving students (now in the 10th grade) were able to solve more complex mathematical problems, but about one-third could not.
In 1988, 27% of all American 8th graders had mastered knowledge of fundamental concepts upon which more complex science knowledge can be built. By 1990, 34% of these higher-achieving students (now in the 10th grade) had mastered more complex scientific concepts (e.g. the ability to predict outcomes in problems dealing with dominant genes and problems involving radioactive half-life), but 66% had not.
For all 8th-grade achievement groups and for all content areas analyzed (reading, mathematics, and science), Blacks, Hispanics, those enrolling in a vocational curriculum in the 10th grade, and those whose parents had less education were least likely to demonstrate academic progress over the next two years.
As for overall performance in mathematics and science during the past several years, the NAEP mathematics results show that only about 25 percent of eighth graders are at or above the proficiency level, and just about 60 percent are at or above the Basic level of achievement.

The 1992 Report of the Goals Panel focused on Advanced Placement examinations in the core areas, and here analysts found some cause for optimism. Major new findings include the following:

For every 1,000 11th and 12th graders in 1992, 78 Advanced Placement examinations were taken in the core subjects, an increase of six since 1991.
Nearly two-thirds of the examinations were graded at 3 or above, which is generally high enough to make students eligible for college credit.

Since Goal #3 also deals with citizenship, the Report offered new information concerning community service:

Regardless of students' sex, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, or the urban nature of their schools, students seldom perform community service. In 1990, nearly eight out of ten 10th graders reported that they rarely or never performed community service.
Between 1976 and 1988, the percentage of 18- 20-year-olds who registered to vote and who actually voted remained fairly steady at about 50 and 35 percent, respectively.

The achievement of Goal #3 depends to some degree on the willingness of State and local authorities to require more advanced courses of U.S. students, to assign more homework, and to insist on higher performance standards. It is clear from international comparisons that many U.S. students are not challenged to the same degree as are students from other countries. Educators are just beginning to understand this discrepancy and to take corrective action. Improvement should follow.

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[Part III - Major Issues and Trends]

[Part III - Goals 4-6]