APPENDIX C

 

                                           A SUMMARY OF

                                       "A NATION AT RISK"

      A Government Report on American Education

By the National Commission on Excellence in Education

 

         In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education described the United States as "a nation at risk," pointing to what it called "a rising tide of mediocrity [in our schools] that threatens our very future as a nation and as a people." These extreme words for normally bland government commissioners reflects the truth with no exaggeration.

 

         Composition and the Charter of the Commission. In 1981, the Secretary of Education T. H. Bell created the National Commission on Excellence in Education as a result of his concern about "the widespread public perception that something is seriously remiss in our educational system."

         The Commission's charter contained several specific charges which included: assessing the quality of teaching and learning in our Nation's public and private schools, colleges, and universities; comparing American schools and colleges with those of other advanced nations; defining problems which must be faced and overcome if we are successfully to pursue the course of excellence in education; and putting forth practical recommendations for educational improvement.

 

         Sources of Information. In going about its work the Commission has relied in the main upon five sources of information:

         a. papers commissioned from experts on a variety of educational issues;

         b. administrators, teachers, students, representatives of professional and public groups, parents, business leaders, public officials, and scholars who testified at eight meetings of the full Commission, six public hearings, two panel discussions, a symposium, and a series of meetings organized by the Department of Education's Regional Offices;

         c. existing analyses of problems in education:

         d. letters from concerned citizens, teachers, and administrators who volunteered extensive comments on problems and possibilities in American education; and

         e. descriptions of notable programs and promising approaches in education.

 

         Declaration of the Commission. Having finished its investigation, the Commission declared:

         "Our Nation is at risk. Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world. . .

         "We report to the American people that while we can take justifiable pride in what our schools and colleges have historically accomplished and contributed to the United States and the well‑being of its people, the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people. What was unimaginable a generation ago has begun to occur others are matching and surpassing our educational attainments.

         "If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre                          

educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. We have even squandered the gains in student achievement made in the wake of the Sputnik challenge. . .

         "Our society and its educational institutions seem to have lost sight of the basic purposes of schooling, and of the high expectations and disciplined effort needed to attain them. This report, the result of 18 months of study, seeks to generate reform of our educational system in fundamental ways and to renew the Nation's commitment to schools and colleges of high quality throughout the length and breadth of our land."

 

         Indicators of the Risk. The educational dimensions of the risk have been amply documented in testimony received by the Commission. For example:

 

         ! International comparisons of student achievement, completed a decade ago, reveal that on 19 academic tests American students were never first or second and, in comparison with other industrialized nations, were last seven times.

 

         ! Some 23 million American adults are functionally illiterate by the simplest tests of everyday reading, writing, and comprehension.

 

         ! About 13 percent of all 17‑year‑olds in the United States can be considered functionally illiterate. Functional illiteracy among minority youth may run as high as 40 percent.

 

         ! Average achievement of high school students on most standardized tests is now lower than 26 years ago when Sputnik was launched.

 

         ! Over half the population of gifted students do not match their tested ability with comparable achievement in school.

 

         ! The College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) demonstrate a virtually unbroken decline from 1963 to 1980. Average verbal scores fell over 50 points and average mathematics scores dropped nearly 40 points.

 

         ! College Board achievement tests also reveal consistent declines in recent years in such subjects as physics and English.

 

         ! Both the number and proportion of students demonstrating superior achievement on the SATs (i.e., those with scores of 650 or higher) have also dramatically declined.

 

         ! Many 17‑year‑olds do not possess the "higher order" intellectual skills we should expect of them. Nearly 40 percent cannot draw inferences from written material; only one‑fifth can write a persuasive essay; and only one‑third can solve a mathematics problem requiring several steps.

 

         ! There was a steady decline in science achievement scores of U.S. 17‑year‑olds as measured by national assessments of science in 1969, 1973, and 1977.

 

                                                                             

         ! Between 1975 and 1980, remedial mathematics courses in public 4‑year colleges increased by 72 percent and now constitute one‑quarter of all mathematics courses taught in those institutions.

 

         ! Average tested achievement of students graduating from college is also lower.

 

         ! Business and military leaders complain that they are required to spend millions of dollars on costly remedial education and training programs in such basic skills as reading, writing, spelling, and computation. The Department of the Navy, for example, reported to the Commission that one‑quarter of its recent recruits cannot read at the ninth grade level, the minimum needed simply to understand written safety instructions. Without remedial work they cannot even begin, much less complete, the sophisticated training essential in much of the modern military.

 

         Findings. The commissioned declared that declines in educational performance are in large part the result of disturbing inadequacies in the way the educational process itself is conducted in four important aspect of the process: content, expectations, time, and teaching.

 

         Findings Regarding Content. The "stuff" of education, the curriculum is found inadequate:

 

         ! Secondary school curricula have been homogenized, diluted, and diffused to the point that they no longer have a central purpose. In effect, we have a cafeteria style curriculum in which the appetizers and desserts can easily be mistaken for the main courses. Students have migrated from vocational and college preparatory programs to "general track" courses in large numbers. The proportion of students taking a general program of study has increased from 12 percent in 1964 to 42 percent in 1979.

 

         ! This curricular smorgasbord, combined with extensive student choice, explains a great deal about where we find ourselves today. We offer intermediate algebra, but only 31 percent of our recent high school graduates complete it; we offer French I, but only 13 percent complete it; and we offer geography, but only 16 percent complete it. Calculus is available in schools enrolling about 60 percent of all students, but only 6 percent of all students complete it.

 

         ! Twenty‑five percent of the credits earned by general track high school students are in physical and health education, work experience outside the school, remedial English and mathematics, and personal service and development courses, such as training for adulthood and marriage.

 

         Findings Regarding Expectations.

         - Criteria. We define expectations in terms of the level of knowledge, abilities, and skills school and college graduates should possess. They also refer to the time, hard work, behavior, self-discipline, and motivation that are essential for high student achievement. Such expectations are expressed to students in several different ways:

 

                                                                             

         ! by grades, which reflect the degree to which students demonstrate their mastery of subject matter;

 

         ! through high school and college graduation requirements, which tell students which subjects are most important;

 

         ! by the presence or absence of rigorous examinations requiring students to demonstrate their mastery of content and skill before receiving a diploma or a degree;

 

         ! by college admissions requirements, which reinforce high school standards; and

 

         ! by the difficulty of the subject matter students confront in their texts and assigned readings.

 

         - Deficiencies. Our analyses in each of these areas indicate notable deficiencies:

 

         ! The amount of homework for high school seniors has decreased (two‑thirds report less than 1 hour a night)and grades have risen as average student achievement has been declining.

 

         ! In many other industrialized nations, courses in mathematics (other than arithmetic or general mathematics), biology, chemistry, physics, and geography start in grade 6 and are required of all students. The time spent on these subjects, based on class hours, is about three times that spent by even the most science-oriented U. S. students, i.e., those who select 4 years of science and mathematics in secondary school.

 

         ! A 1980 State‑by‑State survey of high school diploma requirements reveals that only eight States require high schools to offer foreign language instruction, but none requires students to take the courses. Thirty five States require only 1 year of mathematics, and 36 require only 1 year of science for a diploma.

 

         ! In 13 States, 50 percent or more of the units required for high school graduation may be electives chosen by the student. Given this freedom to choose the substance of half or more of their education, many students opt for less demanding personal service courses, such as bachelor living.

 

         ! "Minimum competency" examinations (now required in 37 States) fall short of what is needed, as the "minimum" tends to become the "maximum," thus lowering educational standards for all.

 

         ! One‑fifth of all 4‑year public colleges in the United States must accept every high school graduate within the State regardless of program followed or grades, thereby serving notice to high school students that they can expect to attend college even if they do not follow a demanding course of study in high school or perform well.

 

         ! About 23 percent of our more selective colleges and universities reported that their general level of selectivity declined during the 1970s, and 29 percent reported  reducing the number of specific high school courses required for admission (usually by dropping foreign language requirements, which are now specified as a condition for admission by only one‑fifth of our institutions of higher education).

 

         ! Too few experienced teachers and scholars are involved in writing textbooks. During the past decade or so a large number of texts have been "written down" by their publishers to ever‑lower reading levels in response to perceived market demands.

 

         Findings Regarding Time. Evidence presented to the Commission demonstrates three disturbing facts about the use that American schools and students make of time:

 

         1. compared to other nations, American students spend much less time on school work;

         2. time spent in the classroom and on homework is often used ineffectively; and

         3. schools are not doing enough to help students develop either the study skills required to use time well or the willingness to spend more time on school work.

 

         ! In England and other industrialized countries, it is not unusual for academic high school students to spend 8 hours a day at school, 220 days per year. In the United States, by contrast, the typical school day lasts 6 hours and the school year is 180 days. In many schools, the time spent learning how to cook and drive counts as much toward a high school diploma as the time spent studying mathematics, English, chemistry, U.S. history, or biology.

         ! A study of the school week in the United States found that some schools provided students only 17 hours of academic instruction during the week, and the average school provided about 22.

 

         ! A California study of individual classrooms found that because of poor management of classroom time, some elementary students received only one‑fifth of the instruction others received in reading comprehension.

 

         ! In most schools, the teaching of study skills is haphazard and unplanned. Consequently, many students complete high school and enter college without disciplined and systematic study habits.

 

         Findings Regarding Teaching. The Commission found that not enough of the academically able students are being attracted to teaching; that teacher preparation programs need substantial improvement; that the professional working life of teachers is on the whole unacceptable; and that a serious shortage of teachers exists in key areas.

 

         ! Too many teachers are being drawn from the bottom quarter of graduating high school and college students.

 

         ! The teacher preparation curriculum is weighted heavily with courses in "educational methods" at the expense of courses in subjects to be taught. A survey of 1,350 institutions training teachers indicated that 41 percent of the time of elementary school teacher candidates is spent in education courses, which reduces the amount of time available for subject matter courses.

 

         ! The average salary after 12 years of teaching is only $17,000 per year, and many teachers are required to supplement their income with part‑time and summer employment. In addition, individual teachers have little influence in such critical professional decisions as, for example, textbook selection.

 

         ! Despite widespread publicity about an overpopulation of teachers, severe shortages of certain kinds of teachers exist: in the fields of mathematics, science, and foreign languages; and among specialists in education for gifted and talented, language minority, and handicapped students.

 

         ! The shortage of teachers in mathematics and science is particularly severe. A 1981 survey of 45 States revealed shortages of mathematics teachers in 43 States, critical shortages of earth sciences teachers in 33 States, and of physics teachers everywhere.

 

         ! Half of the newly employed mathematics, science, and English teachers are not qualified to teach these subjects; fewer than one‑third of U. S. high schools offer physics taught by qualified teachers.

 

         Recommendations. In light of the urgent need for improvement, both immediate and long term, this Commission has agreed on a set of recommendations that the American people can begin to act on now, that can be implemented over the next several years, and that promise lasting reform. The topics are familiar; there is little mystery about what we believe must be done. Many schools, districts, and States are already giving serious and constructive attention to these matters, even though their plans may differ from our recommendations in some details.

 

         ! We wish to note that we refer to public, private, and parochial schools and colleges alike. All are valuable national resources. Examples of actions similar to those recommended below can be found in each of them.

 

         ! We must emphasize that the variety of student aspirations, abilities, and preparation requires that appropriate content be available to satisfy diverse needs. Attention must be directed to both the nature of the content available and to the needs of particular learners. The most gifted students, for example, may need a curriculum enriched and accelerated beyond even the needs of other students of high ability. Similarly, educationally disadvantaged students may require special curriculum materials, smaller classes, or individual tutoring to help them master the material presented. Nevertheless, there remains a common expectation: We must demand the best effort and performance from all students, whether they are gifted or less able, affluent or disadvantaged, whether destined for college, the farm, or industry.

         Recommendation A: Content.  We recommend that State and local high school graduation requirements be strengthened and that, at a minimum, all students seeking a diploma be required to lay the foundations in the Five New Basics by taking the following curriculum during their 4 years of high school:

         a. 4 years of English;

         b. 3 years of mathematics;

         c. 3 years of science;

         d. 3 years of social studies; and

         e. One‑half year of computer science.

         For the college‑bound, 2 years of foreign language in high school are strongly recommended in addition to those taken earlier.

         Recommendation B: Standards and Expectations. We recommend that schools, colleges, and universities adopt more rigorous and measurable standards, and higher expectations, for academic performance and student conduct, and that 4‑year colleges and universities raise their requirements for admission. This will help students do their best educationally with challenging materials in an environment that supports learning and authentic accomplishment.

 

         Recommendation C: Time. We recommend that significantly more time be devoted to learning the New Basics. This will require a longer school days (7-hour school days), as well as a lengthened school year (200 to 220-day school years).

 

         Recommendation D: Teaching. This recommendation consists of seven parts. Each is intended to improve the preparation of teachers or to make teaching a more rewarding and respected profession. Each of the seven stands on its own and should not be considered solely as an implementing recommendation.

 

         1. Persons preparing to teach should be required to meet high educational standards, to demonstrate an aptitude for teaching, and to demonstrate competence in an academic discipline. Colleges and universities offering teacher preparation programs should be judged by how well their graduates meet these criteria.

         2. Salaries for the teaching profession should be increased and should be professionally competitive, market‑sensitive, and performance‑based. Salary, promotion, tenure, and retention decisions should be tied to an effective evaluation system that includes peer review so that superior teachers can be rewarded, average ones encouraged, and poor ones either improved or terminated.

         3. School boards should adopt an 11‑month contract for teachers. This would ensure time for curriculum and professional development, programs for students with special needs, and a more adequate level of teacher compensation.

         4. School boards, administrators, and teachers should cooperate to develop career ladders for teachers that distinguish among the beginning instructor, the experienced teacher, and the master teacher.

         5. Substantial nonschool personnel resources should be employed to help solve the immediate problem of the shortage of mathematics and science teachers. Qualified individuals, including recent graduates with mathematics and science degrees, graduate students, and industrial and retired scientists could, with appropriate preparation, immediately begin teaching in these fields. A number of our leading science centers have the capacity to begin educating and retraining teachers immediately. Other areas of critical teacher need, such as English, must also be addressed.

         6. Incentives, such as grants and loans, should be made available to attract outstanding students to the teaching profession, particularly in those areas of critical shortage.

                                                                             

         7. Master teachers should be involved in designing teacher preparation programs and in supervising teachers during their probationary years.

 

         Recommendation E: Leadership and Fiscal Responsibility. We recommend that citizens across the Nation hold educators and elected officials responsible for providing the leadership necessary to achieve these reforms, and that citizens provide the continual support and stability required to bring about the reforms propose.