The Nation's Report Card — The Future Looks Bright

During the summer, when many of you were taking a well deserved teacher vacation, you may have missed the release of the Nation's Report Card by the National Center for Education Studies (NCES).

The report card has been tracking student achievement in reading and math since 1971, focusing on three age groups (9, 13, and 17) and three major demographic groups (White, Black, and Hispanic). So how do the students of 2005 compare to the late boomers of 1971? With one exception, every single long term trend is positive. All the age groups are better at math, and both the 9-year-olds and the 13-year-olds are better readers than the students of 1971.

The one exception to the positive trend seemingly occurs with the 17-year-olds, but even that might be misleading, because Black and Hispanic 17-year-olds did see dramatic increases in reading skills since 1971, while the White 17-year-olds remained relatively constant. The overall statistic in this case does not reflect the gains made by 2 out of 3 demographic groups because the percentages of the students in each group have changed (see Simpson's Paradox).

Combine this new study with the evidence that 1) IQ scores are significantly higher than they were 30 years ago, 2) SAT math scores are at an all-time high, and 3) today's students are likely more skilled at things like multitasking and mastering new technologies that are increasingly important in the workplace but are probably underrepresented on today's standardized tests. Add all that together and you start to get a sense that the students of 2005 are doing quite well when compared to the students of 1971.

So if you're a teacher or a student, give yourself a pat on the back. You're doing well.