What is Your Child Learning?
As we approach the winter break, after the first of the year, most students will be receiving their first semester report cards. Parents should sit down with their children and carefully review their grades and the type of classes that students are taking. For example an ‘A’ in an AP class is not the same as an ‘A’ in an on-level class, just as an ‘A’ in PE is not the same as an ‘A’ in Calculus. As parents, we must not only encourage, support, and celebrate our children’s grades, we must ensure that they are learning. The failure to ensure that our children are developing the proper foundation in reading and math can lead to dire results when, as high school seniors, they find themselves neither college ready nor college bound.
Consider the following trends as they pertain to student performance in reading and math on elementary school and middle school assessments, through their performance on the ACT as potentially college-bound seniors.
The 2011 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) Math report indicates that for fourth- and eighth-graders:
- Nationally, only 33 percent of fourth-graders are proficient in math
- In many urban school districts, the percentage of fourth-grade students demonstrating math proficiency is less than 20 percent
- Nationally, only 26 percent of eighth-graders are proficient in math
- In many urban school districts, the percentage of eighth-grade students demonstrating math proficiency is less than 15 percent
Nationally, by eighth grade, many students are not only performing below proficiency, they have fallen off of the college pathway altogether into lower level math classes:
- Only 33 percent of eighth-graders are taking algebra
- 22 percent of eighth-graders are taking pre-algebra or introduction to algebra
- 26 percent of eighth-graders are taking basic or general math
- In many large urban areas, less than 20 percent of students are taking algebra by eighth grade
The 2011 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) Reading report indicates that:
- Nationally, only 34 percent of fourth-graders are proficient in reading (as low as 14 percent in some racial groups)
- Since 1992, the percentage of fourth-graders demonstrating proficiency in reading has only increased 5 percentage points
- Nationally, only 34 percent of eighth-graders are proficient in reading (as low as 14 percent in some racial groups)
- Since 1992, the percentage of eighth-graders demonstrating proficiency in reading has only increased 5 percentage points
The ACT Report, “The Condition of College & Career Readiness: 2011” provides important warnings for parents of elementary school and middle school students. The percentage of students considered “college-ready” in each of the four subject-areas tested on the ACT are:
- 66 percent in English
- 52 percent in Reading
- 45 percent in Math
- 30 percent in Science
- 25 percent in all four subjects
- 28 percent of students are not ready for college in any subject-area
Student performance varied widely, with the following percentages considered college-ready in all subject-areas by racial group:
- 41 percent of Asians
- 31 percent of Whites
- 11 percent of Hispanics
- 11 percent of Native Americans
- 4 percent of Blacks
Most students’ college dreams far exceed their level of college preparation:
- 85 percent of White students aspire toward a 4-year college degree or better with only 31 percent of graduating high school seniors demonstrating that they are ready for college
- 84 percent of Asian students aspire toward a 4-year college degree or better with only 41 percent of graduating high school seniors demonstrating that they are ready for college
- 80 percent of Black students aspire toward a 4-year college degree or better with only 4 percent of graduating high school seniors demonstrating that they are ready for college
- 78 percent of Hispanic students aspire toward a 4-year college degree or better with only11 percent of graduating high school seniors demonstrating that they are ready for college
- 78 percent of Native American students aspire toward a 4-year college degree or better with only 11 percent of graduating high school seniors demonstrating that they are ready for college
Although 8 out of 10 of our children aspire to go to college, less than 3 in 10 have been prepared by the 12th grade to succeed in college. We, as parents, must do more to monitor our children’s learning during the critical elementary-through-middle school years. We must look beyond their report card grades to what they have actually learned!