U.S. Pupils Rate a D in Latest ‘Report Card’

Most students can’t analyze what they read, can’t handle moderately challenging math problems and have a limited understanding of American history, according to a bleak picture of student achievement released today by the U.S. Department of Education.

“The Nation’s Report Card” analyzed 1988 achievement of children in the fourth, eighth and 12th grades and compared it to student performance 20 years ago. Things have not changed much.

Education Secretary Lauro F. Cavazos, calling the report a “compendium of disappointment,” said the results indicate where the problem lies.

“Many parents and educators have failed to insist that youngsters do some of the fundamental things that we know promote education,” Cavazos said, citing more reading and writing at home, less time watching TV and less reliance by teachers on “passive learning” techniques such as lecturing and showing films.

Chester Finn Jr., the chairman of the federal panel that oversees the achievement efforts, said too many parents mistakenly think their child and their child’s school are doing well.

“This data ought to be a cold shower for America . . . “ he said.

Among the report’s key findings:

* Many students have difficulty communicating effectively in writing, with less than half producing at least adequate informative and persuasive writing samples. Compared to 20 years ago, overall reading is about the same today, or slightly better, and writing achievement has remained stable.

* Only 21% of the 9-year-olds and 73% of the 13-year-olds displayed a firm grasp of basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and of beginning problem-solving.

* Compared to 20 years ago, science achievement is worse today.

Students have a “moderate” understanding of some historical events but are far from displaying a coherent grasp of how the events interacted to shape the nation. For example, 56% of fourth-graders knew the names of Columbus’ ships but only 36% knew why he sailed to America.

As for civics, only 51% of seniors knew that religious freedom is guaranteed in the Constitution.