More Students Falling Behind in Grade Levels, Study Says

More than one-third of all Americans between 15 and 17 years of age either have become high school dropouts or are at least one grade level behind, according to a Census Bureau report to be released today.

Furthermore, there is a gap between white students and those in two large minority groups--blacks and Latinos--that begins in middle childhood and widens as students get older. And more boys than girls fall into the dropout-or-behind group at all ages and for all races, according to the report, “School Enrollment--Social and Economic Characteristics of Students.”

Although the report offers glimmers of good news--such as a declining dropout rate--it mostly provides troubling signs of continuing problems despite nearly a decade of education reform efforts. And it provides further evidence of a link between early childhood education and school success, some experts said.

By 1990, 34.8% of all students between 15 and 17 had dropped out or had been placed in classes at least one year below their age group, up from 29.1% in 1980, the report found. About 32% of white students fell into that category, while for blacks and Latinos the proportions were 48% and 48.6%, respectively. About 29.4% of girls and 39.9% of boys were represented in that group.

All three racial groups studied in the report were virtually even in primary school years--about 22% in each group was one grade level or more behind among 6- to 8-year-olds. But dramatic differences began appearing with the 9- to 11-year-olds and continued through high school, the report found. White youths who were behind increased to 27% but the proportion of blacks climbed to 33% and Latinos to 35%.

Yet the dropout rate has declined. About 4% of all students dropped out of high school between fall 1989 and fall 1990. (It was 3.8% for whites, 5.1% for blacks and 8% for Latinos.) A decade ago, the overall rate was 6%. The improvement was cited by the Census Bureau’s Robert Kominski as an indication that the situation is not all bad.

The greater proportion of students kept behind may be a reflection of schools’ tougher academic standards as well as such recent trends giving youngsters an extra year of kindergarten, Kominski said. Coupled with the lower dropout rate, he said, “it may be that students who have failed (or been kept back) a grade early on are more likely to stay in school, therefore lowering the dropout rate in any given year.”

“If students stay in school, even if for another year, it’s better than having them out on the streets,” Kominski said.

Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers and a vocal advocate of the reform movement that began in the mid-1980s, said the report provides no information about how much students are learning. He suspects the increase in students who are a grade level or more behind is a reflection of toughening standards and the move away from “social promotion”--pushing a child onto the next grade regardless of achievement--a practice in vogue in the 1960s and 1970s.

“This doesn’t tell us anything about whether our students know more or less than they did a decade ago, nor does it tell us anything about what our standards are (at given grade levels) or how they compare with the standards in any other country,” Shanker said.

But an official of the rival National Education Assn., the nation’s largest teachers union, said the report reflects the importance of early childhood education and noted that a major expansion of such programs has been missing from education reform efforts.

“This report tells us fairly clearly, once again, the importance of early childhood programs,” said Bob Chase, NEA vice president. “These figures cry out for ensuring there are programs available for all students to get a good start in their educational careers. . . . This is particularly true among minority students, who unfortunately often find themselves in the poorer population and don’t have the opportunities” to attend preschool, Chase said.

He referred to statistics in the report that showed only 49% of Latino children ages 3 to 5 were enrolled in a preschool or kindergarten (not required in many states), compared to 57.8% of black children and 60% of whites.

Whether a child of any race attended a preschool was linked strongly with family income. Among families earning less than $20,000 a year, only 30% of children ages 3 to 4 were enrolled in preschool; for children of families earning $40,000 or more, the number jumped to 59%. Only about 35% of preschoolers attended a publicly funded program, such as Head Start, while 66% were in the more widely available private preschools.

Michael A. Resnick of the National School Boards Assn. saw the report as a sign of the failure to provide adequate funding to schools, which enroll increasing numbers of poor and disadvantaged children.

“You really have to look behind these numbers to understand what is causing the difference (between 1980 and 1990) . . . at who these kids are and what they need,” Resnick said.

“We know that the number of children living below the poverty line has been going up and these children are experiencing at least some of the conditions of poverty that present barriers to learning.

“I would be discouraged if the answer is that the resources are not available to schools to redress the problems. . . . I would be alarmed if the increase in numbers (of students behind in grade level) is because of an increase in the numbers of kids with needs and no way of addressing them.”

The NEA’s Chase agrees. “Some folks say spending more money isn’t the answer. I agree it’s not the only answer, but (education reform efforts) are not going to succeed if the proper financial support to meet these students’ needs is not there.”