Myth: American test scores have fallen in the last 30 years.
Fact: American test scores have risen for all sub-groups.
Summary
The drop in average SAT scores is a statistical fluke. Thirty
years ago, advantaged and over-achieving white students formed
a disproportionate share of all those taking the test. Today,
a growing share of minority and lower class whites are taking
the test also, and they tend to score lower than advantaged whites.
However, the scores of minorities have been rising over the last
few decades, even faster than whites. Thus, everyone's scores
are generally rising, even though the average is dropping.
Argument
Many critics of public education agree with the following
statement by former Yale president Benno Schmidt:
Reading proficiency of 17-year-olds, on a scale of 0 to 500, by selected characteristics: 1971, 1980, and 1992 (2) Selected characteristics of students 1971 1980 1992 -------------------------------------------------- Total 285.2 285.5 289.7 Sex Male 278.9 281.8 284.2 Female 291.3 289.2 295.7 Race/ethnicity White 291.4 292.8 297.4 Black 238.7 243.1 260.6 Hispanic -- 261.4 271.2 Control of school Public -- 284.4 287.8 Private -- 298.4 309.6 Parents' education level Not graduated high school 261.3 262.1 270.8 Graduated high school 283.0 277.5 280.5 Post high school 302.2 298.9 298.6 Percent of 17-year-old students performing at or above three mathematics proficiency levels, by race/ethnicity: 1978 to 1992 (3) Numerical operations Moderately Multistep and complex problem beginning procedures solving Year and problem and and race/ethnicity solving reasoning algebra ---------------------------------------------------------- Total 1978 92 52 7 1982 93 48 6 1990 96 56 7 1992 97 59 7 White 1978 96 58 9 1982 96 55 6 1990 98 63 8 1992 98 66 9 Black 1978 71 17 0 1982 76 17 1 1990 92 33 2 1992 90 30 1 Hispanic 1978 78 23 1 1982 81 22 1 1990 86 30 2 1992 94 39 1
The fact that more minorities and disadvantaged youth are taking
the college-bound SAT, and that their scores are generally rising
on a wide variety of achievement tests, indicates that our public
education system is succeeding, not failing.
Return to Overview
Endnotes:
1. Unless otherwise noted, all facts and quotes in this essay
are from Richard Rothstein, "The
Myth of Public School Failure,"
The American Prospect, no. 13, Spring, 1993.
2. The National Center for Education Statistics, The Mini-Digest
of Education Statistics,
Educational Outcomes.
3. Ibid.