A recent study released by the National Center for Education Statistics shows a nation-wide decrease among high school seniors’ level of reading proficiency since 1992.
According to the study, the percentage of seniors in high school reading at or above the level designated "proficient" has dropped from 40 percent in 1992 to 35 percent in 2005.
“Although it appears that high school students are doing all the right things (AP classes, higher GPAs, etc.), that effort is not being translated into their scores,” said public affairs specialist for the National Assessment Governing Board Stephanie Germeraad. “We need to do a little more investigation as to why we are not seeing a corollary increase in NAEP scores for 12th-graders.”
“The Nation’s Report Card” gathered scores from a sample population of 21,000 high school students and then compared them to students' performances on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, taking into account variables like location, urban districts, public and private schools and student demographic groups.
While the results showed a decrease in proficiency, public relations coordinator for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions Amy Widner said there was no such trend evident here at the university.
“Basically, we base admissions off of grade point average, standardized tests and types of classes the students are taking, all of which we’ve seen the scores climbing” Widner said. “We are still very confident that strong students are coming here and that the students admitted will be successful.”
Public Information Officer for the Virginia Department of Education Julie Grimes said students in Virginia, especially minority ones, seem to be enrolling in more rigorous classes in high school.
“The study is certainly something to recognize,” Grimes said. “However, our results are showing more and more students taking AP courses and being successful (scoring a three or above), which means they must be reading at a higher level.”
Grimes has a positive outlook on the high AP scores.
“If it’s not broke, then don’t fix it,” she said.