Nation at Risk

Abstract

The Nation at Risk article came out in April 1983 to warn Americans about our school system. It made the general public aware, using a lot of statistics, that American schools were behind schools in other countries. Some of the statistics include:

• Average achievement of high school students on most standardized tests is now lower than 26 years ago when Sputnik was launched.

• Over half the population of gifted students do not match their tested ability with comparable achievement in school.

• The College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) demonstrate a virtually unbroken decline from 1963 to 1980. Average verbal scores fell over 50 points and average mathematics scores dropped nearly 40 points.

• College Board achievement tests also reveal consistent declines in recent years in such subjects as physics and English.

• Both the number and proportion of students demonstrating superior achievement on the SATs (i.e., those with scores of 650 or higher) have also dramatically declined.

• Many 17-year-olds do not possess the "higher order" intellectual skills we should expect of them. Nearly 40 percent cannot draw inferences from written material; only one-fifth can write a persuasive essay; and only one-third can solve a mathematics problem requiring several steps.

The article continued on to say that if we want our children to grow up to be successful then we have no choice but reform our schools. Nation at Risk-25 Years Later, revisits the original article. There is a split opinion about the original article. Many people believe that is was too harsh, while many others believe it was 'just what the doctor ordered.'

Reflection

Though the original article was harsh, I believe it was necessary. In order for people to pay attention, things can't be sugarcoated. Perhaps things could have been written less antagonistically, but it might not have had such an impact if it was written any other way. In any case, the statistics presented did stir up the American public and caused Reagen to back off on cutting spending for Education. And though schools have improved over the years, they are far, very far, from perfect. There is still a long road ahead. Which brings up another point; The article did a great job at bashing the American School System, but provided no concrete ways in which to fix the schools. Sure, the schools are bad, so what do you do? Maybe another article needs to be written.