School Easy, Failing To Challenge Students, Survey Says
"Do schools challenge our students?"
No, says a paper published today by the progressive think tank Center of American Progress. More than half of 12th graders, for example, say civics and history are often or always too easy.
The analysis, by Ulrich Boser and Lindsay Rosenthal, found a disturbing disconnect between student engagement and test scores. Many students -- 21 percent of 12th graders and 37 percent of fourth graders -- reported that math classes were "too easy." But only 40 percent of fourth graders and 35 percent of eighth graders were deemed "proficient" on the National Assessment for Educational Progress math test. Boser and Rosenthal explain this disconnect by pointing to gaps between lessons and the test questions. "It's also possible that students do poorly on" the test "because they're not challenged in school," they wrote.
Boser and Rosenthal analyzed years of survey data collected by the U.S. Education Department's research arm.
No, says a paper published today by the progressive think tank Center of American Progress. More than half of 12th graders, for example, say civics and history are often or always too easy.
The analysis, by Ulrich Boser and Lindsay Rosenthal, found a disturbing disconnect between student engagement and test scores. Many students -- 21 percent of 12th graders and 37 percent of fourth graders -- reported that math classes were "too easy." But only 40 percent of fourth graders and 35 percent of eighth graders were deemed "proficient" on the National Assessment for Educational Progress math test. Boser and Rosenthal explain this disconnect by pointing to gaps between lessons and the test questions. "It's also possible that students do poorly on" the test "because they're not challenged in school," they wrote.
Boser and Rosenthal analyzed years of survey data collected by the U.S. Education Department's research arm.