More high school students are completing advanced math and science courses. The percentage of high school graduates completing advanced math courses (courses more challenging than Algebra II or geometry) climbed from 26 percent in 1982 to 45 percent in 2000. Meanwhile, the percentage completing advance science courses (more challenging than general biology) rose from 35 percent to 63 percent;
Some achievement gaps are narrowing. On long-term NAEP trend assessments in math and reading, test score gaps between white and minority students have narrowed to the smallest margins in three decades; and
More students are going to college, and more young adults are earning degrees. The percentage of high school graduates immediately enrolling in college has risen from about 55 percent in 1984 to 64 percent in 2003. Meanwhile, the proportion of young adults completing a bachelor's degree or higher has climbed from 22 percent in 1985 to 29 percent in 2002.
In addition to tracking American education's progress, the report also calls for a renewed focus on reducing dropout rates and providing additional support to minority, low-income, English language learners, and students with disabilities to ensure that they achieve at the same levels as their counterparts. Noting the continued lag in performance and the persistent nature of achievement gaps in grades 9-12, the report also calls for a greater priority on reforming the nation's high schools.
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