Money test results mixed for US students
Eight out of 10 high school seniors understand economics basics, but less than half are deemed proficient in a first-ever test.
from the August 9, 2007 edition
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The gaps indicate that "high school students – low income students and students of color in particular – are not getting the preparation they need to meet the demands of college and the workforce," says Daria Hall, assistant director for K-12 policy at the Education Trust in Washington, a group focused on closing achievement gaps.
The portion of students taking an economics class has been on the rise – from 49 percent in 1982 to 66 percent in 2005, according to a study of high school transcripts cited in the NAEP report. In another measure, a survey of the 11,500 students taking the NAEP test (in both public and nonpublic schools), 55 percent reported taking a general or advanced economics course; an additional 23 percent had had business, personal finance, or economics lessons in other courses.
"Students are doing what we're asking of them: They are signing up for these more rigorous courses, they're getting better grades, and yet ... [in some courses] the content and the quality of instruction do not actually support the knowledge and skills students need," Ms. Hall says.
The test looked at several areas. In a section on the market economy, or microeconomics, 72 percent of students were able to name and describe one benefit and one risk of someone leaving a full-time job to further his education. But less than half (46 percent) could interpret a supply-and-demand graph to determine the effect of establishing a price control. In a section on the national economy, 60 percent could identify factors that lead to an increase in the national debt, but only 11 percent could analyze how a change in the unemployment rate affects income, spending, and production.
For Bruce Damasio, a high-school economics teacher in Towson, Md., and president of the Global Association of Teachers of Economics, "the good news is that economics has now been brought up to the big-league status." Because it's being tested like other subjects such as math and history, educators have a chance to see what needs to be done to bring more students up to proficiency.
One basic task, he says, is to help teens overcome their notion that studying economics is like having to eat broccoli. "They're afraid of it, but they do it all the time," Mr. Damasio says. "They don't realize they're using economic logic when they make decisions," whether it's using a debit card or judging the opportunity costs in choosing a college.
"Once it's put in practical terms, they get it."
Test your econ skills
The first national sample of US 12th-graders' knowledge of economics found that 79 percent scored at the basic level or higher, and 42 percent scored at the proficient level or higher. Here's a brief sample of multiple-choice questions (the test also included open-ended questions):
What happens to most of the money deposited in checking accounts at a commercial bank?
(A) It is used to pay the bank's expenses; (B) It is loaned to other bank customers; (C) It is kept in the bank's vault until depositors withdraw the funds; (D) It is paid to owners of the bank as return on their investment.
52 percent answered correctly: B
In the United States, which of the following forms of taxation currently represents the largest source of tax revenue for the federal government?
(A) Property tax; (B) Sales tax; (C) Corporate income tax; (D) Personal income tax.
36 percent answered correctly: D
If there were a decrease in the worldwide production of oil, which of the following would most likely occur?
(A) Global consumption of oil would increase; (B) Economic growth in oil-importing countries would decrease; (C) International spending on research into alternative energy sources would decrease; (D) Global exploration for new oil reserves would decrease.
63 percent answered correctly: B
Source: The Nation's Report Card: Economics 2006
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