High school seniors fare no better than in the 1970s

WASHINGTON (AP) — Students preparing to leave high school are faring no better in reading or math than students did four decades ago, the government said in a report today that was certain to renew concerns about U.S. schools.

Test scores for 17-year-olds have changed little since the early 1970s, while students ages 9 and 13 improved their performances during the same period, according to the government review popularly called the nation's report card.

Black and Hispanic students achieved the greatest gain in reading and math scores since the 1970s and the performance gap between white and minority students narrowed.

"In some ways, the findings are full of hope. Today's children ages 9 and 13 are scoring better overall than students at those ages in the early '70s," said Brent Houston, principal of the Shawnee Middle School in Oklahoma and a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which administers the tests.

But he also noted challenges for older students.

"There is a disturbing lack of improvement among 17-year-olds. Since the early 1970s, the average scores of 17-year-olds in both reading and mathematics have remained stagnant," he said.