U.S. Department of Education NCES 2007-064

U.S. Department of Education NCES 2007-064

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U.S. Department of Education NCES 2007-064

The Condition of Education 2007

June 2007

Michael Planty Stephen Provasnik William Hussar Thomas Snyder

National Center for Education Statistics

Grace Kena Gillian Hampden-Thompson Rachel Dinkes

Education Statistics Services Institute? American Institutes for Research

Susan Choy

MPR Associates, Inc.

Production:

Barbara Kridl

Managing Editor

Andrea Livingston

Senior Editor MPR Associates, Inc.

U.S. Department of Education Margaret Spellings Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences Grover J. Whitehurst Director

National Center for Education Statistics Mark Schneider Commissioner

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in foreign countries.

NCES activities are designed to address high-priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable, complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends; and report timely, useful, and highquality data to the U.S. Department of Education, the Congress, the states, other education policymakers, practitioners, data users, and the general public. Unless specifically noted all information contained herein is in the public domain.

We strive to make our products available in a variety of formats and in language that is appropriate to a variety of audiences.You, as our customer, are the best judge of our success in communicating information effectively. If you have any comments or suggestions about this or any other NCES product or report, we would like to hear from you. Please direct your comments to:

National Center for Education Statistics Institute of Education Sciences U.S. Department of Education 1990 K Street NW Washington, DC 20006-5651

June 2007

The NCES World Wide Web Home Page address is . The NCES World Wide Web Electronic Catalog is .

Suggested Citation

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). The Condition of Education 2007 (NCES 2007-064). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

For ordering information on this report, write to

U.S. Department of Education ED Pubs P.O. Box 1398 Jessup, MD 20794-1398

or call toll free 1-877-4ED-PUBS or order online at .

Content Contact Michael Planty (202) 502-7312 Michael.Planty@

Commissioner's Statement

Commissioner's Statement

INTRODUCTION

Reliable, accurate, and timely data are necessary to monitor the progress of U.S. education and respond to its opportunities and challenges. To ensure such data are available, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, The Condition of Education. This year's report presents indicators of important developments and trends in U.S. education. These indicators focus on participation and persistence in education, student performance and other measures of achievement, the environment for learning, and resources for education. In addition, this year's volume contains a special analysis that examines changes in student coursetaking in high school using national transcript data from 1982 to 2005. While the analysis focuses on the credit accrual of high school graduates, it also takes a special look at the coursework of high school dropouts and courses taken for college credit.

This statement summarizes the main findings of the special analysis and the 48 indicators that appear in the five following sections. Each indicator discussed is referenced by its number (e.g., indicator 10) in the volume.

SPECIAL ANALYSIS ON HIGH SCHOOL COURSE-

TAKING

To explore the coursetaking patterns and trends of high school students, the special analysis uses national data from two surveys sponsored by NCES: the high school longitudinal transcript studies, which provide information on high school graduates in 1982, 1992, and 2004, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) High School Transcript Studies, which cover the experiences of high school graduates in selected years from 1987 to 2005. Drawing from these sources and others, the analysis reveals that:

Most states have enacted minimum requirements for graduation focusing on the numbers and types of courses that students take in high school, such as the New Basics coursetaking recommendations. A growing number of states also require the passing of "exit exams" that test proficiency or competency in specific subjects.

Between 1982 and 2004, the average number of course credits accrued by high school graduates increased 19 percent, from 21.7 to 25.8 credits. Graduates in 2004, compared with those in 1982, earned an average of 4.3 versus 4.0 credits in English, 3.6 versus 2.7 credits in mathematics, and 3.2 versus 2.2 credits in science.

In 2004, more high school graduates had completed advanced courses in mathematics and science than in 1982-- in particular, in calculus, chemistry I, and physics I. For example, the average number of credits that graduates earned in algebra and more advanced mathematics courses increased from 1.9 to 3.1; in chemistry, from 0.4 to 0.7; and in physics, from 0.2 to 0.4. Graduates also earned more credits in English and foreign languages during this period.

The percentage of students who took Advanced Placement (AP) examinations increased between 1997 and 2005, with the total number of students taking these examinations doubling. Although the average scores in AP examinations have remained relatively stable, there has been a decrease (from 65 to 59 percent) in the percentage of examinations resulting in a qualifying score of 3.0 or more.

Differences in advanced coursetaking by sex and race/ethnicity are evident

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