Issue 33, Fall 2007

William A. McEachern, Editor

High School Economics

The share of students taking an economics course in high school increased from 49% in 1982 to 66% in 2005. Another 22% in 2005 took courses that included economics, such as business, personal finance, or some combination course. Only 12% took no courses with an economics component.

For more than three decades the National Assessment of Educational Progress has tested elementary and secondary students in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and other subjects to develop objective information about performance at the national, state, and local level. For the first time, a test in economics was administered to twelfth graders in 2006. The results were just reported. Achievement levels are based on what a panel of economists and educators decided students should know and be able to do. Based on a nationally representative sample of 11,500 twelfth graders from 590 public and nonpublic high schools, 21% scored below what was considered to be a "basic" level, 37% were at a "basic" level, 39% were "proficient," and 3% were "advanced."

The share of males and females scoring below the basic level was about the same at 21%, but 34% of males scored at the basic level versus 41% of females; 41% of males scored at the proficient level, versus 36% of females; and 4% of males scored at the advanced level, versus 2% of females.

Among students who had at least one parent who was a college graduate, 13% scored below the basic level, 33% were at the basic level, 49% were proficient, and 5% were advanced. Among students with neither parent graduating from high school, 42% scored below basic, 40% were basic, 16% were proficient, and less than 1% were advanced. Thus, among those with at least one college graduate parent, 54% were proficient or advanced—more than triple the 17% among students without a high school graduate parent.

In other demographic breakouts, 13% of whites, 43% of blacks, and 36% of Hispanics scored below the basic level (here, white and black groupings exclude those of Hispanic origin). Thirty-six percent of whites, 41% of blacks, and 43% of Hispanics were at the basic level; 47% of whites, 15% of blacks, and 20% of Hispanics were proficient; and 4% of whites and less than 1% of blacks and Hispanics were advanced. For the complete report, go to http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2006/2007475.pdf.

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