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Do Schools Challenge Our Students?
What Student Surveys Tell Us Aboutthe State of Education in the United States
Ulrich Boser and Lindsay Rosenthal July 10, 2012
www.americanprogress.org
T H e a  s  s  o c i   a T e  d  p r e  s  s  /   s T e p H a n   s a v  oi   a 
 
intrutn n ummry | www.mernrgre.rg1
Introduction and summary
 You migh hink ha he naion’s eenagers are drowning in schoolwork. Imageso sullen sudens buried in exbooks oen grace he covers o popular paren-ing magazines, while well-heeled suburban eenagers oen complain hey have o work he hours o a corporae lawyer in order o nish heir school projecs andhomework assignmens. Bu when we recenly examined a ederal survey o su-dens in elemenary and high schools around he counry, we ound he opposie:Many sudens are no being challenged in school.Consider, or insance, ha 37 percen o ourh- graders say ha heir mah work is oo easy. More han a hird o high-school seniors repor ha hey hardly ever wrie abou wha hey read in class. In a compeiive global economy where hemasery o science is increasingly crucial, 72 percen o eighh-grade sciencesudens say he aren’ being augh engineering and echnology, according o ouranalysis o a ederal daabase.Tese ndings come a a key ime. Researchers increasingly believe ha sudensurveys can provide imporan insighs ino a eacher’s eeciveness. When he Bill& Melinda Gaes Foundaion released ndings rom heir Measures o Eeciveeaching (ME) Projec in 2011, hey ound ha suden eedback was a ar beterpredicor o a eacher’s perormance han more radiional indicaors o success suchas wheher a eacher had a maser’s degree or no. Te mouning evidence on heimporance o suden surveys has also been shaping policy a he sae and locallevel, and a variey o groups dedicaed o he improvemen o eaching—such ashe New eacher Projec, a nonpro ha works o advance policies and praciceso ensure eecive eaching in every classroom—have been incorporaing sudensurveys ino heir eacher evaluaion and cericaion process.
1
Given he signicance o his growing body o research on suden surveys, weexamined one o he riches sources o naional suden survey daa and con-duced an analysis o he background surveys o he Naional Assessmen o Educaional Progress.
2
Known as he Naion’s Repor Card, hese assessmens are
 
2center fr amern prgre | d shl chllenge our stuent?
adminisered every wo years by he Naional Cener or Educaion Saisics. Welooked specically a he suden quesionnaire, which collecs suden-reporedinormaion on demographics and classroom experiences.In reviewing he daa, we examined a number o issues ha rack curren debaesover educaion policy and research. Given he recen debaes over academic san-dards, or insance, we looked closely a issues o rigor and suden expecaions. Dosudens hink ha hey are being challenged enough? Do eachers engage sudensin deep learning opporuniies? We were also ineresed in issues o access since su-dens provide an imporan, classroom-eye view o he resources ha are available ohem. Are all sudens being given access o he ypes o learning opporuniies hahey need o be prepared or college and he modern workplace? Are hose resourcesdisribued airly among dieren ypes o sudens and schools? Among our ndings:
•
Many schools are not challenging students and large percentages of studentsreport that their school work is “too easy.”
 
3
I sudens are going o succeed inhe compeiive global economy, hey need o be exposed o a rigorous curricu-lum. Bu many sudens believe heir class work is oo easy. weny-nine perceno eighh-grade mah sudens naionwide, or insance, repor ha heir mah work is oen or always oo easy.
4
In some saes like Virginia, nearly a hird o middle-school sudens repored heir work was oen or always oo easy.Tis nding was consisen across grades and subjec mater. We ound ha 51percen o eighh-grade civics sudens and 57 percen o eighh-grade hisory sudens repor ha heir work is oen or always oo easy. Elemenary schoolsudens also revealed ha hey aren’ being challenged by heir mah work—37percen o ourh-grade sudens repored ha heir mah work is oen or alwaysoo easy. Among high school sudens, 21 percen o 12
h-
graders said heir mah work was oen or always oo easy, while 56 percen and 55 percen respecively ound heir civics and hisory work oen or always oo easy.
•
Many students are not engaged in rigorous learning activities.
 Almos a hirdo eighh-grade sudens repor reading ewer han ve pages a day eiher in schoolor or homework. Ta’s below wha many expers recommend or sudens inmiddle school.
5
Eighh-grade sudens across he counry also repor ha hey rarely wrie lenghy answers o reading quesions on ess: approximaely one-hirdo sudens wrie long answers on reading ess wice per year or less.

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