EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS

After rising steadily for almost a century, standards of education in

the public schools of Europe and North America have come to a
standstill. In fact, in the opinion of many parents and employers, they
are actually falling. More and more children are leaving school at an
5 early age. Naturally, they have very little knowledge of reading and
writing. Thus, the number of illiterate people is increasing, bringing
about a social problem once again. With dropout rates of twenty-seven
per cent in high schools and fifty per cent in colleges, the American
education system is clearly in trouble. In Europe, the number of
10 children who leave school is going up too, though lower than that in
the United States.
There are various factors that cause the decrease in educational
standards. Some people say that overcrowding and lack of discipline
are major factors. Others say that much importance has been given to
15 subjects like art and drama. However, more practical subjects have
been neglected. For many teachers, on the other hand, the problem is
not of falling standards but of rising expectations of parents and
employers. According to these teachers, the demands of parents and
employers are getting higher and this is causing the problem.
20 Whether or not standards in public schools are actually falling,
many parents feel that the only way to secure a good education for
their children is to send them to private schools, which generally have
smaller classes and stricter discipline. The popularity of such schools
is growing steadily, despite the high tuition. In the United States, for
25 example, eleven per cent of all school children attend private schools;
in Europe, over sixteen per cent do so.
A. Mark the best choice.
1. Line 6, 'illiterate' means .
a) leaving school at an early age
b) having very little knowledge of reading and writing
c) becoming an increasing social problem
2. Line 7, 'dropout rates' are .
a) the number of illiterate people
b) a decreasing rate of school leavers
c) the number of children leaving school