2022年10月25日 VOA慢速英語：美國的考試成績在 COVID 之后出現(xiàn)“歷史性”下降

 
Students across the United States have had "historic" drops in math and reading test scores since the start of the pandemic.
自大流行開始以來，美國各地的學(xué)生的數(shù)學(xué)和閱讀考試成績出現(xiàn)了“歷史性”下降。
 
Across the country, math scores saw their largest decreases ever. Reading scores dropped to 1992 levels. Nearly four in 10 eighth graders failed to understand basic math ideas. Not a single state saw any improvement.
在全國范圍內(nèi)，數(shù)學(xué)成績出現(xiàn)了有史以來最大的降幅。閱讀分數(shù)下降到 1992 年的水平。近十分之四的八年級學(xué)生未能理解基本的數(shù)學(xué)概念。沒有一個州有任何改善。
 
Those are the findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — also known as the "nation's report card."
這些是國家教育進步評估 (NAEP) 的調(diào)查結(jié)果——也稱為“國家成績單”。
 
Hundreds of thousands of fourth and eighth graders across the U.S. took the test earlier this year. It was the first time the test had been administered since 2019. The result is seen as the first nationally representative study of the pandemic's effect on learning.
今年早些時候，美國有數(shù)十萬四年級和八年級學(xué)生參加了考試。這是自 2019 年以來首次進行該測試。該結(jié)果被視為關(guān)于大流行對學(xué)習(xí)影響的第一項具有全國代表性的研究。
 
"It is a serious wakeup call for us all," Peggy Carr, an official with the National Center for Education Statistics of the Education Department said. "In NAEP, when we experience a 1- or 2-point decline, we're talking about it as a significant impact on a student's achievement. In math, we experienced an 8-point decline — historic for this assessment," she said.
“這對我們所有人來說都是一個嚴重的警鐘，”教育部國家教育統(tǒng)計中心的官員佩吉卡爾說。“在 NAEP 中，當我們經(jīng)歷 1 或 2 分的下降時，我們將其視為對學(xué)生成績的重大影響。在數(shù)學(xué)方面，我們經(jīng)歷了 8 分的下降——對于這次評估來說是歷史性的，”她說.
 
Researchers usually consider a 10-point gain or drop as comparable to about one school year of learning. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said it is a sign that schools need to work much harder to help students recover.
研究人員通常認為 10 分的增長或下降相當于大約一學(xué)年的學(xué)習(xí)。教育部長米格爾·卡多納（Miguel Cardona）表示，這表明學(xué)校需要更加努力地幫助學(xué)生康復(fù)。
 
"Let me be very clear: these results are not acceptable," Cardona said.
“讓我非常清楚：這些結(jié)果是不可接受的，”卡多納說。
 
Declines across all groups
所有組均下降
 
The NAEP test is usually given every two years. It was taken between January and March by students in every state and the nation's largest school systems. Test scores did not show any progress even before the pandemic. But the latest scores show decreases at levels not seen before.
NAEP 測試通常每兩年進行一次。它是在 1 月至 3 月期間由每個州和全國最大的學(xué)校系統(tǒng)的學(xué)生參加的。即使在大流行之前，測試成績也沒有顯示任何進展。但最新的分數(shù)顯示出前所未有的水平下降。
 
In both math and reading, students scored lower than those tested in 2019. But while reading scores decreased, math scores sharply dropped by the largest amount in the history of the NAEP, which began in 1969.
在數(shù)學(xué)和閱讀方面，學(xué)生的得分均低于 2019 年的考試成績。但在閱讀成績下降的同時，數(shù)學(xué)成績急劇下降，創(chuàng)下 1969 年開始的 NAEP 歷史上的最大降幅。
 
Math scores were worst among eighth graders, with 38 percent earning scores judged as "below basic." That is lower than in 2019 when 31 percent of eighth graders scored below basic.
八年級學(xué)生的數(shù)學(xué)成績最差，38% 的學(xué)生的收入分數(shù)被判定為“低于基礎(chǔ)”。這低于 2019 年，當時 31% 的八年級學(xué)生得分低于基本標準。
 
Every part of the country saw test scores fall, and every state saw declines in at least one subject. Several major school systems saw test scores fall by more than 10 points. Schools in Cleveland, Ohio saw the largest single drop, falling 16 points in fourth-grade reading, along with a 15-point decline in fourth-grade math.
該國每個地區(qū)的考試成績都在下降，每個州都至少有一門科目出現(xiàn)下降。幾個主要的學(xué)校系統(tǒng)的考試成績下降了 10 多分。俄亥俄州克利夫蘭的學(xué)校單次跌幅最大，四年級閱讀下降 16 分，四年級數(shù)學(xué)下降 15 分。
 
"This is more confirmation that the pandemic hit us really hard," said Eric Gordon, head of the Cleveland school system. To help students recover, the school system has added summer school and after-school tutoring.
克利夫蘭學(xué)校系統(tǒng)負責(zé)人埃里克·戈登（Eric Gordon）說：“這更加證實了大流行對我們的打擊非常嚴重。” 為了幫助學(xué)生康復(fù)，學(xué)校系統(tǒng)增加了暑期學(xué)校和課后輔導(dǎo)。
 
Educators are concerned, however, about the widening divide among different groups of students. Black and Hispanic students saw bigger decreases than white students in fourth grade. And scores fell most sharply among the lowest-performing students as compared to the others.
然而，教育者擔(dān)心不同學(xué)生群體之間日益擴大的鴻溝。在四年級時，黑人和西班牙裔學(xué)生的降幅大于白人學(xué)生。與其他學(xué)生相比，表現(xiàn)最差的學(xué)生的分數(shù)下降幅度最大。
 
Alberto Carvalho is head of the Los Angeles, California school system and serves on the National Assessment Governing Board. The board decides policy for the NAEP. Carvalho said the recent test results show that schools must deal with the "long-standing and systemic shortcomings of our education system."
Alberto Carvalho 是加利福尼亞州洛杉磯學(xué)校系統(tǒng)的負責(zé)人，并在國家評估管理委員會任職。董事會決定 NAEP 的政策?？ㄍ呗哉f，最近的測試結(jié)果表明，學(xué)校必須解決“我們教育系統(tǒng)長期存在的系統(tǒng)性缺陷”。
 
"While the pandemic was a blow to schools and communities, we cannot use it as an excuse," he said. "We have to stay committed to high standards and expectations and help every child succeed."
他說：“雖然大流行對學(xué)校和社區(qū)造成了打擊，但我們不能以此為借口。” “我們必須堅持高標準和期望，幫助每個孩子取得成功。”