VOA教育报道2023 大流行后美国数学、阅读考试成绩继续下降

Math, Reading Test Scores in US Continue to Drop after Pandemic

大流行后美国数学、阅读考试成绩继续下降

The U.S. Department of Education expressed concern about long-term learning¹ loss among teenagers who missed class time during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools closed.

美国教育部对新冠肺炎疫情期间学校停课导致青少年失学造成的长期学习损失表示担忧。

The department released³ the scores from a national math and reading test, given to 13-year-olds, on June 21.

该部门于6月21日公布了13岁学生的全国数学和阅读测试成绩。

Eight thousand seven hundred students took the test in both math and reading in late 2022.

八千七百名学生参加了2022年末的数学和阅读测试。

The results showed a drop of nine points in math and four points in reading compared to 2020, the last year the test was administered⁴. The department's information shows that those are the largest point decreases between tests recorded since 1973.

测试结果显示，与2020年（上次考试时间）相比，数学和阅读分别下降了9分和4分。该部门的数据显示，这是自1973年以来录得的两次测试之间的最大降幅。

The test asks students to read short passages and identify the main idea or some facts. In math, students need to do simple multiplication⁵ and geometry⁶.

测试要求学生阅读短文，并确定大意或一些事实。在数学方面，学生需要做简单的乘法和几何运算。

Peggy G. Carr is the commissioner⁷ of the National Center for Education Statistics⁸, part of the Department of Education. In a news release², she said the scores show that there are still "worrisome signs about student achievement" two years after most returned to in-person school.

佩吉·卡尔是教育部下属的国家教育统计中心的专员。她在一份新闻稿中表示，分数表明在大多数学生重返线下教育两年后，学生成绩仍有“令人担忧的迹象”。

Carr said she was hoping to see "green shoots of academic recovery," but did not. Green shoots is a term officials use to describe signs of improvement⁹.

卡尔说，她希望看到“学术复苏的萌芽”，但是并没有看到。“萌芽”是有关官员用来描述改善迹象的一个术语。

The results of a similar test, given to younger students, came out in 2022. They also showed learning problems connected to missed class time for fourth and eighth graders.

一项针对年轻学生的类似测试的结果于2022年公布。它们也展示了与四年级和八年级学生错过上课时间有关的学习问题。

Education officials said test scores were falling in the 10 years before the pandemic. However, they were mostly higher than the lows of 20 to 30 years ago.

教育官员表示，在疫情爆发前的10年里，考试成绩一直在下降。然而，它们大多高于二三十年前的低点。

The latest test scores show that American 13-year-old students are back to their lowest level in math since 1990 and lowest reading level since 2004.

最新的考试成绩显示，美国13岁学生的数学水平已回到1990年以来的最低水平，阅读水平也回到2004年以来的最低点。

An international reading test given to younger students in 2021 suggested some learning loss. However, the Progress in International Reading Literacy¹⁰ Study showed that most students reached basic reading standards. The test results showed that, of the countries taking part, more than one-third of test-takers reached high standards on average. The test, which is administered every five years, was given in 57 countries, mainly in Europe and the Middle East. There was a big difference in results between some countries.

2021年，一项针对年轻学生的国际阅读测试显示，一些学生出现了学习损失。然而，国际阅读素养研究进展表明，大多数学生达到了基本的阅读标准。测试结果显示，在参加测试的国家中，平均下来有超过三分之一的考生达到了高标准。该测试每五年举办一次，涉及57个学校，主要是在欧洲和中东。一些国家之间的测试结果存在很大差异。

In the U.S., officials say time away from school during the pandemic continues to affect students who were already having problems. Those students scored 12 to 14 points lower than others in their group in 2020. Stronger students also saw lower scores, but their scores dropped only six to eight points.

官员们表示，美国疫情期间离校时间继续影响着已经存在问题的学生。这些学生的得分比2020年同龄学生低12至14分。学霸的分数也有所下降，但他们的分数只下降了六到八分。

Minority students struggled the most. The lowest scores came from American Indians, whose scores dropped by 20 points. Black students' scores were lower by 13 points. White students saw losses of six points and Asian students remained almost the same. The scores of all groups decreased.

少数族裔学生的处境最为艰难。得分最低的是美国印第安人，他们的得分下降了20分。黑人学生的分数下降了13分。白人学生的分数下降了6分，而亚裔学生的分数几乎保持不变。整体分数有所下降。

Denise Forte¹¹ is president of a nonprofit group, the Education Trust, based in Washington, D.C. She said the test shows the deep effect of the pandemic on Black, Latino and poor students.

丹尼斯·福特是总部位于华盛顿特区的非营利组织“教育信托”的主席。她说，这次测试显示了疫情对黑人、拉丁裔和贫困学生的深刻影响。

She said all students want to do well, attend college, and get a job. "But they can't if they continue to lose ground," she said.

她说，所有的学生都想考得好，上大学，然后找份工作。她说：“但如果他们继续成绩退步，他们就无法实现。”

The learning problems of the pandemic continue in the U.S. although the federal¹² government has spent billions of dollars to help students catch up.

尽管联邦政府已花费数十亿美元帮助学生迎头赶上，但疫情带来的学习问题在美国仍在继续。

Schools received money to offer extra help, hold classes in the summer and start other programs.

学校收到了资金用于提供额外帮助、在夏天上课和开办其他课程。

But Carr said the nation's 13-year-olds, who were just 10 when the pandemic started, are still having trouble.

但卡尔表示，美国的13岁青少年在疫情开始时只有10岁，他们仍然有麻烦。

"We need to keep at it," she said. "It is a long road ahead of us."

她说：“我们需要坚持下去，我们还有很长的路要走。”

Miguel Cardona is the U.S. Secretary of Education. He said the national test shows what the government had feared ... that it would take "years of investment¹³ to reverse¹⁴ the damage."

米格尔·卡多纳是美国教育部长。他说，这次全国测试揭露了政府所担忧的需要“数年的投入才能扭转损失。”

But he said "several states" are making progress on their own reading and math tests and are returning to levels that existed before the pandemic.

 

但他表示，有“几个州”在阅读和数学测试方面正在取得进展，并正在恢复到疫情前的水平。

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 release   

vt.发布，发表，发行；释放，放开

参考例句：

• After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
• This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。

3 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

4 administered   

管理( administer的过去式和过去分词 )； 治理（国家）； 给予； 执行

参考例句：

• An oath was administered to the newly elected President. 新当选的总统执行了宣誓手续。
• In summary, all government departments are administered rather differently. 概括地说，各政府部门的管理方式是很不相同的。

5 multiplication   

n.增加，增多，倍增；增殖，繁殖；乘法

参考例句：

• Our teacher used to drum our multiplication tables into us.我们老师过去老是让我们反覆背诵乘法表。
• The multiplication of numbers has made our club building too small.会员的增加使得我们的俱乐部拥挤不堪。

6 geometry   

n.几何，几何学

参考例句：

• The boy puzzled his way through geometry.那男孩煞费苦心地钻研几何学。
• The students are learning solid geometry.这些学生正在学习立体几何学。

7 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

8 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

9 improvement   

n.改进，增进；改进之处，改善的地方

参考例句：

• The doctor noticed a gradual improvement in his patient.医生注意到病人在逐渐恢复健康。
• I can detect signs of improvement in your thinking.我可以察觉出你思考问题方面的进步。

10 literacy   

n.识字，有文化，读写能力

参考例句：

• I can't believe that he failed the literacy test.我无法相信他识字测试不及格。
• The literacy rate there is the highest in Central America.那里的识字率居中美洲之首。

11 forte   

n.长处，擅长；adj.(音乐)强音的

参考例句：

• Her forte is playing the piano.她擅长弹钢琴。
• His forte is to show people around in the company.他最拿手的就是向大家介绍公司。

12 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

13 investment   

n.投资，投资额；(时间、精力等的)投入

参考例句：

• It took two years before I recouped my investment.我用了两年时间才收回投资。
• The success of the project pivots on investment from abroad.这个工程的成功主要依靠外来投资。

14 reverse   

v.推翻，颠倒，反向；n.反面，逆境；adj.反向的

参考例句：

• His answer was just the reverse of what I expected.他的回答正好与我期望的相反。
• Please reverse the positions of two pictures.请把两张图片的位置倒转过来。