Attitudes and Behaviors of American Youth - Appraising Schools

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that in 2002 a little more than one-third (37.7%) of high school seniors rated the nation's public schools as "good" or "very good," a higher approval rating than the nation's public schools had had in twelve years. (See Table 11.2.) Students believed that colleges and universities were doing a better job; 69.4% of high school seniors approved of colleges and universities.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), twelfth graders reported a declining interest in school between the years 1983 and 2000. In 1983 40.2% of high school seniors said their schoolwork was "often or always meaningful," but only 28.5% gave the same response in 2000. (See Table 11.3.) The proportion of high school seniors who said most of their courses were "quite or very interesting" dropped from 34.6% in 1983 to 21.2% in 2000, and the percentage of students who said what they were learning in school will be "quite or very important later in life" also declined. Moreover, students became more likely to find their school courses "very or slightly dull"—31.9% gave this response in 2000 compared with only 19.8% in 1983. The Horatio Alger Association found in its annual survey State of Our Nation's Youth, 2004–2005 that high schoolers would give their schools only a 2.9 grade point average (GPA)—the equivalent of a B-minus.

Despite the declining interest in school, the amount of effort expended on schoolwork by high school seniors did not change significantly between 1990 and 2000. The proportion of seniors who said they "often or always try to do their best work" remained between 61% and 66%. Those who reported they "seldom or never fail to complete and hand in school assignments" remained steady at about 60%, and the proportion of those who said they "seldom or never" fool around in class remained at about 35%. The Horatio Alger Association survey found that most students (60%) only do about one to five hours of homework per week; 26% do six to ten hours per week; and 11% do eleven or more hours per week.