美国学生的困扰：数学、阅读呈下降趋势！

 Bad news for America's schools: Student achievement in math and reading is on the decline, according to National Assessment¹ of Education Progress scores released Wednesday.

　　美国学校的坏消息：据周三全美教育进展评估成绩的发布，美国学生数学和阅读成绩呈下降趋势。

　　The National Assessment of Education Progress, or NAEP -- called the Nation's Report Card -- is an exam given to fourth-grade and eighth-grade students throughout the country by the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the U.S. Department of Education. While students' scores have increased overall since the 1990s, results released Wednesday show a slight decline between 2013 and 2015.

　　全美教育进展评估项目——又称国家报告卡——这是由美国教育部分支——国家教育统计中心，给到全国所有四年级和八年级学生的一项考试。20世纪90年代的学生成绩是总体上升的，但是2013-2015年的学生成绩呈下降趋势。

　　Only 36 percent of fourth-grade students and 34 percent of eighth-grade students in 2015 scored high enough to be considered proficient² or above in reading. In math, 40 percent of fourth-grade students and 33 percent of eighth-grade students scored proficient or above.

　　2015年，阅读成绩上，只有36%的四年级学生和34%的八年级学生取得的成绩达到了精通或以上;数学成绩上，有40%的四年级学生和33%的八年级学生所取得的成绩达到了精通或以上。

　　While the 2015 results are disappointing, experts caution that they should not yet be interpreted as a downward trend. Peggy Carr, acting³ commissioner⁴ of NCES said the drop in scores was "an unexpected one. ... This isn’t a pattern that we saw coming."

　　尽管2015年成绩不理想，但专家还是提醒大家，这并不意味着是一个下滑趋势。国家教育统计中心的代理总干事，佩吉·卡尔说成绩下降这一趋势是“没有预料到的...这不是我们所看到的模式。”

　　U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan pushed for caution in interpreting the latest scores on a call with reporters. He also noted⁵ that even though scores dropped in 2015, high school graduation rates have been on the rise.

　　美国教育部长阿恩·邓肯接受记者电话采访时表示，在分析这一成绩趋势时要保持慎重。他也指出，尽管2015年的分数下降了，但是高中毕业率却呈上升趋势。

　　The Common Core State Standards were in their beginning phases of implementation⁶ in many places in 2015, which could have impacted the latest NAEP scores. The Common Core State Standards are a set of new education benchmarks that have been adopted in most states and have overhauled⁷ the wayliteracy and math are taught. Duncan alluded⁸ to this on the call.

　　2015年，核心国家课程标准已经在美国很多地区推行，正处于初步阶段，这在一定程度上会影响到最近的全美教育进展评估成绩。核心国家课程标准是一套已经被大多数州采用，并全面改革读写和数学教育方式的全新教育基准。邓肯在电话中说道。

　　Schools are also educating a more diverse group of students than they have in the past, including more low-income kids and English language learners. But it is unclear how this might be impacting scores.

　　相比过去，如今学校学生构成愈加多元化，有低收入家庭小孩，也有英语学习者。但这些是如何影响评估成绩的还不是很明确。

1 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

2 proficient   

adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家

参考例句：

• She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。
• I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 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。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

7 overhauled   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A mechanic overhauled the car's motor with some new parts. 一个修理工对那辆汽车的发动机进行了彻底的检修，换了一些新部件。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。