THE BATTALION
MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1978
Page 7
? I Education
Basic skills weak in Texas
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United Press International
AUSTIN — A $1 million study by the Texas Education Agency
shows students in Texas public schools demonstrate “distressingly
low performance” on tests designed to measure mastery of basic read
ing and mathematics skills.
Achievement levels are particularly low among minorities and stu
dents in the state’s seven largest school districts, educators said Fri
day. Test performance was noticeably lower among students in the
largest urban districts and small rural districts. Suburban districts’
students scored better than students in other city school and nonmet
ropolitan areas. ^
“We don’t know the reasons why,” said Charles Nix, associate
commissioner for planning and accreditation. He said further study is
needed to determine why certain groups score poorly and how educa
tion programs need to be changed to help them learn.
According to the study only 13 percent of sixth graders have 12
percent minimal math skills. For blacks the figure is 4 percent, for
Mexican Americans 6 percent.
Among 11th graders, 32 percent demonstrate mastery of essential
everyday mathematic skills such as the ability to add fractions or use a
map scale to determine distances. For blacks the figure is 9 percent,
for Mexican Americans 22 percent.
In reading, only 33 percent of sixth graders and 43 percent of 11th
graders have mastered fundamental vocabulary and comprehension
skills. Among blacks researchers reported 13 percent of sixth graders
and 18 percent of 11th graders meet minimal skill levels. For Mexi
can Americans the figure was 21 percent and 22 percent respectively.
Researchers also found significant declines in scores of children'
who watch a lot of television, come from low income families, do not
speak English at home or have access to few reading materials at
home. Also, males scored poorer than females, especially among sixth
graders.
Educators said further study is necessary to determine reasons for
the difference and develop remedial programs to help students reach
minimal skill levels.
Researchers tested 110,000 students at 2,234 schools in April and
May for competency in skills judged essential by Texas educators and
for comparison with performance of students in national tests scores.
Results of math and reading tests administered to 60,000 sixth and
11th graders were reported to the State Board of Education Friday.
Scores on writing and citizenship tests will be announced Nov. 11. 1
Texas students are achieving in mathematics and reading very
nearly like their counterparts in the nation as a whole,” Chairman Joe
Kelly Butler of Houston said. “Some Texas students, like their coun
terparts in other states, are not achieving satisfactorily. Distressingly
low performance of some students is present in all types of school
districts.”
Butler noted, however, that many Texas students are achieving
above the national average, including students from all types of
school districts across the state.
This tells us that public school education in Texas is basically
sound,” Butler said.
Nix cautioned that the statistics represent general standings of stu
dents and are not intended to gauge the performance of individual
school districts.
Education Commissioner M. L. Brockette said the so called “essen
tial objectives” measured in the tests represent skills Texas educators
feel all students should achieve — not competencies aimed at college
preparation.
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Public schools undermined
United Press International
CHICAGO — The most serious obstacle to good education in
public schools is the large number of “functional illiterates” who
graduate from colleges each year to become teachers, a leading
educator says.
Max Rafferty, former superintendent of public instruction in
California, said Friday many public school children are unable to
read, write and do simple arithmetic, because their teachers are
unable to teach the basics.
Speaking to 1,600 educators at the seventh annual convention of
the American Association of Christian Schools, he said a shift toward
relevance and more liberal teaching methods in the last two decades
has undermined the entire public education system.
Rafferty, now dean of the School of Education at Troy University in
Alabama and the author of several books on basic education, said
private schools offer a better basic education because parents have
more input than in public schools.
Rafferty predicted it will be at least 12 years befor public schools
return to quality basic education.
“The push is starting now,” he said. “But it takes 12 years to put a
student through our schools.”
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World productivity called solution
Energy executive blasts president
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A director of the U.S. National
Committee World Energy Confer
ence criticized the Garter administ
ration’s energy policy proposals
here last week and painted a grim
picture of future energy production
in the United States.
Howard Boyd, chairman and
chief policy officer of a multi-billion
dollar energy corporation in Hous
ton told a Texas A&M University
audience that energy problems that
will confront the nation in 10 years
are his problems now.
He said productivity is the an
swer.
Boyd, who deals extensively with
worldwide energy for the El Paso
Co., repeateldy took the Carter
energy policy to task.
The president’s solution to the
energy problem is suspect from the
start, he said. It is dependent on
conservation. Conservation is obvi
ously good; on the other hand,
economic stagnation is not suitable
either.
We must move forward with
productivity,” he said.
The success of the 1973 Arab oil
embargo alerted the Arab nations to
the power within their grasp, he
said. Before the embargo. Bond
said, no group on earth had had
more trouble
front.
begin a liquefied natural gas opera
tion in Algeria.
Boyd said the natural gas industry
will not be the one to save the Un
ited States, either.
“How are we going to meet that
demand? The Lord only knows,” he
said. “It won’t come from natural
gas.”
In the last 10 years, the United
States has consumed twice the
amount of gas it has discovered, he
said. LNG holds some potential, but
environmental and regulatory agen
cies are slowing its use, the Houston
executive said.
Boyd said regulation of the sale of
natural gas has created a demand
load that gas industries cannot pos
sibly meet.
Now more than half of America’s
population is somewhat dependent
on natural gas for energy.
“Deregulation is coming,” Boyd
said. “Congress in the last 30 days
has decided to deregulate gas.
“Well, that’s commendable. But
you just can’t turn off the gas sup
ply. The best you can do is phase it
out.”
Energy problems will be here for
some time, he said; the most con
servative estimates state that by the
year 2000, the energy demand will
increase to 75 percent above its pre
sent level.
Boyd was at Texas A&M as part of
the College Business Administra
tion visiting executive speaker
series.
Texas Eastern is offering career opportunities to individuals anxious
to grow with one of the nation’s leading diversified energy com
panies. We are aggressively seeking graduates with the following
degrees.
Petroleum, Engineering—exploration and production, process
engineering, supplemental fuels development.
Accounting—corporate forecasts, financial reports, auditing,
accounting, taxes.
Computer Science—systems engineering, computer systems &
programming.
MBA—corporate planning.
Outstanding pay plus benefits: Insurance plans, stock purchase
and retirement plans plus on-the-job training enhanced by
professional development programs. If you want to be an individual,
not a face in the crowd, we’re your kind of company At Texas Eastern,
people are our greatest asset.
Contact: Texas Eastern
Recruiting
P.O. Box 2521
Houston, Texas 77001
On Campus interviewing October 27,
Placement Office for location.
Engineering. Contact
An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F
le presenting a unified
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ted
But the Israeli situation crys-
talized the Arab goal, Boyd said.
I don t know what the answer is,
hut the problem is not going to go
aw ay, the chairman said. “Just as
important, though, is that the lead
time puts any alternative years
away.”
For example, as long as 13 years
roay be needed to get a nuclear
power plant on line, seven years to
°Pen a coal mine and nine years to
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If you’re a junior or a senior majoring in math, physics or
engineering, the Navy has a program you should know about.
It’s called the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate-
Collegiate Program (NUPOC-C for short) and if you qualify,
you can earn as much as $650 a month right through your
senior year. Then after 16 weeks of Officer Candidate School,
you’ll receive an additional year of advanced technical
education. This would cost you thousands in a civilian school,
but in the Navy, we pay you. And at the end of the year of
training, you’ll receive a $3,000 cash bonus.
It isn’t easy. There are fewer than 400 openings and only
one of every six applicants will be selected. But if you make
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in private industry should you decide to leave the Navy
later. (But we don’t think you’ll want to.)
Ask your placement officer to set up an interview with a
Navy representative when he visits the campus on Oct. 17-19,
or contact your Navy representative at 713-224-5897 (collect).
If you prefer, send your resume to the Navy Nuclear Officer
Program, Code 312-B537, 4015 Wilson Blvd., Arlington,
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The NUPOC-Collegiate Program. It can do more than help
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