Education in Middle Childhood

Only 20 years ago, gender differences in education around the world were stark, with far fewer girls in school than boys. Now girls have almost caught up. However, many of today's children suffer from decades of past educational inequality: Recent data finds that the best predictor of childhood health is an educated mother.

Worldwide Primary School Enrollment, 1978-2018

This graph shows net enrollment rate, which is the ratio of enrolled school-age children to the population of children who are the same school age. Progress toward university education and gender equity is evident.

The approximate data from the accompanying bar graph reads as follows:

• 1978: Girls 65%, Boys 81%
• 1988: Girls 78%, Boys 83%
• 1998: Girls 79%, Boys 82%
• 2008: Girls 85%, Boys 90%
• 2018: Girls 85%, Boys 90%

Data from World Bank, 2019.

Worldwide concerns now focus less on the existence of school and more on its quality. International tests usually find the United States is middling. Improvements are evident, but many other nations have improved even more!

Worldwide, Basic Elementary Education Leads To:

• Less
  • child and maternal mortality
  • transmission of HIV
  • early marriage and childbirth
  • war
• More
  • better paying jobs
  • agricultural productivity
  • use of medical care
  • voting

Information from Hanusheck & Woessmann, 2007.

How U.S. Fourth-Graders are Doing

Primary school enrollment is high in the United States, but not every student is learning, as these percentages from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show. While numbers are improving, less than half of fourth-graders are proficient in math and reading.

NAEP Proficiency Levels for U.S. Fourth-graders

Two pie charts depict the proficiency levels for U.S. fourth-graders. In mathematics, 40 percent are proficient or better, 40 percent have a basic understanding, and 20 percent are below basic level. In reading, 37 percent are proficient or better, 33 percent have a basic understanding, and 30 percent are below basic level.

Data from National Center for Education Statistics, 2018.

Change in Average NAEP Scores for Fourth-graders

A bar graph shows the change in average NAEP scores for fourth graders in 1990, 2013, and 2017. In math, there was an increase of 27 points and in reading an increase of 5 points.

Data from National Center for Education Statistics, 2018.