Economics Not Such a Dismal Science for US High School Students 经济学:美国高中学生不那么伤感的科学

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

How much do American high school students know about economics? A new report shows that seventy-nine percent of twelfth-graders have at least a basic level of understanding.

The results come from testing eleven thousand five hundred students last year in public and private schools.

In fact, students did better in economics than in history or science.

Only forty-seven percent of those tested reached the basic level in history. And fifty-four percent performed at or above the basic level in science.

This is the first time the federal government has measured economic understanding among high school students. The study was done as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, called the Nation's Report Card.

Only one-third of the fifty states require it, but most students these days study some economics in high school. In nineteen eighty-two, forty-nine percent of high school graduates had taken an economics class. By two thousand five it was sixty-six percent.

The study rated understanding at three levels: basic, proficient and advanced. Forty-two percent of students reached the proficient level. Three percent tested at the highest achievement level.

Students received a score with a point value between zero and three hundred. The report says male students scored an average of four points higher than female students. And students from schools in large cities did not do as well as those from other places.

Students answered questions in three major areas: market economy and national and international economy.

Seventy-two percent could describe the risks and possible rewards of leaving a job for more education. Fifty-two percent knew what happens to money deposited in banks. But only eleven percent understood how changes in the unemployment rate affect pay, spending and production.

The next economics testing will take place in two thousand twelve.

So what does happen to most of the money deposited in checking accounts at a commercial bank? A) It is used to pay the bank's expenses. B) It is loaned to other bank customers. C) It is kept in the bank's vault until depositors withdraw the funds. Or, D) It is paid to owners of the bank as return on their investment.

The correct answer: B) It is loaned to other bank customers.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. For a link to the full report, including other sample questions, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Mario Ritter.

这里是VOA特别英语经济报道。

美国的高中生对经济了解多少？一个新调查显示79%的十二年级学生具有基本的了解的水平。调查的结果来自去年对11500名公立和私立学校学生的测试。事实上，学生们学习经济比历史和科学学得还要好。接受测试的学生中，只有47%达到了历史（学科）的基本水平。54%的达到或超过科学（学科）的基本水平。

这是联邦政府首次测试高中学生的经济认知（程度）。该研究是作为国家教育进展评估的一部分，叫做国家报告卡。五十个州中只有三分之一要求了这个测试，但大多数高中生在校会学习经济。在1982年49%的高中生有经济课程。到2005年，是66%。

研究从三个层次理评估理解能力,基本，专业，高级。42%的学生达到了专业水平。3%达到了最高成就水平。学生们的水平用0到300之间的分值评估。报告显示，男生比女生的平均分高四分。来自大城市的学校的学生也没有其他地区的学生做的好。

学生们从三个方面回答问题：市场经济、本国经济和世界经济。72%的学生可以描述辞职深造所胆的风险和可能的回报。52%理解钱存到银行里会怎样。只有11%的学生知道失业率的变化对收入、支出和生产的影响。

下一次测试将在2012年进行。

被存入商业银行活期储蓄的大多数钱会怎么样？

A．用于支付银行的花费

B．贷款给其他客户

C．一直储存在银行里直到储户取走它

D．作为银行老板投资的回报

正确的答案是B。钱被借给了其他客户。

以上VOA特别英语经济报道，由南希·斯坦芭撰稿。链连报告书全文，包括其他样本的问题，请点击voaspecialenglish.com。我是马里奥·里特。