Humanities Indicators Project Releases Updated Data

Humanities Indicators, a project from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, released updated data for three indicators today.
The highlights found below were shared in an email newsletter today that’s also available on the web.

Reading to Young Children by Family Members

• As of 2012, almost 83% of young children (ages 3–5) were being read to by a family member.

Performance on SAT Verbal/Critical Reading and Writing Exams

• Average scores on SAT reading and writing exams fell to historic lows in 2015.

• Male students receive a higher average score on the SAT verbal test, while women receive a higher average score on the writing exam.

• The difference in average verbal SAT score between whites and most racial/ethnic minority groups is more pronounced than the gap between the genders. The gap between the performance of white and African American students is the most pronounced (almost 100 points in 2015).

• Asian-American students outperformed white students on the 2015 writing exam.

Advanced Placement Exams Taken in the Humanities

• In 2015, a record number of students took Advanced Placement exams in humanities subjects, with a majority earning passing score.

• More AP exams were taken in English language and literature than in any other subject, with 5.7 English exams taken for every 100 high school students.

• The number of AP history exams taken per 100 students increased approximately 300% from 1996 to 2015 (to 5.3 per 100).

Direct to Humanities Indicators Website

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