Child and Youth Wellbeing

Child and Youth Well-Being Is Up
Return to Individual Wellbeing

Why do our successful efforts to support children
go unrecognized in the rush for EVEN MORE attention.

1) Children are Safer

2) Child Health Insurance Works

3) Education Better But Press Misleads

4) Poverty is Down

5) Other Successes and A Failures

See Economic Future Of Our Children

Updated 2/28/23 Please link to and Share!

1) Children are Safer	2) Child Health Insurance Works	5) Successes and A Failures
Source See More Historical Data	CHIP enrolled 8,129,425 2/14 "From 1997 when CHIP was enacted to 2012, the uninsured rate for children fell by half, from 14% to 7%. Medicaid and CHIP have helped to reduce disparities in coverage that affect low-income children and children of color" It's important to note that not all uninsured parents will qualify for these plans, but most children will. And now insurance companies can't set lifetime caps on coverage, which previously could mean that sick kids lost benefits when they needed them the most." Source See Health Problems Solved Before the ACA only about 12 percent of the health care plans sold in the individual market offered maternity coverage, and women paid about $1 billion more than men each year for identical health plans in the individual market.	99.8% Missing Children Return 90% of missing children have simply misunderstood directions or plans, are lost, or have run away. 9% are kidnapped by a family member in a custody dispute. 3% are by non-family crime and crime related. 100 or so are the stereotypical stranger abductions heard on the news and about half come home source
Teen Homicide-Suicide and Firearm Deaths Better Over Time Scores	See Dying at Every Age	An Old Problem Deserves More Attention Childtrends.org/indicators/bullying/ has more data.
Schools Safer Than in-1990's
4) Poverty Down Source	See Health Problems Solved
BUT Source

3) Education Better But Press Misleads

The NAEP long-term trend assessments have monitored student progress in reading and mathematics for nationally representative samples of 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds since the early 1970s. Results from the 2012 assessments show the following:

Compared to the first assessment in 1971 for reading and in 1973 for mathematics, scores were higher in 2012 for 9- and 13-year-olds and not significantly different for 17-year-olds.

In both reading and mathematics at all three ages, Black students made larger gains from the early 1970s than White students.

Hispanic students made larger gains from the 1970s than White students in reading at all three ages and in mathematics at ages 13 and 17.

Female students have consistently outscored male students in reading at all three ages, but the gender gap narrowed from 1971 to 2012 at age 9.

At ages 9 and 13, the scores of male and female students were not significantly different in mathematics, but the gender gap in mathematics for 17-year-olds narrowed in comparison to 1973.

http://krusekronicle.typepad.com/kruse_kronicle/2008/02/infant-mortalit.html#.V1MQ9JXD_Dd

Trend in NAEP reading average scores for 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students

Trend in NAEP mathematics average scores for 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students - see complete data links below for full data in table format.

See complete data for age 9, age 13, and age 17.

Trend in NAEP mathematics average scores for 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students

Trend in NAEP reading average scores for 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students< - see complete data links below for full data in table format.

See complete data for age 9, age 13, and age 17.

**Test** **Results at a Glance**

Changes in NAEP reading average scores and score gaps for 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students, by selected characteristics: various years
Characteristics	Subgroups	Score changes from 1973			Score changes from 2008
Characteristics	Subgroups	Age 9	Age 13	Age 17	Age 9	Age 13	Age 17
All students	All students	13	8			3
Race/ethnicity	White	15	9	4
	Black	36	24	30
	Hispanic	25	17	21		7
Gender	Male	17	9	4
Gender	Female	10	6			3
Score gaps	White – Black	Narrowed	Narrowed	Narrowed
	White – Hispanic	Narrowed	Narrowed	Narrowed		Narrowed
	Male – Female	Narrowed
	v Indicates score was higher in 2012 Indicates no significant change in 2012. http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ltt_2012/summary.aspxv

Changes in NAEP mathematics average scores and score gaps for 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students, by selected characteristics: various years
Characteristics	Subgroups	Score changes from 1973			Score changes from 2008
Characteristics	Subgroups	Age 9	Age 13	Age 17	Age 9	Age 13	Age 17
All students	All students	25	19			4
Race/ethnicity	White	27	19	4
	Black	36	36	18
	Hispanic	32	32	17
Gender	Male	26	21
Gender	Female	24	17	3		5
Score gaps	White – Black	Narrowed	Narrowed	Narrowed
	White – Hispanic		Narrowed	Narrowed
	Male – Female			Narrowed
Indicates score was higher in 2012 Indicates no significant change in 2012.

Why Don't Graduates Work?

See Evaluating U.S. Education

³Health Problems Solved
1902 Scarlet Fever deaths peaked at close to 5,000 and then slowly dropped thanks to penicillin.
1905 Last Yellow Fever epidemic killed 20 in US as misquote control eliminated cause. 1936 vaccine ended disease.
1916 Measles 12,000 mostly children died. Vaccine finally eliminated most cases by early 1980's.
1918 Spanish Flu 500,000 died in US. This could have been the cause of the post WW 1 recession.
1921 Diphtheria 206,000 cases, 15,520 deaths, mostly children died.
1943 Penicillin 1,000,000 lives be saved during the 20th century.
1953 Polio 57,628 cases with 21,000 paralyzed Vaccine followed and Polio is now about gone.
1957-58 Asian Flu 70,000 died in US.
1968-69 Hong Kong Flu 34,000 died in US.
1973 US ends Conscription
1985-95+ AIDS killed ten to twenty thousand per year in 1970's. Annual deaths peaked at 41,699 in mid 1990's
and then they quickly dropped due to super drug development and availability. Total US deaths were 658,507.
2011 TB From a 50% kill rate in 1900 cases dropped from 86,304 in 1959 the first year of data availability to 10,528 in 2011. 529 died in 2009.

By the 1960's Measles, Mumps, Rubella and a 1995 Chicken Pox vaccines made childhood safer and more enjoyable
Return to Top as did seat belts, infant safety seats, bicycle safety helmets, and 1962 began the era of government sponsored child protective services.

99.8% Missing Children Return