The Centers for Disease Control gives American schools generally good grades for teaching sex education, but federal health officials see plenty of room for improvement.
by Karen
Kaplan | LA Times | http://lat.ms/1RM1zNw
Dec 9, 2015
:: American high schools got
generally good marks for their teaching of topics related to sex education, but
there are still many areas in need of improvement, according to a new report
card from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Across the country, 94% of high schools taught students
the benefits of abstaining from sex, 88% explained why less is more when it
comes to the number of sexual partners, and 92% discussed how family members,
friends and the culture at large influence their sexual behaviors. In addition,
95% of schools explained to ninth- through 12th-graders how sexual transmitted diseases are spread and the health
consequences of an STD infection, while 85% of schools
taught students how to get products and services to help them prevent STDs and
pregnancy.
High schools were less eager to give students specific
information about condoms. For instance, 70% explained why it was important to
use condoms correctly and consistently, 60% told students how to get condoms,
and 54% demonstrated how to use them correctly.
“We need to do a better job of giving our young people
the skills and knowledge they need to protect their own health,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, who oversees the CDC’s HIV and STD prevention efforts, said in a statement.
Sex is often a taboo subject in schools, but public
health officials say it’s essential to teach students how to reduce their risk
of getting HIV and other STDs. There’s certainly evidence that many of them are
in the dark – of the nearly 20 million new sexually transmitted infections
reported each year, almost half are diagnosed in teens and young adults in
their early 20s, CDC data show.
Accurate and specific sex education classes can also
reduce teen pregnancy, which makes girls much more likely to drop
out of school and sets their children on a path toward worse health and lower
achievement.
“Lack of effective sex education can have very real, very
serious health consequences,” Dr.
Stephanie Zaza, director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health,
said in a statement. “Young people who have multiple sex partners,
don’t use condoms, and use drugs or alcohol before sex are at higher risk for
HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. School-based sex education is a
critical opportunity to provide the skills and information they need to protect
themselves.”
Some states got higher grades for sex education than
others. Three states – Delaware, New Hampshire and New Jersey – scored 100% for
teaching the benefits of abstinence, and another 15 states scored at least 95%.
But only 56% of Arizona schools explained the value of abstinence, as did a
mere 60% of schools in Alaska.
Similarly, only two states – New Jersey and Vermont – had
more than 90% of high schools teach students how to use condoms. In two other
states – Arizona and South Dakota – less than one-third of schools did so.
Overall, only 46% of American high schools covered all 16
topics related to preventing pregnancy, HIV and other STDs that government
health experts say are essential.
Middle schools got lower grades than high schools,
according to the CDC report card. Nationwide, 77% of sixth-, seventh- and
eighth-graders learned the benefits of abstinence and 75% were told how STDs
are spread. Only 27% of middle school students got information about where to
get condoms and 23% learned how to use them correctly.
The grades were published Wednesday in the CDC’s latest
edition of its School
Health Profiles report, which is based on survey data collected once every
two years.
2014 Profiles Report[PDF
- 5 MB]
Full report of the 2014 Profiles, including methods, short-term and long-term changes over time, and results.
2014 State Profiles results illustrated on U.S. maps PDF | PPT
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