The Nation - News from Jan. 15, 1989

Warning that the competitive status of the United States is at stake, a group of educators urged U.S. colleges to coax more business and science majors and less-affluent students to take part in study-abroad programs. The Council on International Educational Exchange said colleges should encourage students to attend schools in Latin America, Asia and Africa, and not just England or other Western countries. Fewer than 5% of U.S. college students, or about 50,000, study abroad each year, while about 350,000 foreign students attend U.S. schools, the council said. The report said that only 3% of U.S. high school graduates and 5% of college graduates have proficiency in a second language, that 33 states do not require foreign language study in high school and that 34 states do not require world history in high school.