One educational prescription often heard is to reduce the number of students per teacher. But analysts point out that class sizes are smaller these days and student test scores are still on the way down.

These trends are confirmed by data from the National Center for Education Statistics:

• In the 1970s, there was an average of 22.4 students assigned to every teacher in public and private schools.

• The figure projected for 1996 comes in nearly 25 percent lower -- 17.1 students per teacher.

• The same declining trend has held true for teen-age students over the years, with the number of teen students per teacher two to three less than the overall average.

• Meanwhile, average scores of college-bound students taking the Scholastic Assessment Test have declined about 3 percent since the early 1970s.

Critics point out that the decline accompanied adjustments in the SAT over the years to make the tests easier and the decline look less severe.