>> "teen kids news" is just ahead, and here's what we've got. >> the nation's report card on what we know about history is out, and it's not pretty. >> i'll report on dogs with a special mission and the teens who train them. >> in "speak of the week," we compare ourselves to our parents. >> want to volunteer a guess at the nickname for tennessee? here's a hint. i've already given you the answer. >> in our special report on health professions, you'll see and hear what an audiologist does. >> when you hear a sound, erika, raise your hand. [ beep ]

>> so get ready. "teen kids news" starts right now. >> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm siena. here's this week's top story. >> lauren reports on what american teens know about history -- or maybe i should say what they donknow. [ game-show music plays ] [ crowd cheers ] >> why did the colonists fight to win america's freedom? >> originally it was because of taxation without representation in british parliament. [ crowd cheers ] >> okay, that was an easy one. but a recent test of 8th graders went a little deeper.s they were asked to identify one advantage the colonial forces had over the british in the

american revolution. >> the colonists knew the land much better than the british did, so they had better fighting ground. >> our troops were more motivated. >> and the british were from a country that was away by an ocean. >> all correct. the colonists were fighting on familiar territory. they were fighting to protect their homes and families. and they didn't have to transport supplies over the ocean. while we only showed you the kids who knew the correct answers, two out of three 8th graders across the country couldn't come up with any of these factors. the history test is given everye few years by the national educational assessment project. what's the goal of the test? >> the test was an assessment of how much our students know about our u.s. history at grades 4, 8, and 12 -- everything from the united states constitution to presidents to why certain laws came into play. at very different levels, there are certain questions that are

asked. the 8th graders really were the ones who i would say performed the best, when we consider the 4th and we consider the 12th grade. >> that's because 8th graders' scores improved over the last time the test was given. 4th graders' and 12th graders' did not. in fact, a majority of 12th graders turned in a poor performance. their questions were harder, and their correct answers were fewer. 55% of 12th graders scored below the basic level. what does this show? >> lauren, that's not good news at all. and what does that mean for our 12th graders? it means that we have to find a way to engage our 12th graders in learning u.s. history. we have to make it more important to them.ne so we have a lot of work to do, definitely, at the 12th-grade level. >> there's a famous saying -- those who don't know history are condemned to repeat it. so the lessons of the past are worth learning. for "teen kids news," i'm

lauren. >> we'll be right back with more "teen kids news." >> so don't go away. revlon just bitten. it's a two-in-one lipstain and balm. the lipstain gives me a light flush of color while the moisturizing balm softens my lips. have you ever been bitten? revlon just bitten lipstain and balm.

>> it's amazing what a specially trained dog can do to assist a person with disabilities. felipe reports on a program where teens learn how to transform pets into helpers. >> these dogs are eager to get to school. they're also forming a special bond with their teen trainers.te >> i started playing with dogs and training dogs when i was a young girl. >> a love of dogs and personal experience inspired jill felice to start assistance dogs of the

west, or adw. >> my sister karen has a disability, and i started getting the dogs to help me and my sister karen. you know, kids want to be kids, of course. i didn't want to have the responsibility of my sister karen, so i used to get one of our first dogs to stay with her. and then when she needed me, she could tell him, and he would come and find me. >> the school trains dogs to help people with disabilities become more independent. most of adw's trainers are adults, but jill wanted to give kids the experience she had as a child. >> ah-choo! >> i think for kids who are truly interested in it and want to take this further into animal behavior or vet school or training for the movies, training for whatever, i think this is a really great place to start that lets you really kind of explore whether this is something you really want to do later on in life. >> the school is based in santa fe, new mexico, and trains dozens of service dogs each

year. for these teens, the class is actually part of their school day. >> you take it like you take math. you get a credit for it. you take it every day. you're assigned the same service dog. >> students help their four-legged friends learn a minimum of 90 different commands. sometimes success comes easily. >> have him sit. >> up. push. yes! good boy. >> and sometimes it doesn't. >> push. push. >> in addition to training skills, teens learn some important life lessons, like hoe to be patient. >> push. yeah! good girl! whoo! >> they learn how their emotional impact has direct influence on another being. so if they're inappropriate with their emotions, their dog's not gonna do anything for them. if they're appropriate with their emotions, their dogs are gonna do everything for them. >> training usually lasts a year and a half. at the end, trainers and trainees show off at a graduation ceremony.id

>> yeah! [ laughter ] >> then comes the toughest part of the program -- teacher and student have to say goodbye. >> he was always there for me no matter if i was happy, sad, mad. he'd always either cheer me up or make me even happier. >> training a dog is always bittersw for the students. you did a lot of hard work. you've done it for the last 18 months, two years of your life. you are ecstatic that they're going to where they need to go, but there is that little part of you that says "oof. i'll miss them." >> [ voice breaking ] i can't think of anyone better for melvin to go to than you, melissa. you're very lucky. [ applause ] >> people who need assistance dogs can wait as long as five years to get one. jill hopes to shorten that wait by getting more kids involved in training. to learn more, check out our website, teenkidsnews.com.

>> smoke alarms are supposed to make a noise loud enough to wake you up, but a japanese scientist is going further. he developed an alarm that sprays wasabi mustard particles. now, thatan eye-opener. revlon just bitten. it's a two-in-one lipstain and balm. the lipstain gives me a light flush of color while the moisturizing balm softens my lips. have you ever been bitten? revlon just bitten lipstain and balm.

[ patriotic music plays ] >> this truck is on a special mission. it travels from city to city carrying a replica of a famous memorial in washington, d.c. the memorial is a black wall.

on it are the names of our military killed or missing during america's longest war -- the vietnam war. everywherehe truck goes, it's met by cyclists, most of whom had served in the armed forces. they form an honor guard as a way of paying respects to their fallen comrades. to celebrate veterans day, the memorial was brought to new york city, escorted by police and more than 200 cyclists. the convoy made its way through manhattan to the pier alongside the u.s.s. intrepid sea, air & space museum. >> order! arms! >> there, the veterans helped unload the truck and set up the wall. the replica is almost as big as the real one in washington.

sponsored by dignity memorial, it's just a little shorter than a football field. and it has all 58,000 names of those lost during the vietnam war. even though this wall is a replica, it brings out emotions and memories that are very real. >> i try not to get emotional here. my brother's on that wall. he's still m.i.a. so it obviously means an awful lot to me. this was the first wall that i ever saw. i saw this before i actually went down to d.c. to see the actual wall. >> oh, i like it. it's really interesting. it's cool how it's traveling around the country. it's interesting to hear about. i didn't know about it until today. >> so people can get to see, even if they can't travel. like, if it goes to someplace like l.a., they get to see a taste of washington, d.c., where they live.

>> with military salute, i'm tyler. [ crunch! ] >> so, your friends want to go to the local fast-food restaurant, and you're gonna be virtuous and get the fish or chicken. but listen to this. >> fish and chicken oftentimes are not the best option. >> ellen shanley and colleen thompson are the authors of "fueling the teen machine." talk about counterintuitive at the lunch counter. i'm all ears. >> let's take a look, nicole. here, we have a burger king original chicken sandwich. and we're comparing it to a whopper junior. 630 calories compared to 340 calories. >> wow. that's a big difference. why the big difference in calories? >> let's look. if i open up this chicken sandwich, you can see how big this patty is -- really big portion size, more than you need. on top of that, we've got some sauce on here -- probably a mayonnaise heavy in fat and calories. now let's go over to our whopper junior, here. look at that -- there's vegetables in there.

already, we like this better. it's got vegetables in it. little bit of sauce, much smaller patty, so fewer calories. big difference -- you can save half the calories right here. >> so, next is fish? >> let's see. so, what do we have here? we have a burger king fish sandwich compared to a regular or single hamburger. and the fish sandwich is topping in at 640 calories. >> wow. >> i know we think fish is leaner, but what happened to the fish? fried, breaded, added the sauce, extra calories, extra fat, so 640 calories. compared to the single burger -- only 260 calories. let's look inside. take a peek here. we got single burger. we got a pickle -- sort of a vegetable, not really -- and some ketchup, so less fat, a lot fewer calories -- better choice. >> most fast-food restaurants actually post the calories and other nutritional info near the counter, so you might want to check that out before you order. for "health bites," i'm nicole. bñ

>> let's check in with this week's "flag facts." here's scott. >> in 1796, tennessee became our 16th state. america now stretched west to the shores of the mississippi river. then, in 1812, the united states went to war with britain again. many tennesseeans volunteered to fight for their new country. they were commanded by general

and soon-to-be president andrew jackson. that patriotic spirit earned tennessee its nickname -- "the volunteer state." but another 80 years would pass before it got its own state flag. >> this is one of my favorite flags because it's simple. it uses red, white, and blue, and it's a design, actually, that was submitted by a soldier named leroy reeves. and the three stars represent the three parts of the state of tennessee. there's western tennessee, between the tennessee and mississippi rivers. there's middle tennessee, which is known for the tennessee river and also bluegrass country. and then the great smoky mountains are in the eastern part of tennessee, and that's what the third star is meant to represent. >> the design celebrates unity by enclosing all three stars within a circle. and the red, white, and blue colors celebrate tennessee's unity with america. a distinctive blue edging ensures that the flag can be easily recognized, even on days when there's no breeze to unfurl

it. with "flag facts," i'm scott. >> when we talk about healthcare, many of us think of doctors, but it's actually a growing field made up of many professions. erika reports on one that offers "sound" opportunities. >> whether you're in a lush forest... [ horn honks ] ...or on a busy city street, hearing plays an important role in our daily lives. >> what we're gonna do next is, we're gonna take you into the soundproof booth over here to test your hearing... >> stuart motechin helps people hear better. he's an audiologist at long island college hospital. >> an audiologist is a healthcare provider who basically is involved in testing and evaluating patients' hearing, as well as other disorders, including the balance system. >> that's is affected by the fluid in your inner ear. >> obviously, if a patient comes in with normal hearing, that's great news, 'cause you can tell the patient everything's fine and normal. but when you have a patient who comes in with a problem -- with a hearing loss -- the best part is really being able to offer

help to this patient. >> as with other healthcare professions, a career in audiology requires a great deal of training. >> in order to become an audiologist, you need to go through your bachelor's degree, followed by a master's, which then leads its way into an actual clinical doctorate. the whole process is a 5h- to 6-year process. >> all that schooling will no doubt pay off, because the need for audiologists is expected to grow. >> people are living longer today. medicine is much better than it's ever been. and as we live and as we get older, it's just a natural process of losing our hearing. >> unfortunately, there are other causes of hearing loss, as well, but some of them are preventable -- for emple, turning down the volume on our earbuds. >> a rule of thumb is, if you're listening to music, the person next to you should not be hearing your music. >> in fact, studies show that one in five teens has hearing loss. so this is advice we all should listen to. >> i always knew that i wanted to connect and work with people, and this gives me the opportunity to work in a

medical-related field without actually being a physician, so it's a really fulfilling job. you'll go to work in the morning, and when you come home, you'll feel like you accomplished something and you helped people. >> so if you like working with people and technology, audiology sounds like it might be the right choice for you. for "teen kids news," i'm erika.

>> we like to know what's on your mind, so here's our "speak of the week." >> do you think it's harder being a teen today than when your parents were teens? >> well, whenever my mom always tells me about how sometimes when i shirk my duties, i always tell her it was a lot simpler back in her day. >> it's probably a lot harder to be a teen today because there's

so much more social stuff going on with the internet and stuff. >> no, i don't think that, because back then, times were harder than it is today. >> probably, because now there's a lot more distractions, like more technology and whatnot. >> from what they say, i think it is. i think there's just more that we're exposed to now than there was when we were before, so i think it is harder now. >> um...no. i'm gonna go with "no," because when my parents were teens, they were like -- the war -- thehc vietnam war and stuff. and their parents were kind of like, "hey, go join the war!" and they were kind of like, "mm, no." my dad grew up in brazil, so it's a little bit different there. >> i think it's easier because our parents couldn't escape from their parents 'cause they didn't have phones or computers. >> yeah, i do. because of the workload, school is a lot harder now, i think. >> i do, because there's a lot more technology around.

when our parents were teenagers, if they had a problem with people, it was a face-to-face combat issue, but nowadays you can just do it anonymously. and you can really never know who it's coming from. >> if we put it to a vote, i think most teens would agree that life is tougher today than it was a couple of decades ago. i'm diyu for "teen kids news." >> this report is brought to you by drive to the auto shows, discovery hd theater.s >> well, if it's autumn, it must be time to talk about new cars. from the floor of the los angeles auto show, there's a lot of shiny new metal. and who knows -- maybe mom or dad will pick up one of these cars. take a look at this. this is the 2013 volkswagen cc. now, volkswagen redesigned the car to make it a lot more spacious on the inside. take a look. two-tone leather, a lot of high-tech, and i'll tell you, the family's gonna love the power that it has under the hood. it'll go on sale this spring. tell mom or dad it'll set them back about $28,000. wow. this car looks like a hot wheel. in fact, who wouldn't want to

play with this car? from kia, it's the gt concept. now, they aren't gonna build it yet for sale, but check it out. who wouldn't want to sport to campus in one of these?en with those cool seats -- and on the side, they don't use mirrors. they actually use little cameras. that's one cool car. no word yet on whether kia will actually end up building it. well, if you want to save a lot of money at the gas pumps, you got to drive a smaller car, but that doesn't mean you have to go slow. take a look at this. it's from fiat. it's called the 500 abarth, and let me tell you something -- this car has a lot of power underneath the hood and a very cool and tricked-out interior.hc watch it go around that corner. [ imitates brakes squealing ] be careful. don't drive like that. you'll check this fiat out in showrooms in 2012 for around $16,000. and a nice family-friendly s.u.v. is from mazda. they took the curtain off of it here in los angeles -- the 2013 mazda cx-5. all new inside. now, it's got a lot of space on the inside, and mom and dad are gonna like the fact that it gets

better gas mileage than the previous version from mazda. on sale this february. well, we've got another s.u.v. that is perfect for the family. check this out. how much fun would it be to take a look at the 2013 ford escape? now, it's the best-selling s.u.v. in america. it's been around now for 11 years. but it's got something that's pretty trick. mom puts her foot under the bumper, and up rises that tailgate. so now everybody can help with the groceries. the 2013 ford escape goes on sale next year. and this car from hyundai -- this is a company that's getting a lot of attention and a big premiere here in los angeles. the 2012 hyundai azera -- it's got 293 horsepower, but it really also offers a lot of luxury on the inside. in fact, the back seat is huge, as is the front seat. the azera will go on sale february of 2012. the price point for mom and dad are gonna be in the low $30,000 range. look, if that car in the driveway's looking a little old and less than fresh, maybe you can convince mom and dad to head

on down to a new-car dealer and take a look at a new family-friendly car. from the floor of the los angeles auto show, i'm doug brauner for "teen kids news." >> that's it for this edition of "teen kids news." >> thanks for watching. see you next week. >> on behalf of everyone here at "teen kids news," we want to give a special thanks to all of our military overseas.