Reading and math test scores for 12th-grade students nationwide have remained mostly unchanged since 2009, says a report released Wednesday by federal education officials who analyzed results of exams taken by more than 92,000 students.
The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as 'The Nation's Report Card,' looked at scores from tests administered between January and March 2013.
'Today's 12th-graders are performing no differently in mathematics and reading in 2013 than they did in 2009,' said David P. Driscoll, chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for NAEP. 'Achievement at this very critical point in a student's life must be improved to ensure success after high school.'
Thirty-eight percent of 12th-graders in the latest examination performed at or above 'proficient' in reading, and 26 percent were at or above 'proficient' in mathematics. Both percentages were unchanged from 2009. The tests measured three achievement levels: basic, proficient and advanced.
Math scores did show improvement from 2005 -- the first year the NAEP assessments were given in the subject. Reading scores were unchanged from 2009, but lower than in 2005 and 1992, when the first NAEP reading tests were given.
In both reading and math, students who were white and Asian/Pacific Islander scored higher on average in 2013 than those who were black, Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native.
The gap in reading scores between white and black students was wider in 2013 than in 1992.
Arne Duncan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, said the country must do better to combat 'educational stagnation.'
'Despite the highest high school graduation rate in our history, and despite growth in student achievement over time in elementary school and middle school, student achievement at the high school level has been flat in recent years,' Duncan said in a statement. 'Just as troubling, achievement gaps among ethnic groups have not narrowed.'
The report provided detailed results from 13 states that volunteered to participate for a broader study. New York was not among them.
The states that volunteered to participate were Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Four of those states -- Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho and West Virginia -- showed gains in math since 2009. Two states -- Connecticut and Arkansas -- showed gains in reading over the same time period.
There were no significant changes from 2009 to 2013 based on students' race/ethnicity, gender or highest level of their parents' education. Among the reported student groups, the only change from 2009 to 2013 was seen among English language learners (ELL), whose mathematics scores were lower in 2013 than in 2009.
Alex J. Bowers, an associate professor of education leadership at Columbia University's Teachers College, noted that the most recent NAEP study looked only at results at one grade level. NAEP scores in other areas have shown improvements, he said.
The graduation rate nationally has increased and the dropout rate has fallen, Bowers said.
'The types of test scores represented on NAEP are just one of many,' he said. 'Academic knowledge as measured by NAEP is an important component, but not necessarily the only component.'
Last week, New York Education Department officials reported that the number of students statewide who received the Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation, which requires tougher course work, rose to 37.4 percent in 2013 compared with 29.9 percent the previous year.
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, May 7, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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