The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—known as The Nation’s Report Card—was released on Wednesday and the results caused a stir in the education community. Overall, students' math and reading scores dropped or remained stagnant. The results, said National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García, should compel policymakers at every level of government to make the necessary changes to better serve students now and in the future.
The NAEP results revealed that between 2013 and 2015, math scores for fourth and eighth grade students declined. This year’s average fourth grade score in math was 240, a two-point drop compared to two years ago. The eight grade math score fell from 285 to 282.
In reading, the eighth grade scores dropped by three points, from 288 to 265, while the fourth grade reading score remained virtually unchanged.
Student performance was also measured by achievement in three categories: basic, proficient, and advanced. Students reaching proficiency demonstrate mastery over a subject area. In math, there was a two-point decline in the percentage of fourth and eighth graders scoring at or above proficient. In reading, the percentage of fourth grade students scoring at or above proficient didn’t change significantly, and the percentage of eighth graders scoring at or above proficient declined by two points.
“The recent release of the NAEP scores once again demonstrates what educators have said all along. The effectiveness of a system cannot be judged by a single test score. Scores should be viewed in context, over time and, just because a single test scores goes down (or up) it does not represent the complexity of the system or mean good things are not happening,” García said.
García cited several examples of the good news in education. "High school graduation rates have increased, the drop-out rate for Hispanic students has decreased and the number of minority students going to college has been rising. We are more focused than ever on closing the opportunity gaps. The opportunity to learn is the foundation of everything. The NAEP scores are just another piece of the puzzle that provides information we need to ensure all students succeed.”
A main piece to this "puzzle" includes the effect of poverty, with more than half of the nation’s public school children living in poverty. García underscored that the education community must acknowledge that the effects of poverty are pervasive and students can’t learn if they lack nutritious food, a safe place to sleep or access to health care. "Our society must address those needs,” she said.
Punishing schools, educators, and students with high-stakes testing can be stopped. NEA has long pushed for better policies that provide equitable opportunities for every student—opportunities grounded in support, tools, resources, and time to learn despite race, zip code, or family background.
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing also came out yesterday criticizing the “test-and-punish era” of education reform.
In a statement, the group said the release of the Nation’s Report Card offers “more evidence that test-and-punish policies, which have dominated U.S. public schools for the past decade and half, are an abject failure.”
Last week, the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that the Obama administration will work to limit over testing. "With a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act on the horizon, we hope this decision leads the administration and all policy makers also to address the high-stakes that too often accompany these standardized tests,” Garcia stated.
To learn more about NAEP and to view the results, visit http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.
