U.S. fourth and eighth graders scored at all-time highs in math and reading achievement according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) report The Nation’s Report Card: Mathematics and Reading 2007. The report says that although most achievement gaps still persist, Black and Hispanic students made significant gains while white student achievement also continued to improve. However, students have made much more progress in math than in reading over that last seventeen years.
The findings:
Fourth Grade Mathematics
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Fourth-graders in 2007 scored five points higher than in 2003 and 27 points higher than in 1990. One NAEP score point is equivalent to approximately one month of schooling. This means that since 1990, student achievement in math has increased almost three grade levels.
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Since 1990, white, Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander students have made dramatic gains with Black students making the largest gains (35 points). Asian/Pacific Islander and white students made gains of 28 points each followed by a 27 point gain by Hispanic students.
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Since 2003, Black students have made a six point gain. White and Hispanic students both achieved five point gains.
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The Black-white achievement gap has decreased by six points since 1990, and one point since 2003. The Hispanic-white gap remained relatively unchanged in both time periods.
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Eighth Grade Mathematics
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Results for eighth graders were similar to fourth graders, where students in 2007 scored 19 points higher than students in 1990 and three points higher than students in 2003.
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They also made gains between 2003 and 2007 (three, eight, and six points respectively).
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Although there was no significant change in either the Black-white or Hispanic-white achievement gaps between 1990 and 2007, the gaps did decrease by three points for each group between 2003 and 2007.
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Fourth Grade Reading
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Fourth-graders have made modest gains overall. Students in 2007 scored four points higher than in 1992 and three points higher since 2003.
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Low-performing students gained the most. Students scoring at the lowest 10 percent gained 15 points between 2000 and 2007, while students scoring in the top 10 percent made no significant gains during the same period.
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Among racial groups, Black and Hispanic students made greater gains than white students between the years 1992 and 2007 and 2003 and 2007.
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Between 1992 and 2007 the Black-white achievement gap declined by five points while the Hispanic-white gap remained relatively unchanged. However, between 2003 and 2007 both gaps decreased.
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Eighth Grade Reading
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Unfortunately, there was less reading progress in eighth grade than fourth grade. Between 1992 and 2007 there was a modest increase of three points. There was no difference between the performance of students in 2007 and 2003.
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Black students made the greatest gains from 1992 to 2007 (seven points) although white and Hispanic students also showed improvement (five and six points respectively). However, no racial group made significant gains between 2003 and 2007.
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Achievement gaps between racial groups remained relatively unchanged except for the Hispanic-white gap, which decreased by two points between 2003 and 2007.
Keep in mind that:
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Changes in NAEP scores over time are not adjusted to account for the changing demographics of the student population. Since 1992, there has been an increase in the percent of minority, English Language Learners (ELL), and Special Education students taking NAEP. These students typically score lower than other students.
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Interpretations of students’ scoring at each of the achievement levels should be made with caution, since these achievement levels are being evaluated to determined their appropriateness.
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Conclusion
Overall, the 2007 NAEP math and reading results are quite positive. Scores are on the incline overall and for almost all student subgroups. Although achievement gaps are not closing much, most racial groups have made significant improvements compared to their peers seventeen years ago.
Unfortunately, schools have not increased reading achievement as effectively as math achievement. The NAEP results do not tell us why. Therefore, school board members should look at the math programs and reforms their schools have implemented to determine whether similar actions could be taken to improve reading results. School board members can work to increase the reading abilities of our nation’s school children by implementing and supporting effective reading programs.
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Posted: September 26, 2007
© 2007 Center for Public Education
