NAEP Scores Are Not Good But Should We Get Hysterical? No

The 2022 NAEP scores (National Assessment of Educational Progress) have been released and it's a poor showing all around. But over on Twitter, there's many other questions that people have raised beyond just scores. To be noted, we were in the middle of a pandemic; not an excuse but certainly a reason. I would be more worried in a couple of years if this slide doesn't stop or gets worse. 

Found, COVID School Data Hub, a great website about COVID-19 and school data that may answer some questions for you. 

I also highly recommend Chalkbeat for the best coverage of NAEP scores.  For example:

Reading scores fell by similar amounts between 2017-19 as between 2019-21. That's right: The decline in reading in the two years right before the pandemic was nearly as bad as the pandemic-era decline! I don't think there's a definitive explanation for what happened '17-19.

Keep in mind that more granular analyses at the district level have found a clear relationship between virtual learning and learning loss. 

Also:

Once again, in the words of Tom Loveless, former director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, “Proficient on NAEP does not mean grade level performance. It’s significantly above that.” So essentially the New York Times and others are reporting that “only one-fourth of 8th graders performed significantly above grade level in math.” Does that result surprise anyone?

How did Washington State do?

Washington State seemed to perform right near the center for 4th grade math and above the average for reading.

Washington State seemed to perform above the national average for 8th grade math and reading. 

One interesting point on the national map for writing - there's Washington State, the only one on the West Coast, above average, and there's Minnesota, also sitting by itself. Most of the states above average on the East Coast.

2022 Toplines

• Greater score decreases for lower-performing students
• Score declines across many student groups in reading and mathematics compared to 2020
• Scores for lower performers decline within most student groups
• Greater access to resources for higher performers learning remotely. All students who took the long-term trend assessments in 2022 were asked if they ever attended school from home or somewhere else outside of school for any duration during the last school year (2020–21) because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seventy percent of 9-year-old students recalled learning remotely during the last school year, while 19 percent reported they did not learn remotely, and 11 percent did not remember. Explore additional data on remote learning by select student groups, including region, school location, and race/ethnicity.  
•  In 2022, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducted a special administration of the NAEP long-term trend (LTT) reading and mathematics assessments for age 9 students to examine student achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Average scores for age 9 students in 2022 declined 5 points in reading and 7 points in mathematics compared to 2020. This is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics.
•  Higher performers overall more confident in their remote learning abilities

Via the AP (bold mine)

The COVID-19 pandemic caused historic learning setbacks for America’s children, sparing no state or region as it erased decades of academic progress and widened racial disparities, according to results of a national test that provide the sharpest look yet at the scale of the crisis.

Across the country, math scores saw their largest decreases ever. Reading scores dropped to 1992 levels. Nearly four in 10 eighth graders failed to grasp basic math concepts. Not a single state saw a notable improvement in their average test scores, with some simply treading water at best.

 

Los Angeles can claim one of few bright spots. The nation’s second-largest school district saw eighth-grade reading scores increase by 9 points, the only significant uptick in any district.

 

In both math and reading, students scored lower than those tested in 2019. But while reading scores dipped, math scores plummeted by the largest margins in the history of the NAEP program, which began in 1969.

 

Researchers usually think of a 10-point gain or drop as equivalent to roughly a year of learning. 

 

Confirming what many had feared, racial inequities appear to have widened. In fourth grade, Black and Hispanic students saw bigger decreases than white students, widening gaps that have persisted for decades. 

 

Many parents may not understand just how far behind their children are academically. A spring survey by the national nonprofit Learning Heroes found the majority of parents believed their children were performing at or above their grade level in math and reading. 

One conclusion to be had - this is not a red state/blue state problem.

What's being said on Twitter:

- It's interesting that Black & Hispanic 8th graders in PA had same rate of decline PRE-PANDEMIC as in pandemic, but no one raised alarm bells then. But when white kids experience a decline--panic mode.

 

- I’m refusing to accept the narrative that these NAEP scores are a big deal. The last three years have been bonkers & the students lost a few percentage points off an optional test. Everything will be okay. (This is from a middle school teacher.)

 

-  (A reply to the above statement) - But then they would miss an opportunity to a) blame public ed, b) blame unions, and c) profit from supposed remediation.

- Virginia quietly lowered proficiency standards on the state assessments, so parents were deceived into thinking their children were learning math and reading. Today's NAEP scores revealed the truth.

- (Fairfax County Parents Association) "VA 4th graders had the largest decline in the nation in reading..policymakers didn't just take their foot off the gas, they put on the brakes on higher expectations for our schools & students & they lowered the bar for VA education."

- Also a reminder on NAEP day: Test scores like these are not reflections of students, they are a reflection of the school systems, state and federal agencies serving them

Background about NAEP from the NAEP website:

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), first administered in 1969, is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what our nation’s students know and can do in subjects such as mathematics, reading, science, and writing. Standard administration practices are implemented to provide a common measure of student achievement.

Teachers, principals, parents, policymakers, and researchers all use NAEP results to assess progress and develop ways to improve education in the United States. The results of NAEP are released as The Nation’s Report Card, and are available for the nation, states, and in some cases, urban districts.

NAEP is a congressionally mandated project administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).​

Since its inception in 1969, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments have been conducted in numerous academic subjects, including the arts, civics, economics, geography, mathematics, reading, science, U.S. history, and writing.

Beginning with the 2003 assessments, national assessments are conducted every two years in reading and mathematics at grades 4 and 8. Results from these assessments are released six months after administration. The assessments are conducted in reading and mathematics in the same year, and initial results for grades 4 and 8 are released in the fall of that year. Results from all other assessments (including the twelfth-grade assessment in reading and mathematics) are released about one year after administration, usually in the spring of the following year.

As of 2011, all of the students participating in NAEP are identified as one of the following seven racial/ethnic categories: 

• American Indian/Alaska Native 
• Asian 
• Black (includes African American) 
• Hispanic (includes Latino) 
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 
• Two or More Races 
• White
  

The NAEP program has always endeavored to assess all students selected as a part of its sampling process. In all NAEP assessments (with the exception of the arts assessment), accommodations are provided as necessary for students with disabilities and/or English learners (EL). Inclusion in NAEP of an SD or EL student is encouraged if that student (a) participated in the regular state academic assessment in the subject being tested, and (b) if that student can participate in NAEP with the accommodations NAEP allows.