Test Scores Show Achievement Gap Narrows As High School Students Stagnate -- NAEP Report
Despite the popular hand-wringing over America's schools, younger students are actually performing at significantly higher levels in reading and math than they were in the 1970s, according to a new government reportreleased Thursday.
The report also shows a dramatic gradual reduction of the so-called "achievement gap," the gap between scores of ethnic minorities.
But the findings aren't all positive. Since 2008, only 13-year-olds posted score increases. The overall results illustrate two fundamental problems: It's easier to boost scores in math than it is in reading, and the test scores of older students have not increased.
The report, released Thursday by the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Education Department's research arm, includes results on a test known that is the long-term trends version of the National Assessment for Educational Progress. NAEP is known as a gold standard of assessment, because it samples students from
The report also shows a dramatic gradual reduction of the so-called "achievement gap," the gap between scores of ethnic minorities.
But the findings aren't all positive. Since 2008, only 13-year-olds posted score increases. The overall results illustrate two fundamental problems: It's easier to boost scores in math than it is in reading, and the test scores of older students have not increased.
The report, released Thursday by the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Education Department's research arm, includes results on a test known that is the long-term trends version of the National Assessment for Educational Progress. NAEP is known as a gold standard of assessment, because it samples students from