SEATTLE — Washington fourth- and eighth-graders appear to be learning as much in school as kids in the state did two years ago, according to the results released Wednesday of a national test on math and reading.
Washington continues to beat the national average in every age and subject category of the National Assessment of Education Progress, commonly known as the Nation’s Report Card.
In Washington, 47 percent of fourth-graders and 39 percent of eighth-graders scored at or above the proficient level in math. In reading, 40 percent of fourth-graders and 37 percent of eighth-graders hit that mark.
Nationally, 40 percent of fourth-graders and 33 percent of eighth-graders scored at or above the proficient level in math. In reading, 36 percent of fourth-graders nationally and 34 percent of eighth-graders were proficient or above.
The tests are given every two years to a sample of fourth- and eighth-graders across the nation. These tests allow educators to compare educational knowledge of students nationally, because unlike state-specific tests, the National Assessment of Education Progress uses the same test questions and same proficiency scores in every state.
The new tests based on the Common Core educational standards may eventually provide another way to compare states, but not every state is using the same Common Core test or has made the same decision about what is a passing score on those tests.
In Washington state, this year’s results, compared with results in 2013, showed average incremental losses of a few points in eighth-grade math and reading scores and fourth-grade math scores. The scores went up slightly in fourth-grade reading.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn notes that few states did better than Washington students on the 2015 tests, with only three states scoring better than Washington’s fourth graders and five states scoring higher than the state’s eighth graders.
“I’m pleased with our state’s performance,” Dorn said in a statement. “Although our 8th-grade scores are not as high as they were last time, our state’s overall trend has been continually upward since the beginning of NAEP testing. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made.”
Washington’s poor students and those from many minority groups continue to score below the average scores for white or Asian students.
Washington’s black students scored well below white classmates in the state, and the achievement gap for Washington’s black eighth-graders was significantly wider than the national average for black eighth-graders.
Washington’s black students did better on their math tests in 2013, while Hispanic students showed some improvement this year.
