After Big Gains on State Math Test, National Results say Notsofast!

Critics have complained for years that state standards under the No Child Left Behind law are much more lenient than those of the national exams. The release of this year's math results from the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) gives more ammunition to those like U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan who are calling for national standards.

First, let's recall how New York elementary and middle schoolers performed on their 2009 math exams. This year, 87 percent of fourth graders met the state standards - a 7 point increase since 2007. Average scale scores (the actual score, as opposed to the percent of those meeting standards) rose nine points. Among eighth graders, 80 percent met state standards - a 21 point gain since 2007. Average scale scores for the eighth graders went up 8 points in that same two year period.

Now let's look at the NAEP scores. On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is also considered The Nation's Report Card, only 40 percent of state fourth graders were considered at or above proficient. That's a 3 point drop since the last NAEP exam in 2007. Among eighth graders, 34 percent were at or above proficient on NAEP - a three point gain since 2007.

In other words, it's a wash.

New York Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said she wasn't surprised, because similar discrepancies have been noted before. She said the state was already revising its standards and added that she expected next year's exams - which will be given in the spring, instead of in January and February - will be "less predictable."

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the NAEP results are "evidence that our schools need to get better. For the first time since NAEP’s mathematics test started in 1990, fourth grade achievement was flat. Although eighth grade scores improved, the gains weren’t enough for our students to be competitive with their peers in other countries."

Furthermore, Duncan noted that the achievement gaps between whites and blacks, and between whites and Hispanics, didn’t close in either grade.

Secretary Duncan wants states to commit to new national standards, and New York has already signed onto that goal. He's also using his $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" program give states money for turning around failing schools, creating data systems for tracking student achievement, and measuring which teachers are most effective. New York State wants to apply for these funds, but Albany passed a law last year preventing student tests scores from being used to determine teacher tenure. Some have questioned whether that makes the state ineligible. The law will sunset next spring.

In a hint at the battle to come with unions, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said, “The contrast between the NAEP scores and the state test results makes it clear that it’s ludicrous to use the state tests as a reliable yardstick to measure student or teacher success.”

Meanwhile, NAEP scores are sure to come under much more scrutiny next month when breakdowns are released for New York City and other urban areas. Mayor Bloomberg has come under attack for boasting of big improvements on the state exams, even as the city has shown much less dramatic growth on previous national tests. The 2009 NAEP reading scores will be released in early 2010.

“The NAEP results also bear out what our members have been saying for years -- too much of their time has been spent on preparing students for these state tests rather than on real learning.”