Washington test scores stagnant on "nation's report card"

Washington students in grades four and eight scored higher than the national average in reading and math this year on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a closely watched national exam.

But none of Washington's scores were significantly higher than they were in 2005, the last time the exams were given, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the part of the U.S. Department of Education that administers the exam.

Washington's fourth-graders scored 224 out of a possible 500 in reading, compared with the national average of 220, and 265 in eighth-grade reading, compared with 261 nationally.

In math, Washington's fourth-graders scored 243, compared with 239 nationally; and eighth graders scored 285 to the nation's average of 280.

While Washington's scores didn't improve, 18 other states posted significant increases in fourth-grade reading, and six in eighth grade. And fourteen states and the District of Columbia posted gains in math in both grade levels. In Washington, the achievement gap between white and African American students widened.

"I'm very proud that our students continue to perform above the national average on the NAEP," Terry Bergeson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, said in a prepared statement. "But I'm also worried about the persistence of the achievement gap. The 2007 results indicate a setback from the last three test administrations."

The results of the NAEP were released Tuesday. A representative sample of students takes the exams, which are given periodically in reading, math, science and a variety of other subjects. This year, a total of 702,000 fourth and eighth-graders from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Department of Defense schools were involved, and roughly 3,000 from Washington state. Participation used to be voluntary, but has been required since 2003 under the No Child Left Behind Act.

NAEP is to the nation what the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) is to Washington — one exam that, whatever its limitations may be, is a common yardstick used to compare student achievement over time, and between states. It often is referred to as the "nation's report card."

The exam also increasingly is used as a gauge to evaluate the rigor of the state exams such as the WASL. If a state boasts high passage rates on its own exam, for example, yet its NAEP scores are low, that can raise questions about the rigor of the state exam.

Nationally, fourth-grade reading scores rose two points from 2005 to 2007, and are the highest scores yet. Eighth-grade reading scores rose one point — higher than in 2005, but not the highest to date.

In math, the national average increased to 240 in fourth grade and 281 in eighth, also all-time highs in both grades.

When asked whether the federal No Child Left Behind Act could be credited for the increases, Darvin Winick, chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the exam, said it's impossible to separate out the effect of that law from the other changes that states are making in their education systems.

But Winick added that it's safe to say that both the state and federal efforts to improve schools have had a positive impact, as well as the increased focus on reporting scores not just for all students, but for each ethnic minority.

The achievement gap between white students and African-American students nationally decreased in fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math, but NCES noted that the gaps still remain quite large. In eighth-grade reading, for example, the average score for white students was 270, compared with 244 for African-Americans.

Not only was there no improvement in Washington's average scores, its African-American students in Washington also didn't rank as high as in the past. In 2003, for example, the average reading score for Washington's black fourth-graders was higher than the average for black fourth-graders in any other state.

This year, however, 14 other states posted scores that were as high or higher for that group of students.

For more information about the test, go online: http://nationsreportcard.gov

Linda Shaw: 206-464-2359 or lshaw@seattletimes.com