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Nation’s Report Card 2011

By Karl Priest November 11, 2011

The Nation’s Report Card informs the public about the academic achievement of elementary and secondary students in the United States. The report card is prepared by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) which is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. NAEP has two major goals: to compare student achievement in states and other jurisdictions and to track changes in achievement of fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-graders over time.

Since NAEP assessments are administered uniformly using the same sets of test booklets across the nation, NAEP results serve as a common metric for all states

The Commissioner of Education Statistics, who heads the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education, is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project.

“Proficient” is one of the three NAEP achievement levels, representing solid academic performance for each grade assessed. Students reaching this level have demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, including subject-matter knowledge, application of such knowledge to real-world situations, and analytical skills appropriate to the subject matter. The others are “Basic” (partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work. and “Advanced” (superior performance).

West Virginia public (more accurately “government”) school authorities will claim improvement in math grade 8. Page 5 of the 2011 math Nation’s Report Card (link is below) lists the state as having raised scores from 2009. What will be ignored is that the scores of West Virginia students are still far below the national average and the gap increases the longer students remain in West Virginia government schools. Even though West Virginia 8 th grade math scores improved, so did national averages. If a dog falls into a ten foot hole and scratches its way upward 3-4 feet it is still in serious trouble.

The following data provides proof of the poor (putting it politely) performance of West Virginia government school students.

MATHEMATICS

This page provides line graphs that quickly show continued gap between West Virginia 4th and 8th graders and the national average for 4th and 8th graders in math.

The state snapshot for 4th grade math states that West Virginia students are “lower than those in 40 states/jurisdictions” and only “ higher than those in 4 states/jurisdictions.” If you want to see the results of mathematics scores for other states use this page.

The state snapshot for 8th grade math states that West Virginia students are “ lower than those in 44 states/jurisdictions” and only “ higher than those in 3 states/jurisdictions.” If you want to see the results of mathematics scores for other states use this page.

The National Map for 4th grade math provides quick views of statistics. Hover the cursor over each state to see their scores. Click on WV and you can go between the "Average scale score in WV (235) is lower than the national public (240)" to being able to hover the cursor over each state and see how much higher they are.

Use the “drop down” function (below National Public" on the left--it should read "Average Scale Score" initially) to see how WV students rate “Below Basic”, “At or Above Basic”, “At or Above Proficient”, and “At Advanced”. All areas are substandard.

Use the same procedure with the National Map for 8th grade Math and you will see (among other facts) that "Average scale score in WV (273) is lower than the national public (283)." All areas are substandard.

The math shows that the longer students stay in West Virginia government schools the worse off they become!

The Mathematics 2011 Nation’s Report Card (this is a 97 page pdf document).

For reference: The mathematics data main page.

READING

This page provides line graphs that quickly show continued gap between West Virginia 4th and 8th graders and the national average for 4th and 8th graders in reading.

As is described in the math section the 4th grade reading scores and the 8th grade reading scores for other states can be easily compared with the provided map.

The state snapshot for 4th grade reading reveals that West Virginia students are “ lower than those in 37 states/jurisdictions” and only “higher than those in 5 states/jurisdictions.”

The state snapshot for 8th grade reading reveals that West Virginia students are “ lower than those in 43 states/jurisdictions” and only “higher than that in 1 state/jurisdiction.”

The National Maps for 4th grade reading and 8th grade reading operate the same as that of the math map. All areas are poor (to be polite.)

As in mathematics, THE LONGER STUDENTS STAY IN WEST VIRGINIA GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS THE WORSE OFF THEY GET!

The Reading 2011 Nation’s Report Card (this is a 105 page pdf document).

For reference: The reading data main page.

OTHER SUBJECTS

State Profiles presents key data about each state's performance in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics, reading, writing, and science for grades 4 and 8.

NON-PUBLIC EDUCATION

The few facts I have found regarding NAEP testing of children not in government schools is encouraging to those who have rescued their children. The following is based upon the nation, but likely holds true for West Virginia. State statistics are not provided for private schools. Homeschool statistics are demographic. Demographics for private schools can be found at the “Public and Private School Comparison”.

Private* schools seem to value reading. “In 2011, the percentages of eighth-graders who reported having a class discussion (about something they read) at least once a week were lower for students attending public schools than for those attending private schools.” Source: Findings in Brief: Reading and Math 2011 “(T) hird-graders who had always attended private schools from kindergarten through third grade had higher reading achievement scores than those who had always attended public schools.” “Children who attended public school from kindergarten through third grade were less likely to demonstrate some of the more advanced reading and mathematics skills and knowledge than those who had attended private schools for some or all of their first 4 years of school.” “In the first months of school, private school kindergartners demonstrated higher achievement status in reading and mathematics than public school kindergartners.” Source: From Kindergarten Through Third Grade—Children’s Beginning School Experience.

Privates schooled 4th grade students scored much higher than students in government schools. “In 2011, the average reading score for fourth-graders attending public schools was 14 points lower than the overall score for students attending private schools, and 15 points lower than for students attending Catholic schools specifically.” “In 2011, the average reading score for eighth-graders attending public schools was 19 points lower than the overall score for students attending private schools, and 20 points lower than for students attending Catholic schools specifically.” “In 2011, the average mathematics score for fourth-graders attending public schools was 7 points lower than the overall score for students attending private schools, and 5 points lower than for students attending Catholic schools specifically.” “In 2011, the average mathematics score for eighth-graders attending public schools was 13 points lower than the overall score for students attending private schools, and 13 lower than for students attending Catholic schools specifically.”

“There may be many reasons why private school students perform differently, on average, from public school students. Differences in demographic composition, availability of resources, admissions policies, parental involvement.” It could also be that the private schools just do a better job. Of course, we are not even considering the most important element—the spiritual.

Unfortunately, more parents are sacrificing their children to pagan government schools. “Ninety-two percent of fourth-graders attended public schools in 2011, and 8 percent attended private schools, including 4 percent in Catholic schools. In comparison to 1992, the percentage of students attending public schools in 2011 was larger, and the percentages attending private schools and Catholic schools were smaller.” Source: Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2011 and Nation’s Report Card: Math 2011.

My idea to help those who really need and want it needs to be aggressively pursued by churches. *Private schools include Catholic, other religious and nonsectarian private schools.

For a statistical tool regarding private schools see Private and Other Nonpublic Schools and the Nation's Report Card. This includes “Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools and Department of Defense (DoD) domestic and overseas schools. Private schools can belong to religious organizations (of which the largest are Catholic schools), nonreligious organizations, or they can be independent schools.”

PREVIOUS YEARS

Results from the 2009 report* are also alarming. Further research would likely reveal that this has been an ongoing problem for many years.

*Reading and math are assessed every two years.

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West Virginia testing news can be found in September 6, August _, April 3, and January 26 2011 West Virginia School News.   The 2012 test results and 2009 test results are of interest too.

For lots of information about national testing see Education’s Armageddon.