PDF versions
can be found at www.ncforum.org/archives.htm
Volume 5, Issue 15
November 14, 2003
2003 NAEP
Results Released;
NC Performs
Above National Average in Reading & Math
North Carolina 4th and 8th graders performed above the national average in reading and mathematics, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test results released by the National Center for Education Statistics. Prior to this year, NAEP was a voluntary assessment that states participated in as an education benchmark against other states. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation requires states to participate in NAEP, also called the Nation’s Report Card, to validate state progress because NCLB allows states to use state-approved assessments. The results are broken down by the performance categories of below basic, basic, proficient, and ad vanced; and NAEP’ s proficient level is higher than our state’s grade level proficiency.
North Carolina’s 4th grade math performance was particularly notable, with 41% of North Carolina students scoring at or above proficiency, compared to the national average of 31%. The state’s 4th graders ranked third nationally in the percentage of students at or above proficiency. The North Carolina 8th grade proficiency performance was five percentage points above the national average (32% to 27%). This percentage is five points higher than in 2000 (the previous time NAEP was given) and 23 percentage points higher than in 1990 (see chart). The New York Times noted that “North Carolina showed the large st gain among students since 1992, with the share of students ranked proficient in math soaring to 41 percent from 13 percent in fourth grade and to 32 percent from 12 percent in eighth grade.”
North Carolina’s results were part of a pattern of strong performance across the region. At the press conference, John Stevens, a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees NAEP, noted the strength of Southern state-performance: “In math, the largest gains since 1990 and 1992 have been in some of the Southern states—North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Mississippi. At eighth grade, Texas and New York are in this group too. In reading at fourth grade, where NAEP data goes back to 1992, the gains have been largest in Delaware, Florida, North Carolina, and Maryland. In eighth grade reading, where state NAEP goes back only to 1998, there are gains in only eight states. Most of these gains are pretty sm all, but half of the states that achieved them are in the South.”
* Accommodations not permitted.
Source: NCES, Nations Report Card
* Accommodations not permitted. Source: NCES, Nations Report Card
Reading Results
Thirty-three percent of North Carolina 4th graders scored at or above proficient in reading, compared with the national average of 30%. Eight percent scored at the advanced level, up from 5% in 1992 and slightly above the national average of 7%. In 1992, 25% of the state’s 4th graders scored at or above proficient (see chart). North Carolina fourth graders, along with Delaware, Florida, and Maryland, had the largest gains.
The state’s 8th grade proficiency performance was slightly below the national average (29% to 30%). According to NCES, “the percentage of students in North Carolina who performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level was 29 percent in 2003. This percentage was not found to be significantly different from 2002 (32 percent), and was not found to be significantly different from 1998 (30 percent).”
As with math results, North Carolina’s performance was noted by Stevens: “In reading at fourth grade, where NAEP data goes back to 1992, the gains have been largest in Delaware, Florida, North Carolina, and Maryland.”
* Accommodations not permitted. Source: NCES, Nations Report Card
* Accommodations not permitted. Source: NCES, Nations Report Card
editor’s note:
Next week’s Friday Report will
have more extensive analysis of disaggregated data.
For a copy of the full report, go to
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
State News . .
.
Progress Energy
Leadership Institute Begins
Teams of school administrators from nine Eastern North Carolina counties are attending the inaugural session of the Progress Energy Leadership Institute program this week in Durham. The session begins a two-year training program designed to expose school leaders to best practices from the business and educational communities
School systems participating in the 2003-05 program include Carteret County, Craven County, New Hanover County, Onslow County, Pender County, Pitt County, Wilson County, Vance County, and Warren County. Schools that participated in the first Institute program launched in 2001 and concluded in the spring of 2003 included Brunswick County, Cumberland County, Granville County, Halifax County, Hoke County, Lee County, Nash-Rocky Mount, Pamilico County, and Scotland County.
National News .
. .
No Child Left
Behind Fueling State Funding Debates
The No Child Left Behind legislation’s adequate yearly progress provision could give finance reform proponents new ammunition in the arguments over whether states spend enough money on students. Michael Rebell, the executive director of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, said that the data being collected under the No Child Left Behind Act showing how many students are not reaching academic goals could be used by lawyers to show that states are not providing enough money for their students.
A school finance lawsuit in Nebraska is suggesting that the lack of funding could put the state at risk of penalties under the No Child Left Behind legislation. State lawmakers are concerned that arguments like these could result in court-ordered increases in school funding. David Shreve, the education committee director for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said, “We’re very afraid. We’re convinced that the long-term implications of No Child Left Behind are to call into question the adequacy of education funding in every state in the country.”
In many states, lawsuits over adequate funding are ongoing, and the federal No Child Left Behind act has added new semantics to the debate. According to Rebell, Bush’s law adds weight to state academic standards in part because of the terminology of adequacy. John Augenblick, president of Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, which analyzes school finance systems, said, “It has raised an important issue: Do we have enough money to accomplish these things? There’s a feeling that there are tremendous costs that nobody’s going to be able to pay for.”
Alabama Polls
Paint Picture of What Citizens Want
The Mobile Register and the University of South Alabama recently released the results of a statewide poll, which found that a majority of Alabamians are against a plan to cut education spending by almost $200 million and eliminate funding for 3,400 teaching positions. The poll found that 72% of those polled want Alabama to invest more in education. Recently, however, 68% of voters rejected a plan to raise taxes to provide more money for schools and other government services. The Alabama Education Association recently released the findings of a separate survey they did, which found that 61% of those polled want the legislature and the governor to deve lop a new plan for them to vote on instead of cutting services and firing teachers.
Last month the State Board of Education recommended a plan to lay off as many as 3,400 teachers, which is almost 8% of the state’s teachers, but also requested additional funding for textbooks and other programs. In a policy shift this week, the Board voted 5-2 not to cut the teaching positions and to request additional funding for specific programs. The Governor had requested the Board cut spending by $199 million (7%), but instead of cutting the budget the Board approved increasing spending 5%. The Board’s action will leave cutting education spending to the State Superintendent, and critics warn that it will weaken the Board’s clout with the legislature and Governor.
Study Finds Many
State Tests to be a Poor Indicator of Students’ College
Preparedness
The University of Oregon’s Center for Educational Policy Research recently released a report entitled “Mixed Messages: What State High School Tests Communicate About Student Readiness for College.” The report found that exit exams, end-of-course tests, and other state assessments at the high school level often do not gauge readiness for college-level work. They found an “inconsistent relationship” between the results of state assessments for high school students and the demands of higher education.
The study considered 35 English/language arts exams and 31 mathematics tests from 20 states. The director of the research center, David Conley, explained that more states are working to align their tests with postsecondary standards, but progress is slow. He said, “A half-dozen states are trying to do this. There weren’t that many five or 10 years ago.”
The study ranks state tests with an A, B, or C grade depending on the states ability to show student preparation for college level work. The standards used as a basis for this project were developed by the Standards for Success project and input from more than 400 university faculty members. These standards were released earlier this year in a study entitled “Oregon Study Outlines Standards for College Preparation.”
“Mixed Messages” found that high school tests were able to judge college preparation best in reading comprehension and computation. The exams did not score as well in judging preparation for writing and critical thinking in English studies, algebra, mathematical reasoning, and geometry.
The report does not endorse any one form of state test. Instead it works to give state officials suggestions for improvement, such as the recommendation that states consider modifying exams to include more optional questions for college bound students and that states compare students’ high school test scores with their college success.
For the full report go to
http://cepr.uoregon.edu/pdf/Mixed_Messages.pdf
The Friday Report is published weekly by
the Public School Forum of NC and is distributed to Forum Board members,
legislators active in educational policy, the press, and Forum subscribers. Archived editions can be found at
www.ncforum.org/archives.htm