(FRANKFORT, Ky.) -- The results of the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics show that Kentucky's 4th and 8th-graders made gains when compared to the state's 2000 NAEP performance, the Kentucky Department of Education announced today.
The scale score for 4th-graders was 229, ten points higher than in 2000. The scale score for 8th-graders was 274, four points higher than in 2000.
2003 marked the first year NAEP was administered under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. Under NCLB, states applying for Title I funds must indicate that they plan to participate in NAEP.
When comparing 2003 4th-grade scale scores among jurisdictions, 37 of 53 outscored Kentucky. Kentucky's 4th-graders scored significantly higher than 4 jurisdictions and about the same as 11. Kentucky's 8th-graders scored significantly higher than 11 jurisdictions, lower than 31 and about the same as 10.
"Overall, the news is good," said Kentucky Education Commissioner Gene Wilhoit. "Both 4th- and 8th-graders' gains are keeping pace with national gains. Our subpopulations are moving forward, particularly 4th-grade African American students, who made a gain of 18 points from 2000 to 2003. And, we're seeing that more students at both grades are at higher levels of achievement than in 2000."
While performance gaps continue to be of concern between subpopulations of students, the gap between students eligible for free or reduced price lunches and those students who are not eligible decreased by six points at the 4th grade from 2000 to 2003 and two points at the 8th grade from 2000 to 2003.
In Kentucky, 72 percent of 4th-graders and 65 percent of 8th-graders scored at the Basic level or above. This indicates that, at a minimum, 4th-grade students should be able to:
+ Estimate and use basic facts to perform simple computations with whole numbers
+ Show some understanding of fractions and decimals
+ Solve some simple real-world problems in all NAEP content areas
+ Use --although not always accurately—four-function calculators, rulers, and geometric shapes
+ Write minimal responses without supporting information
At a minimum, 8th-graders scoring at Basic or above should:
+ Complete problems correctly with the help of structural prompts such as diagrams, charts, and graphs
+ Solve problems in all NAEP content areas through the appropriate selection and use of strategies and technological tools – including calculators, computers, and geometric shapes
+ Use fundamental algebraic and informal geometric concepts in problem solving
+ Determine which of the available data are necessary and sufficient for correct solutions and use them in problem solving
+ Show limited skill in communicating mathematically
"One concern that I have about the NAEP assessments is the exclusion rates, which Department of Education staff and I are studying closely," said Wilhoit. "Of the nearly 3,500 Kentucky 4th-graders assessed in mathematics, about 104 were excluded. For 8th-graders, 113 of the 2,800 assessed were excluded from the test."
NAEP reports data based on whether accommodations were allowed in the testing process, meaning that students with disabilities and those considered to have limited English proficiency (LEP) can have special assistance in order to complete the test. Certain students may be excluded from the test, based on teacher recommendations using students' Individual Education Plans (IEPs).
Until recently, Kentucky was one of the few states that included students with disabilities in statewide assessments. Since 1990, Kentucky has tested nearly every public school student in the state, regardless of disability. Under newly-required federal regulations, other states are just beginning to add students with disabilities to their statewide testing rosters.
While NAEP did allow some accommodations on the mathematics test in 2003, 3 percent of the 4th-graders and 4 percent of the 8th-graders in Kentucky who were selected to be in the sample were excluded. The fact that NAEP does not allow all the accommodations Kentucky students need and are allowed on the state's tests is one contributor to this rate. However, the exclusion rate is also inclusive of our students who participate in our Alternate Assessment Program, and NAEP does not offer an alternate assessment for these students.
At the 4th-grade level in mathematics, 15 states and jurisdictions had lower rates of exclusion than Kentucky's (3%). Thirty-seven states had equal or higher rates. The range was from 1 percent (Alaska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and DoDEA/DoDDS) to 7 percent (Delaware and Texas). The average nationwide was 3 percent.
At the 8th-grade level in mathematics, 32 states and jurisdictions had lower rates of exclusion than Kentucky's (4%). Twenty had equal or higher rates. The range was from 1 percent (Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, Wyoming, and DoDEA/DoDDS) to 9 percent (Delaware). The average nationwide was 3 percent.
For more than 30 years, NAEP has been the country's only nationally representative and continuing survey of students' educational achievement. Because the national NAEP samples were not designed to support the reporting of state-level results, state NAEP was introduced in 1990 to provide participating states reliable data concerning the achievement of their students. The assessment is authorized by Congress, directed by NCES and developed by Educational Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey. Westat, Inc. of Rockville, Maryland, conducts sample selection and data collection.
NAEP protects the confidentiality of students, teachers and schools that participate by not reporting individual student, teacher or school data. NAEP provides results for major demographic groups, and states that meet NAEP reporting criteria are able to compare their results with both national results and the results of other states.
To view more detailed information about Kentucky's results, click here.
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