Report: Proficiency Standards and Student Assessments Vary Between States
Proficiency standards and student assessments vary significantly from
state to state, according to the latest report from the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES).
The report, "Mapping
State Proficiency Standards onto NAEP Scales: Results from the 2013 NAEP
Reading and Mathematics Assessments," uses the National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) as a common metric to compare state proficiency
standards for reading and math in grades 4 and 8 for the 2012-13 school
year.
"Although a wide variation in standards persists, more and more states are
implementing standards at or above the NAEP Basic level," said Peggy Carr,
acting NCES commissioner, in a prepared statement. "We have seen over time
that, in grades 4 and 8, states' standards are mapping higher on the NAEP
scale."
Key findings from the report:
- Most state proficiency standards were within the NAEP Basic achievement
level range, except in fourth grade reading, where most were below NAEP's
Basic level;
- Only New York state had standards that fell consistently within the NAEP
Proficient range in both grades and subjects;
- Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin all had standards
within the NAEP Proficient range in at least two grades or subjects;
- Reading had a greater variation in NAEP equivalent scores between states
than math;
- The number of states with grade 4 reading standards at or above the NAEP
Basic level increased from 20 in 2011 to 25 in 2013;
- In 2013, only New York state and Wisconsin had grade 4 reading standards
in the NAEP Proficient range;
- The number of states with grade 8 reading standards at or above the NAEP
Basic level increased from 36 in 2011 to 41 in 2013; and
- The number of states with grade 8 math standards at or above the NAEP
Basic level increased from 39 in 2011 to 41 in 2013.
The full report, "Mapping State Proficiency Standards Onto NAEP Scales:
Results From the 2013 NAEP Reading and Mathematics Assessments," is available
for download from the National
Center for Education Statistics site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].