ATLANTA – Most of the 16 Southern Regional Education Board states saw gains in the percentages of eighth-graders scoring at the Basic level or higher in mathematics on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2009 — and less progress in fourth grade, results released today show.
Ten of the 16 SREB states saw higher percentages of public school eighth-graders scoring at the Basic level or above in math on the NAEP in 2009 than two years ago: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Georgia was the only state in the SREB region and one of only 15 states nationally to make statistically significant gains in its students’ average scale score on NAEP for eighth-grade math.
Twelve of the 16 SREB states saw gains in the percentage of eighth-graders scoring at the more difficult Proficient level in math during the same period — all SREB states except for Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Three SREB states — Arkansas, Maryland and Oklahoma — each had 3 percentage-point gains.
In fourth grade, only three SREB states saw gains in the percentages of students scoring at the Basic level or higher in math: Kentucky, Maryland and North Carolina. In fact, Maryland saw a 5 percentage-point gain, tying for the nation’s largest. Six SREB states increased their percentages scoring at the more difficult Proficient level in 2009: Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia. Kentucky saw the region’s largest gain of 6 points. Two SREB states saw statistically significant gains in their average scale scores for fourth-grade math: Kentucky and Maryland.
Overall, both the region and the nation remained flat with 81 percent of fourth-graders scoring at the Basic level or higher on math in public schools, indicating students have only partial mastery of grade-level academic content. The region remained at 35 percent scoring at the higher Proficient level from 2007 to 2009 — indicating that students in public schools have demonstrated competence over challenging subject matter — while the national percentage dipped from 39 percent to 38 percent in the same two-year period.
The region had stronger gains than the nation in the percentage of eighth-graders scoring at the Basic level or higher in math in 2009. The SREB median states were up 2 points to 69 percent, compared with the nation’s 1-point rise to 71 percent. At the Proficient level, the nation saw a 2-point gain to 33 percent, while the region gained 1 point to 27 percent.
"Our states continue to show strong gains on this valuable national measure of student achievement," said Joan Lord, the SREB vice president for education policies. "Still, much work remains to meet our region’s goal of having all students score at the Basic level and even higher percentages than the nation score at the Proficient level."
Often called The Nation’s Report Card, NAEP is taken by a representative sample of students in each state and by 330,000 students nationwide.
The regional and national gains in eighth-grade math may be related to the substantial increase in recent years of students taking algebra and pre-algebra in the middle grades. About 41 percent of eighth-graders in SREB states were taking Algebra I or higher in 2009, and 71 percent of eighth-graders had taken pre-algebra or higher, according to NAEP. SREB states now outpace the nation in the percentage of eighth-graders taking pre-algebra or higher; the national rate is 70 percent for 2009.
Five SREB states met or exceeded the national percentage of eighth-graders scoring at the Basic level or above in math in 2009, down from six states in 2007. Four SREB states met or exceeded the national percentage at the Proficient level in 2009, down from six states in 2007.
Half of the 16 SREB states met or exceeded the national average percentage scoring at the Basic level or higher in fourth-grade math in 2009, unchanged from 2007. Five SREB states met or exceeded the national percentage at the Proficient level or higher in 2009, down from six states two years ago.
In a major policy report released in June, SREB urges states to adopt five strategies to improve middle grades achievement. The SREB report, Keeping Middle Grades Students on the Path to Success in High School, is online at www.sreb.org.
For analysis and comments on your state’s results, contact SREB Communications.
The Southern Regional Education Board, or SREB, based in Atlanta, was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. More information is available online at www.sreb.org.
