The National Assessment of Educational Progress released its report on student progress in math and reading for grades 4 and 8. As expected, scores plummeted due to the many disruptions in students’ lives during the pandemic. Schools closed, then opened. Some never closed. Some were online. Some were both in-person and online. Some students lost family members to the COVID. Some students had COVID. Some teachers died or got COVID. Many cities and towns closed down. There was not a right way or a wrong way. There were many people trying to figure out what was the right thing to do. It’s still not clear, although I personally think that vaccines and masks saved many lives and reduced the seriousness of the disease for those who got it.
Leonie Haimson reviewed the results here. She provides links to other cities and states.
The Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, Peggy Carr, said this:
“There’s nothing in this data that tells us that there is a measurable difference in the performance between states and districts based solely on how long schools were closed,” NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr said.
I knew Peggy Carr when I served in the US Department of Education in the early 1990s. She is a career official and a straight-talker.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is the response I wrote to the “Chicken Littles” at The NY Times yesterday…If you are going to report on these results, please do your homework. The scam of NAEP is that it has rarely moved 1 standard deviation up or down since its existence. Trumpeting a triumph when scores make a modest rise or playing the role of chicken little when scores decline serves no meaningful purpose. Of course scores are down because students were disengaged with content for as much as a year. This does not mean students lost a year, they were focused on other things. Anyone who has observed this test being given knows that students see no purpose for it since they get no feedback regarding the results. Therefore there is little motivation to perform. NAEP is a report card that has shown little difference in student performance from year to year. Please stop propping up information that is used as justification for privatization and the tone deaf policies of the K-12 education establishment. We will not improve our public schools until we abandon this testing charade and start investing in teachers.
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NO PURPOSE. two very exact words
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The kids have absolutely NO incentive to do that test well. They get involuntarily pulled out of class with absolutely no warning to do it, and all they get is an NAEP pencil and a “Certificate of Public Service” (really). Why try?
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What we don’t know is the students ability to THINK WHILE IT’S STILL LEGAL. The test does not show the students ability to research, analyze, synthesize, collaborate, conclude, debate and defend their conclusion. Of course that isn’t important to the standardistos anyway as evidenced by the voters who believe things the village idiot wouldn’t.
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imagine if kids made up their own tests showing what they did learn
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Excellent. That could be done as a portfolio Thanks Ciedie
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Thanks for this predictable report. Disruption disturbs student learning. Students will access to resources will generally do better than lower socioeconomic groups. Despite all the screaming and blaming about schools opening and closing in various states, there are few significant differences in student outcomes.
The best observation comes from Ms. Haimson. Providing smaller class sizes gets better academic results than an extended day. I know this from personal experience. In addition to teaching, I ran an after school homework center for ELLs after school. While the students did apply themselves to the homework task, many of them including myself were exhausted. Some of them finished their work and put their heads down on the desk and fell asleep. Some had a much harder time staying on task. Pushing students too hard results in a diminished learning return, IMO. Students and teachers are not at their best when they are overworked.
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cx: students with access to resources
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These results cited are the tip of the research iceberg.
Interpretations of these surface data or the proverbial “we conclude more research is needed” are essential on many fronts. It’s not as simple as schools opened or close. One cannot infer Being at home results in learning at home. AND – being at school results in learning at school.
The variables are numerous and require research, especially: QUALITY of Instruction (if you want to call it that), CONSISTENCY (“Who’s teaching us today and where?”), HABITS of learning (at home and school), and LOGISTICS of learning (class size? look at use of combined classes).
It’s not as simple as “schools that stay open and those that closed.”
Reacher needed: Quality of instruction IN THE SCHOOL.
–> Teacher illness and teachers leaving increased the number of substitute teachers*, combined classes, covid-logistics, meaningless work or down time in auditoriums, more recess (not a bad thing), and more.
* “Experienced” Substitutes included the welcomed retiree returning and the bona-fide skilled building or district sub.
* Not-ready-to-teach substitutes included Teaching Assistants, pre-service teachers and others who were pressed into becoming THE teacher. Sadly, pushing these youngsters into the teacher-of-record action scared many out of the profession.
* Substitute “Temp” Service: Substitute teachers were not your usual substitute teachers. Many districts had no choice but to go to “temp” service substitute agencies. These were well-intended agencies who tried to screen, train, and place non-teachers with minimal college experience or out-of-content.
Research: LOGISTICS of learning
The quality of instruction (which has some affect on learning) depend(ed) on:
At home —
* Access to adults or self-regulated learning at home
* Access to technology
* Time spent on ___
At school —
“Who is our teacher today?”
“Whose class are we combining with (wanna talk about “class size)?”
Unsuccessful “teacher-ran-out-of-the-room” attempts at classroom management.
One day a teacher, next day in the auditorium watching another movie, “independent packet work” and more.
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The scores are relatively meaningless from any perspective, but I am quite sure the “drop” is a function of kids being spared the stupidity of test prep. Much sound and fury of little significance, but children will pay a dear price.
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“The scores are relatively meaningless from any perspective. . . ”
I’d say “The scores are COMPLETELY meaningless from any perspective. . .”
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My bad, Duane. You’re right!
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“There’s nothing in this data…” Peggy Carr should have quit there.
Perhaps on a normal year we can learn something from NAEP, but since the emphasis on testing, which began soon after the Nation at Risk report, no test is trustworthy because of the conscious effort on the part of educators to see positive test results. There has not been a “normal” year since that report.
The intensification of crazy days since the advent of Covid moves testing even farther from reason than it already existed. Testing now lurks in the realm of mist in the morning, its brief photograph preserved by those who value the picture before its meaning vanishes.
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Roy: Campbell’s Law is right again. Never fails.
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The NAEP scores dipped. OMG THE NAEP SCORES FELL!!! THE END OF THE WORLD IS NIGH BECAUSE THE CHILDREN DIDN’T REACH BASIC PROFICIENCY (an oxymoron)!!! Help us, O Perfect and All Knowing Bill Gates! Help us, Betsy DeVos! Help us, Pitbull! Sell us some cheap corporate junk that will get us out of this! Save us, Walmart and Disney!!! Andre Agassi, where are you when we need you?!?!
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Reposting a comment from Peter Greene; so much Chicken Little. The NAEP is not a proxy for grade level standards, just for starters:
“Apparently the NYT was unable to include this important disclosure taken directly from the NEAP website in less than two minutes:
“Students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level on NAEP assessments demonstrate solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter. It should be noted that the NAEP Proficient achievement level does not represent grade level proficiency as determined by other assessment standards (e.g., state or district assessments).”
Here’s a quick MC item for the NYT education reporters:
8th grade math students performing at the
NEAP __ achievement level can likely:
Reason and determine measurements, including length, area, and volume, with descriptions, labeled diagrams, and units provided
apply proportional reasoning to solve problems in context using scale factor, distance, unit conversion and quantities
apply simple scale factor value to find unknown lengths of triangles and rectangles without setting up a proportion
Find a missing angle in a triangle given two angles and understand that angles of a triangle add to 180 degrees recognize quadrilaterals given a description of their shared attributes
Interpret, create, and/or compare different data set representations to determine a specific set of values for mean, mode, and range while identifying errors and appropriateness
Use a coordinate plane to identify and plot coordinate points precisely find the distance between points recognize and extend patterns within an arithmetic or geometric sequence of numbers in a list or table (arithmetic, geometric) to solve problems in context
identify, solve, and/or evaluate one- and two-step equations, and apply slope, given linear relationships
a) Basic
b) Proficient
c) Advanced
It’s also important to note that NEAP tests being used to assess 8th grade math achievement were administered at around the half-way mark (J, F, M) of the 8th grade school year.
Take a look:
https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/achieve.aspx#grade8 “
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Ah, LCT, it seems you prayed so mightily that Bill Gates has heard you…
https://www.centralmaine.com/2022/10/19/gates-foundation-donates-1-billion-to-prioritize-math-education/
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Behind subscription wall.
Aside from that. . . how long are the strings?
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Bill Gates is giving a billion dollars to software companies like Zillow. Ever notice how billionaires manipulate the stock market by making public pronouncements about their intentions without first signing a contract? Bill Gates makes deals with strings he can cut when he chooses. Short strings, long scissors.
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It’s interesting how Bill Gates chooses to give his money away huh?
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He gives his money to himself with trumpets and dancing clowns in a parade. And everyone falls for it. He probably gets tax subsidies for pronouncing his gifts to himself as philanthropy.
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What is striking is the rush to solutions, such as tutoring and more time on learning. So, where will more time come from? Longer school day (for some, perceived as punishment, or for all no matter what their score?) When will tutoring take place? Doesn’t seem like a systemic solution, given the extent of the score drop? No doubt, entrepreneurs will proffer expensive solutions and ramp up anxiety. How about addressing–finally–inequity, time for professional collaboration among teachers, avoiding drill and kill and embracing strategies for deeper and more resilient learning?
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Eye-Crometer…
Analyses are only as good as
the ass-you-mes (assumptions)
upon which they are built.
Whether you question the
score myth or amplify it,
if scores make (define)
you, scores can break you.
Live by the score,
die by the score.
The problem-solution of
score pressure compliance
programming, or using scores
as a measuring tool, seems
to ignore a basic.
DON’T do to others,
what you DON’T want
done to you.
Of course, “they” started
it, BUT your complicity
continues it.
Question the scores or
amplify the scores.
You are either an agent
of the people, or an agent
of the score based
“success fo whom”
bamboozle…
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“Of course, “they” started
it, BUT your complicity
continues it.”
your complicity = GAGA Good German teachers, adminimals and board members.
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So scores declined during a massive pandemic. Are we surprised? We know trauma can affect all aspects of an individual’s life, and the pandemic certainly dealt a lot of trauma. I bet there will be an uptick in scores next year and would be if we did nothing but get back to “normal,” which may take longer for those most affected by the trauma of the last few years. As far as I can tell, the only useful info we have gotten from NAEP is an understanding of the challenges faced by different groups, economic, social, ethnic, racial,… I know that kids in high socioeconomic groups are going to perform better. As a general rule they attend schools that are far better resourced than those of less fortunate communities, and they tend to have families who are highly educated and invested in and capable of providing a rich environment for their kids. There is no struggle to provide for basic needs that is much more common in poorer communities. The scare tactics strike me as a marketing ploy for those who have snake oil to sell.
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The media are all over the dropping scores, but not a word about all the rising corporate prices due to profiteering from our continued Covid crisis. Inflation is about 8%, but more than half of it is due to record setting profits, not rising wages.
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Speduktr, Exactly right about NAEP.
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In The NY Times today a headlines “California has Dismally low Math and Reading Test Scores.” Then in small print it reads these scores are not as bad as the rest of the country. It’s as if the mainstream media relishes bringing down the public schools perpetuating manufactured failures. I guess misrepresenting the issues in education is a winning formula for attracting readers. Or they are just simpletons who don’t bother to know what they are talking about.
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The burden from COVID that will never stop destroying lives and impacting NAEP scores will be from long COVID, for those that survived, of all ages.
Surviving COVID is not the end of this pandemic for anyone.
“The astounding impact and reach of long COVID, in numbers and charts”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/oct/12/long-covid-coronavirus-data-symptoms-causes-studies
I’ve been learning about long COVID’s symptoms, and I’m convinced death might be a better option.
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