GA Students Show Improvement on NAEP Math

Georgia is one of just 15 states to show significant improvement in eighth-grade mathematics, according to national test results released today.

The results of the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are the first national results that show the impact of Georgia's new mathematics curriculum. Nearly all the grade 8 students who took the NAEP last school year had been taught using the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) in mathematics for three years.

Georgia’s eighth grade scores on the NAEP have also shown a higher rate of growth than the nation over the last several years. In 2003, Georgia's score of 270 was six points lower than the nation (276). This year’s results show the gap between Georgia and the nation has decreased to just four points.

“Since I became State Superintendent in 2003 my focus has been on implementing a more rigorous curriculum and requiring higher expectations of all students,” Superintendent Cox said.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is a test given to a representative sampling of students from each state across the nation. The test is scored on a scale from 0 to 500 and is also broken down into four scoring categories: below basic, basic, proficient and advanced.

NAEP results for Mathematics were released in grades 4 and 8. NAEP results in other subjects, including reading, will be released in the coming months.



GRADE 8

Georgia is one of 15 states that shows statistically-significant improvement on the Mathematics NAEP when compared to the last test given in 2007.

Georgia's eighth graders scored 278, up three points and just four points behind the national average of 282. All subgroups in Grade 8 showed improvement, most notably Hispanic students (270, up four points from 2007) and economically disadvantaged students (265, up three points).

About two-thirds of Georgia's 8th graders (67%) scored at basic level or higher on the 2009 NAEP -- up three points from 2007 -- and 27% scored at proficient or above, up two points.

The achievement gap between Black and White students in 8th grade in Georgia continues to be smaller than the national average. Since 2003, Georgia’s gap has decreased seven points from 34 to 27 while the national average has closed only three points from 35 to 32.

Georgia has also closed the achievement gap among students eligible for the National School Lunch Program and those that are not. This gap has closed six points since 2003 from 31 to 25, while the national average closed only one point.



GRADE 4

Fourth-grade scores on the Mathematics NAEP were fairly steady compared to 2007.

Georgia's grade 4 test-takers scored 236 on the Mathematics NAEP, up one point from 2007 and just three points behind the national average. Georgia's student subgroup scores also remained generally the same. None of the changes in Georgia's fourth-grade scores were considered statistically significant.

In 2009, 78 percent of Georgia's fourth-graders scored at or above the basic level, down one point from 2007. However, 34 percent scored at the proficient level or higher, up two points from the last test.

The achievement gap between Hispanic and White students in 4th grade in Georgia continues to be smaller than the national average. In 2009, the Hispanic to White achievement gap was five points less than the national average.