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The Nation's Report Card: Mathematics
2000--National and State Results
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Hello, and welcome to today's
StatChat on the NAEP mathematics results for the nation. I'm sure
that you have many questions, so let's get right to them...
questions regarding today's release, so let's get right to
them... |
| Mike from Houston, Texas asked: |
| Have any of the results
from the NAEP been used to verify the results of any state
accountability systems or standardized tests? |
| Peggy Carr: |
Hi Mike... Good question. The official
answer is no, particularly if you focus on state accountability
systems. However, many states use NAEP results to get an independent
assessment of how well their students are doing.
Peggy |
| Peter from Philadelphia , PA asked: |
| Has NAEP considered
web/computer based testing to increase the "turn around" time of
results? Do you think producing Year 2000 results on the heels of
2001-2002 schoolyear reduces the impact of these
results? |
| Peggy Carr: |
Peter: Yes we have considered the value
of computer-based technology in NAEP and currently conducting field
test of computer-bases assessments. On the other hand, the uneven
availability of technology in the schools would currently made it
difficult to conduct a secure large-scale survey like NAEP fully on
line...but we are working on it! The timing of NAEP releases have
improved significantly in past decade. The 2000 release was delayed
slightly only to allow additional analyses to address multiple
samples. In future years, NCES will be reporting within six months
of data collection for reading and math. Thanks, Peggy
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| Tim from Raleigh, NC asked: |
| Could you please
address the signficance of North Carolina's performance over time. I
am particularly interested in how it's state exams are aligned with
the the NAEP. Thanks, Tim Simmons/The News &
Observer |
| Peggy Carr: |
Tim: I am not in a position to comment
on the NC content standards. You may want to ask NC Department of
Instruction about a special study that was conducted to address that
very issue. However, you should know that NAEP provides an
independent measure of NC score gain that is impressive. Thanks,
Peggy |
| Janet from Denver, Colorado asked: |
| Is it true that
Education researcher Lorrie Shepard, and others,have said the NAEP
math proficiency levels are set too high? |
| Peggy Carr: |
Janet: I believe that Lorrie Shepard
was a member of the NAEP evaluation panel that examined achievement
levels. The panel did offer such a conclusion. For a future
examination of all studies conducted on this issue, you may want to
consult page 14 of the Math 2000 NAEP report just released. In
addition, you may want to contact the National Assessment Governing
Bd. who is responsible for setting the NAEP achievement levels.
Thank you, Peggy |
| Elizabeth from San Francisco asked: |
| Why do you think the
nation's test scores rose? Are U.S. students getting better at math,
or could they simply be getting better at standardized
tests? |
| Peggy Carr: |
Eliz: Good question. We believe that
scores reflect real improvement in math proficiency and not simply
improvement in test taking skills. Students have not shown similar
degrees of improvement in all NAEP subjects. Thanks,
Peggy |
| Libby Huff from Los Angeles, California
asked: |
| I am very concerned
about the education my daughter will get in the local schools. She
is now 1 year old and I am concidering moving out of state
specifically to put her in a better school system. However, since
there isn't much in the way of state-by-state ranking I am having
trouble figuring out where to go. Which states are the best in
testing, teacher-student ratio and safety? Thank you, Libby Huff
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| Peggy Carr: |
Libby: Go to our NAEP website where
you can find lots of state by state information on education
achievement. Good luck. Peggy |
| Melanie from Houston, TX asked: |
| How do you define "the
average scale score?" In layman's terms, what does that
mean? |
| Peggy Carr: |
Melanie: The "average scale score"
represents the central tendency of the scores. NAEP scores are
expressed on a scale that ranges from 0-500, in which higher scores
indicate higher performance. Peggy |
| Lonnie from Jacksonville, Illinois
asked: |
| Which states show the
greatest gains, and do any states show significant
declines? |
| Peggy Carr: |
Lonnie: No states showed a significant
decline. For a complete listing of the many states that showed
gains, visit the NAEP home page at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard, or
consult tables 2.1 and 2.2 in the report released today.
Peggy |
| Lawrence from Alexandria, Va. asked: |
| What are your thoughts
on why average 12th grade scores declined significantly from 1996 to
2000? |
| Peggy Carr: |
Lawrence: The methodology of NAEP does
not allow us to specify reasons why the 12th grade scores declined
since 1996. I suggest you examine information on dropout rates for
minorities and high school retention rates...there may be
information there that may help you. Also, you should keep in mind
that the decline was limited to the lower performing students. Peggy
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| Lonnie from Jacksonville, Illinois
asked: |
| Which specific
resources would it take to get the results of NAEP much
faster? |
| Peggy Carr: |
Lonnie: I don't have time to give
you the details, but we are currently making changes and improvements
to the program design that allow results to be reported within six
months of data collection for math and reading, while protecting the
quality of NAEP data. Peggy |
| Heather from Salt Lake City Utah asked: |
| For the states whose
students perform better than the nation: what are they doing
right? |
| Peggy Carr: |
Heather: Secretary Paige addressed this
issue in his released comments today. You can find that statement on
the Departments website www.ed.gov. Peg |
| Thanks for all of your
excellent questions. Unfortunately, I could not get to all of them,
but please feel free to contact the NAEP staff if you need any
assistance. I hope that you found this session to be helpful and the
report to be interesting. |
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