Tennessee students scored about the same as they did in 2007 on a national math test, while Georgia students earned slightly higher scores, according to results from the nation’s report card.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress is administered nationwide to measure math and reading skills in fourth and eighth grades. This year, only math scores were released, coming out Wednesday.
Tennessee’s fourth-graders went down one point in math since 2007, while eighth-graders went up one point, the report shows. Both groups remain about six or seven points below the national average.
Rachel Woods, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Education, said a one-point change is not statistically significant.
“Tennessee’s scores were flat. We didn’t show any improvement from two years ago,” she said.
In North Georgia, school officials in Dade and Whitfield counties said their districts weren’t tested this time around.
Statewide, Georgia fourth-graders gained one point while the eighth-graders bettered their average score by three points, records show.
State officials say the test results are the first to show the impact of Georgia’s new math curriculum. Almost all the eighth-graders who took the test last school year were taught using the new curriculum for three years, according to state Superintendent Kathy Cox.
“I am confident this is just the beginning of the gains our students will show on national tests as our new curriculum takes hold,” Ms. Cox said in a release issued Wednesday.
In 2005, Tennessee education officials realized the state’s standards were not high enough and began to make them more rigorous. This school year is the first that the new curriculum and graduation standards will be taught.
“The old curriculum did not set a high bar,” Ms. Woods said. “Tennessee’s definition of proficient was woefully low compared to what NAEP considered proficient. You can expect (Tennessee’s) NAEP scores to go up in two years, definitely.”
Not all students take the national assessment, and results come from a “representative sample,” Ms. Woods said. In Tennessee, 96 school districts participated, and students from 283 schools took the test.
In Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue, who was named to the National Assessment Governing Board last May, said results show Georgia schools “are making significant progress in the most important subject areas.”
Dade County Superintendent Patty Priest said the state’s new math standards “are more rigorous and relevant to real-world situations.” The NAEP test “has helped Georgia students make higher gains in some areas,” she said.
Chickamauga City School Superintendent Melody Day said teachers have been attending training to implement the state’s new math curriculum.
“There is tremendous focus on student performance (and) progress, and teachers work to fine-tune pacing, curriculum, methodology,” Ms. Day said.
MATH SCORES
Tennessee
Fourth grade: 232
Eighth grade: 275
Georgia
Fourth grade: 236
Eighth grade: 278
Alabama
Fourth grade: 228
Eighth grade: 269
National average
Fourth grade: 239
Eighth grade: 282
Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress
Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee and previously covered North Georgia education. Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005, first covering Bledsoe and Sequatchie counties and later adding Marion, Grundy and other counties in the northern and western edges of the region to his coverage. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Tenn., a graduate of Bradley Central High School. Benton ...
Kelli Gauthier covers K-12 education in Hamilton County for the Times Free Press. She started at the paper as an intern in 2006, crisscrossing the region writing feature stories from Pikeville, Tenn., to Lafayette, Ga. She also covered crime and courts before taking over the education beat in 2007. A native of Frederick, Md., Kelli came south to attend Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in print journalism. Before newspapers, ...
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