NAEP test scores show modest improvement in reading and math over 2005

High school seniors around the country showed improvement in reading and math, according to national test results released Thursday. But even with the gains, the outcome suggests many students graduate without mastering those subjects.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which was administered in early 2009, the average reading score was two points higher than in 2005, the last year the test was given. However, the average score was four points lower than in 1992, the first time 12th graders took the test.

The average mathematics score was three points higher than in 2005, the first year a revamped math test was administered.

"We are encouraged with the gains students have made since 2005, but we are disappointed with the declines compared to 1992. Improvement is needed in both reading and math," said David Driscoll, chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for NAEP, also called the Nation's Report Card.

The results from NAEP, considered more rigorous than some states' tests, indicate that 38 percent of all students who took the test, including public and private school pupils, scored proficient or better in reading. Only 26 percent scored proficient or better in math. In 2005, 35 percent were proficient or better in reading, and 23 percent were in math.

In New Jersey, one of the 11 participating states (Pennsylvania was not among them), scores were somewhat above the national average in math and about the same in reading, statistically speaking.

"While these results show that our seniors score well when compared to other participating states in math, the bigger picture is clear in that we must do better," acting New Jersey Education Commissioner Rochelle R. Hendricks said.

Participation in the NAEP is voluntary. The new report reflects students who took the tests at 1,670 public and private schools. About 52,000 seniors took the reading test, and 49,000 did the math assessment.

The NAEP report also tracks performance differences by gender, race, parental level of education, and school location from urban to rural. Suburban students scored the highest. The study found persistent gaps in scores between white students and their black and Hispanic peers. Asian/Pacific Islander students outperformed all groups.

This year, for the time, the report breaks out results for the 11 states.

According to the state Education Department, 3,200 New Jersey public school seniors were assessed in math and 3,300 in reading in 90 schools.

New Jersey students scored 156 out of 300 in math, compared with the national average of 152. The New Jersey reading score average was 288 out of 500, as opposed to the nation's 287.

To see the report, go to http://nationsreportcard. gov/grade12_2009_report/EndText