Montgomery, AL – Alabama’s student performance on state reading and math tests has generally risen at three achievement levels – basic, proficient, and advanced, according to the Center on Education Policy (CEP) and its recent study that analyzed data on Grades 4, 8, and 11 from all 50 states. The CEP study analyzed test score trends, where available, from 2002, the year the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) took effect, through 2008.
“This report compares student achievement data from 2002 to 2008, which is before and after AMSTI [Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative] was launched. We are showing moderate-to-large increases while still having AMSTI in less than 50 percent of Alabama schools,” said AMSTI Director Steve Ricks, Alabama Department of Education.
The CEP report shows Alabama’s scores in reading and math are increases, with some “no net changes.” There were no decreases indicated for Alabama. The report profiles each state, showing trends in reading and math for basic, proficient, and advanced levels in elementary, middle, and high school, providing an in-depth look at the full range of students. The Alabama Accountability System 2008 Interpretive Guide defines these three academic achievement levels:
1) Basic – Partially Meets Academic Content Standards
2) Proficient – Meets Academic Content Standards
3) Advanced – Exceeds Academic Content Standards
Since 2005, virtually all Alabama students have reached the basic level of performance in both reading and math.
The percentage scoring basic and above has remained at 100 percent in Grades 4 and 11 and has hovered around 98-99 percent in Grade 8. The percentages of students scoring at the basic level and above have increased in most states.
“Statewide efforts to improve reading through the Alabama Reading Initiative [ARI] focused on Grades K, 1, 2, and 3 through 2006,” explained Assistant State Superintendent Sherrill Parris, Alabama Department of Education. “This report confirms the positive trends resulting from Alabama’s investment in K-3 literacy. The data also confirm that to sustain those results throughout the secondary grades, there must be a systematic focus on adolescent literacy. The ARI has begun that work on a small scale, with encouraging gains in student performance.”
In 2008, more than half, or 53 percent (increased from 50 percent in 2005), of Alabama’s fourth-graders reached the advanced level in reading, and 50 percent (increased from 44 percent in 2005) reached advanced in math. Between 2005 and 2008, the percentage of students performing at the advanced level in reading increased slightly at Grade 4. In math, the percentage of advanced level grew at a moderate-to-large rate in Grades 4 and 8 and increased slightly in Grade 11.
Nationally, trends are strongest at the elementary and middle school levels, but achievement has improved at the high school grade level, also. Many more states showed gains than declines among high school students for all achievement level-subject combinations. Overall, the percentage of high school students reaching or exceeding the three achievement levels has increased.
“The percentages of students scoring at the basic-and-above and advanced levels have increased much more often than they have decreased, especially in the lower grades,” said Jack Jennings, CEP’s president and CEO. “There are several possible explanations for the upward trends. The most hopeful explanation is that students are learning more and consequently are performing better on state tests. There is probably also a cumulative effect of test-focused instruction at work.”
View complete CEP report. The report entitled “State Test Score Trends Through 2007-08, Part 1: Is the Emphasis on “Proficiency” Shortchanging Higher- and Lower-Achieving Students?” is online as well as state profiles.
The Center on Education Policy is a national independent advocate for public education and for more effective public schools. For more information, contact Chloe Louvouezo, 202-955-9450, ext. 320.
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The CEP collected test data from all 50 states. Achievement trends were included in the report only for states with at least three years of comparable test data for a particular subject, grade, and achievement level. A change in test results was considered to be a “trend” only if it was based on at least three years of data in order to account for yearly fluctuations in test scores that are unrelated to students’ learning.