NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress: Three Decades of Student Performance
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.DOCUMENT RESUME ED 441 875 TM 031 935 AUTHOR Campbell, Jay R.; Hombo, Catherine M.; Mazzeo, John TITLE NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress: Three Decades of Student Performance. INSTITUTION National Center for Education Statistics (ED), Washington, DC REPORT NO NCES-2000-469 ISBN ISBN-0-16-050558-5 PUB DATE 2000-08-00 NOTE 180p.; "In collaboration with Steve Isham, Jo-Lin Liang, Norma Norris, Inge Novatkoski, Tatyana Petrovicheva, Spence Swinton, and Lois Worthington." AVAILABLE FROM ED Pubs, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Tel: 877-433-7827 (Toll Free). U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328. PUB TYPE Numerical/Quantitative Data (110) Reports Evaluative (142) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Educational Trends; Elementary Secondary Education; *Mathematics Achievement; Mathematics Tests; *National Competency Tests; *Reading Achievement; Reading Tests; *Science Achievement; Science Tests; Trend Analysis IDENTIFIERS *National Assessment of Educational Progress. ABSTRACT The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has served as the only ongoing monitor of student achievement in the United States across time. This report summarizes major findings from 10 administrations of the long-term reading assessment since 1971, 9 administrations of the long-term trend mathematics assessment since 1973, and 10 administrations of the long-term trend science assessment since 1969 and 1970. Generally, the trends in mathematics and science are characterized by declines in the 1970s followed by increases during the 1980s and early 1990s and mostly stable performance since then. Some gains are evidenced in reading, but they are modest. Overall improvement across the assessment years is most evidenced in mathematics. National trends are reported in the three subject areas, by quartiles, and in the attainment of performance levels. Trends in academic achievement among student subgroups are reported for racial and ethnic groups and for males and females and by parents' educational level, and for public and nonpublic students. Trends are also reported for students' school and home experiences as they have reported them over the years. Appendixes contain an overview of the procedures used in the NAEP trend assessments and a review of NAEP data. (Contains 59 figures.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. p - - - U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position cr policy 0(7) F 2 I - - . : . 1 Is - 1 - 1 t. 1 1 1 What Os The Nation's Report Card? THE NATION'S REPORT CARD, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Since 1969, assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, history, geography, and other fields. By making objective information on student performance available to policymakers at the national, state, and local levels, NAEP is an integral part of our nation's evaluation of the condition and progress of education. Only information related to academic achievement is collected under this program. NAEP guarantees the privacy of individual students and their families. NAEP is a congressionally mandated project of the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Department of Education. The Commissioner of Education Statistics is responsible, by law, for carrying out the NAEP project through competitive awards to qualified organizations. NAEP reports directly to the Commissioner, who is also responsible for providing continuing reviews, including validation studies and solicitation of public comment, on NAEP's conduct and usefulness. In 1988, Congress established the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) to formulate policy guidelines for NAEP. The Board is responsible for selecting the subject areas to be assessed from among those included in the National Education Goals; for setting appropriate student performance levels; for developing assessment objectives and test specifications through a national consensus approach; for designing the assessment methodology; for developing guidelines for reporting and disseminating NAEP results; for developing standards and procedures for interstate, regional, and national comparisons; for determining the appropriateness of test items and ensuring they are free from bias; and for taking actions to improve the form and use of the National Assessment. The Nationai Assessment Governing Board Mark D. Musick, Chair Edward H. Haertel Migdania D. Vega President Professor, School of Education Principal Southern Regional Education Board Stanford University Coral Way Elementary Bilingual School Atlanta, Georgia Stanford, California Miami, Florida Michael T. Nettles, Vice Chair Juanita Haugen Deborah Voltz Professor of Education & Public Policy Local School Board President Assistant Professor University of Michigan Pleasanton, California Department of Special Education Ann Arbor, Michigan University of Louisville Honorable Nancy Kopp Louisville, Kentucky Moses Barnes Maryland House of Delegates Principal Bethesda, Maryland Honorable Michael E. Ward Hallandale High School State Superintendent of Public Instruction Fort Lauderdale, Florida Mitsugi Nakashima North Carolina Public Schools President Raleigh, North Carolina Melanie A. Campbell Hawaii State Board of Education Fourth-Grade Teacher Honolulu, Hawaii Marilyn A. Whirry Topeka, Kansas Twelfth-Grade English Teacher Debra Paulson Manhattan Beach, California Honorable Wilmer S. Cody Eighth-Grade Mathematics Teacher Former Commissioner of Education El Paso, Texas Dennie Palmer Wolf State of Kentucky Senior Research Associate Frankfort, Kentucky Honorable Jo Ann Pottorff Harvard Graduate School of Education Kansas House of Representatives Cambridge, Massachusetts Daniel A. Domenech Wichita, Kansas Superintendent of Schools C. Kent McGuire (Ex-Officio) Fairfax County Public Schools Diane Ravitch Assistant Secretary of Education Fairfax, Virginia Senior Research Scholar Office of Educational Research New York University and Improvement Edward Donley New York, New York Former Chairman U.S. Department of Education Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. Honorable Roy Romer Washington, DC Allentown, Pennsylvania Former Governor of Colorado Honorable John M. Engler Superintendent of Schools Los Angeles, CA Governor of Michigan Roy Truby Lansing, Michigan John H. Stevens Executive Director, NAGB Washington, DC Thomas H. Fisher Executive Director Director, Student Assessment Services Texas Business and Education Coalition Florida Department of Education Austin, Texas Tallahassee, Florida Adam Urbanski Michael J. Guerra President Executive Director Rochester Teachers Association Secondary Schools Department Rochester, New York National Catholic Education Association Washington, DC 3 CEINFH OI [MCKIM] S'AirOCS NAEP 1999 _J ACA .. Three Decades of Student Performance Jay R. Campbell Catherine M. Hombo John Mazzeo In collaboration with Steve Isham Jo-lin Liang Norma Norris Inge Novatkoski Tatyana Petrovicheva Spence Swinton Lois Worthington August 2000 U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvemtnt 4 NCES 2000-469 U.S. Department of Education Richard W. Riley Secretary Office © Educational Research and Omprovernent C. Kent McGuire Assistant Secretary Motional Center for Education Statistics Gary W. Phillips Acting Commissioner Assessment Division Peggy G. Carr Associate Commissioner Augang 2©©© SUGGESTED CITATION U.S. Department of Education. Office of Educational Research and Improvement. National Center for Education Statistics. NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress: Three Decades of Student Performance, NCES 2000-469, by J.R. Campbell, C.M. Hombo, and J. Mazzeo. Washington, DC: 2000. FOR MORE INFORMATION Content contact: Patricia Dabbs 202-502-7332 To obtain single copies of this report, while supplies last, or ordering information on other U.S. Department of Education products, call toll free 1-877- 4ED PUBS (877-433-7827), or write: Education Publications Center (ED Pubs) U.S. Department of Education P.O. Box 1398 Jessup, MD 20794-1398 TTY/TDD 1-877-576-7734 FAX 301-470-1244 Online ordering via the Internet: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html Copies also are available in alternate formats upon request. This report also is available on the World Wide Web: http: llnces.ed.govinationsreportcard Due to the confidential nature of NAEP surveys, the photographs throughout this report do not portray actual students who participated in the NAEP long-term trend assessment. The photographsare from Comstock, EyeWire Images, The Stock Market, and PhotoDisc stock libraries. The work upon which this publication is based was performed for the National Center for Education Statistics by Educational Testing Service, Westat, and National Computer Systems. TA a1] ors ix EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 2 NAEP's Long-Term Trend Assessments 3 The Student Sample 3 Analysis of Student Performance 4 This Report 7 CHAPTER 1. NATIONAL TRENDS IN ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 8 National Trends in Reading, Mathematics,