THE NATION'S REPORT CARD: READING, MATH 2003

FOR RELEASE at 10 a.m.
Thursday, November 13, 2003

Contact: Lawrence Feinberg
202-357-6938 or
Lisa Clarke
202-842-3600 ext. 241

THE NATION'S REPORT CARD: READING, MATH 2003

An Executive Summary

Prepared by Charles E. Smith, Executive Director

The performance of the nation's fourth and eighth graders on the NAEP 2003 mathematics assessment reflects significant improvement, with gains in average scores, across most racial/ethnic groups, at every achievement level, and in almost every state.

In general, the 2003 reading assessment results show a sustaining of gains reflected in the 2002 reading assessment released this past summer.

One of the more positive findings in both assessments is that student groups in early grades who historically have tended to perform poorly were among the big gainers in 2003 in mathematics while they maintained the significant increase in scores achieved in 2002 in reading.

The sweeping improvement in mathematics performance by the nation's fourth and eighth graders participating in the 2003 NAEP assessment is cause for optimism. The gains represent solid progress and sustain positive trend lines.

The NAEP 2003 reading results provide evidence that the gains registered in 2002 by the nation's fourth graders were no anomaly. The 2003 scores were comparable to those of 2002 across the board, and in both years the scores of fourth graders were significantly above those achieved in 2000 while eighth graders were generally steady across the past three assessments.

The 2003 mathematics assessment was the first since 2000, while the 2003 reading assessment was the second in two years.

The importance of the 2003 mathematics results is underscored by the fact that fourth and eighth graders achieved higher average scores and higher percentages scoring at or above Basic and at or above Proficient than in all previous assessment years. Moreover, the gap between Whites and Blacks and Whites and Hispanics narrowed at both grades 4 and 8, and Whites, Blacks, Hispanics and students eligible for free/reduced price lunch in both grades registered significant gains.

Also noteworthy in the math assessment, fourth and eighth graders across every level-from the 10^th percentile through the 90^th percentile-achieved scores in 2003 that are higher than in any of the previous assessment years.