THE NATION'S REPORT CARD: WRITING 2002

An Executive Summary

Prepared by Charles E. Smith, Executive Director

The results of the NAEP 2002 Writing Assessment being released today show significant gains for the nation’s fourth and eighth-grade students. The average performance of twelfth graders, however, remained flat.

In almost every category, the performance of fourth and eighth graders improved since the first time the current NAEP Writing Assessment was administered to nationally representative samples in 1998. Specifically, fourth and eighth graders produced:

• Average scores that were up significantly over 1998

• Improved performance at both the Basic and Proficient achievement levels

• Increases in average scores for Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics

• Gains across the board at all performance percentiles in both grades except the lower percentiles of eighth graders

The performance of fourth and eighth graders on the 2002 Writing Assessment is obviously good news. The trend line is moving in the right direction in most categories. There is reason for cautious optimism that the nation’s schools are producing better young writers.

Yet, concerns persist. Despite significant gains in the percentage of students writing at the Proficient achievement level, the 2002 assessment found more than two-thirds of the nation’s students still performing below Proficient, a level representing solid academic performance and demonstrated competency.

Of continuing concern is the performance of twelfth graders. In the NAEP 2002 Reading Assessment released last month, twelfth graders showed declines in achievement levels and average score. In Writing, the average is flat, while the proportion reaching Basic fell significantly.

Several months ago the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) established a National Commission on NAEP 12^th Grade Assessment and Reporting to improve what the American public knows about twelfth grade student performance. The Commission will report its findings and recommendations to NAGB next March.

Among the specific findings of the NAEP 2002 Writing Assessment are the following:

• The average score of fourth graders jumped from 150 in 1998 to 154 in 2002, while the average score of eighth graders increased from 150 to 153.

• The percentage of fourth graders scoring at or above the Basic achievement level increased from 84 to 86 from 1998 to 2002.

• The percentage of students scoring at or above the Proficient achievement level increased from 23 to 28 at the fourth-grade and from 27 to 31 at eighth grade.

• At fourth grade, scores increased across the board at all percentiles, while at the eighth grade improvement was registered at the upper (50^th, 75^th, and 90^th) percentiles, but remained flat at the lower (10^th and 25^th) percentiles.

• Of the 36 states and jurisdictions that participated in both the 1998 and 2002 eighth grade writing assessment, 16 showed score increases in 2002. NAEP did not administer a fourth-grade writing assessment at the state level in 1998.

• At the fourth grade, nine states and one other jurisdiction had higher percentages of students at or above Proficient than the nation, 12 had percentages that were not found to differ significantly from the nation, and 26 had percentages that were lower than the nation.

• At the eighth grade, eight states and two other jurisdictions had higher percentages of students at or above Proficient than the nation, 15 had percentages that did not differ significantly from the nation, and 22 had percentages that were lower than the nation.

• At both fourth and eighth grades, the average scores of Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics increased, and at fourth grade the gap between the average scores of Whites and Blacks narrowed from 1998 to 2002.

• At grade 4, the percentages of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander students at or above the Proficient achievement level were higher in 2002 than in 1998. At the eighth grade, the percentages of White, Black, and Hispanic students scoring at or above Proficient increased from 1998 to 2002.
• Significant gains were made by students eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch in average writing scale scores and in percentages at or above Proficient.

• Performance of twelfth graders remained flat in average score and in proportion at or above Proficient. Broken down by percentiles, only those at the 90^th percentile showed gains. At both the 10^th and 25^th percentiles, performance declined between 1998 and 2002. The proportion reaching Basic also decreased.

• Average scores of Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics were flat, and no significant change occurred in the gap between these three groups of students.

• No significant change was detected in the proportion of students at or above Proficient in any racial/ethnic subgroup between 1998 and 2002.

• Performance of female twelfth graders was flat between 1998 and 2002, while performance of male students declined significantly. The female-male gap increased from 19 points in 1998 to 25 points in 2002.

• The percent of female twelfth graders at or above Proficient increased significantly between 1998 and 2002 while the percent of male students reaching that achievement level remained flat. The percent of females at or above Proficient (33 per cent) was almost two and a half times the percent of males reaching Proficient (14 per cent).