NC Test Scores Released

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NC Test Scores Released

Special Report - November 7, 2011
Newly released test scores from the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) contain encouraging trends in the math scores of North Carolina students, with the state ranking slightly higher than the national average. In reading scores, North Carolina students showed less progress, ranking largely on par with the national average. Known as “The Nation’s Report Card,” the NAEP is required of every state and administered every other year to students in the fourth and eighth grades.

In mathematics, fourth grade students in North Carolina scored an average of 245 for 2011, up one point from their average of 244 in 2009. For 2011, the national math score for fourth graders was 240. In reading, North Carolina fourth graders earned an average of 221, just a point above the national average of 220. Among eighth graders, those in North Carolina scored an average of 263 in mathematics, one point below the national average of 264. In reading, North Carolina eighth graders fared better, scoring 286, which is three points above than the national average.

The NAEP also groups students according to three levels of achievement in the categories of math and reading: “Basic,” “Proficient” and “Advanced.” For math, 44 percent of North Carolina’s fourth graders scored at the “Basic” level, while 38 scored “Proficient,” and seven percent scored “Advanced.” The 11 percent below “Basic” is a significant improvement from 1992, when approximately half of fourth graders were below “Basic.” North Carolina eighth graders’ math levels were 38 percent at “Basic,” 27 at “Proficient,” and 10 in “Advanced.” The 25 percent below “Basic” in 2011 is an improvement from 62 below in 1990.

In reading, 34 percent of the state’s fourth graders scored at the “Basic” level, while 26 percent scored “Proficient,” and eight percent at “Advanced.” The 32 percent below “Basic” has improved from 44 percent below in 1992. Among eighth graders in reading, 43 percent scored at “Basic,” 28 percent at “Proficient,” and three percent at “Advanced.” The 26 percent below “Basic” compares with 24 percent below in 1998, when eighth graders were first tested.

In a press release from the State Department of Public Instruction, State Superintendent June Atkinson commented that our state’s “NAEP scores show that we have made progress in mathematics, but we continue to face challenges in improving reading performance.”

Related resources:
Report Grades NC Public Schools ‘D’ - November 10, 2010
New Math Scores Released - October 22, 2009