According to the recently released 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), students in grades 4 and 8 have made progress in math and reading, but schools have a long way to go in helping all students achieve at high levels.
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- More than 700,000 students in all 50 states and the District of Columbia took the tests last winter.
- Since 1990, the percentage of 4th graders who test at the proficient level or better in math has tripled, from 13% to 39%.
- White, black, and Hispanic students all scored higher in 2007 than in the first assessment 15 years ago at both grades 4 and 8. However, only the white-black gap at grade 4 was smaller in comparison to the gaps in 2005 and 1992.
- Reading skills are improving for both 4th and 8th graders, particularly among lower- and middle-performing students.
- In 2007, 4th graders scored higher in reading than in all previous assessment years, with higher percentages of students performing at basic and proficient achievement levels. "The average reading score was up 2 points since 2005 and 4 points compared to the first assessment 15 years ago," according to NAEP.
- The average reading score for 8th graders was up only 1 point since 2005 and 3 points since 1992.
- In 2007, female students scored 7 points higher than male students at grade 4 and 10 points higher at grade 8. These gender gaps were not significantly different from the gaps seen 15 years ago.
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