NAEP

Tom Loveless (Brown Center Chalkboard 2-23-18) wrote, "Scores from the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) will be released in the coming weeks. NAEP is often referred to as “the nation’s report card,” providing a reliably accurate estimate of national academic achievement every two years." 

Like Tom, I can't wait. 

Here are the NAEP results comparing the past two tests (2013 and 2015) for students who scored at or above Proficient. 

NAEP

Some critics argue that the "Proficiency" cut scores are set too high, such as in mathematics, but I don't buy the argument. The NAEP scores show that the vast majority of students on average are not performing to the expected level in mathematics, reading, or science. NAEP is a national test given every two years. 

In math and reading, for example, we should look at classroom practice, policies, and programs that sound good but do not work, from the metrics of Common Core and state testing (Every Student Succeeds Act: ESSA) to minimal guidance instructional methods (e.g., discovery, etc.), tech/big data, and heterogeneous grouping that equalizes downward. 

Minimal Guidance = Minimal Learning. 

We are not teaching enough essential content and often substitute critical thinking for factual and procedural knowledge. The problem we have in the 4th grade and above starts in the 1st grade. Kids are not taught basic arithmetic that counts. Memorization of single-digit number facts and the standard algorithms, for example, are not taught for mastery. Instead, students are taught reform math with so-called "standards of mathematical practice" and a host of alternative algorithms. With ESSA and mandatory state testing, teachers teach the test items, which fragments the curriculum. 

Knowledge in long-term memory supports and enables thinking. 

© 2018 LT/ThinkAlgebra