NAEP Data Shows Improvements in Math, Yet Widening Achievement Gap in Urban Districts: A new report on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores for the largest urban school districts shows overall improvement in math for the mostly low-income and minority students who make up these districts, but a widening achievement gap between minority and White students.
The Nation’s Report Card on Thursday released two new reports on student achievement on the NAEP for both fourth- and eighth-graders: “The Nation’s Report Card: Mathematics 2007: Trial Urban District Assessment and The Nation’s Report Card Reading 2007: Trial Urban District Assessment.” Overall, test scores show encouraging growth in mathematics, but mixed results in reading achievement.
Students were compared throughout 11 of the nation’s largest city school districts. The NAEP assessment, dispensed by the U.S. Department of Education, reflected data on a representative sample, which illustrated a collective baseline for student attainment. The districts are: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Cleveland; Houston; Los Angeles; New York City; San Diego; and Washington, D.C. Jointly, they make up the districts whose 37,000-38,000 fourth- and eighth- graders were tested in reading and math and whose collective results are tracked through The Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA).
