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Each month, Success brings you a research brief or in-depth article to discuss with board members and administrators.
Spring tests show modest math gains and stagnating reading scores
Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a national research and standardized testing organization, recently released an analysis of eight years of student assessment data in math and reading for grades three to eight. The report confirms that academic proficiency in both subjects declined sharply during the pandemic in the 2020–21 school year and has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019 and earlier. Researchers found that continued investment in math instruction and intervention has produced consistent gains, while reading outcomes have remained stagnant, indicating a need for renewed focus and intensified efforts even as many states adopt science-of-reading curricula.
In mathematics, students in grades three to six recorded their lowest average scores in 2021, while grades 7–8 reached their lowest point a year later, in 2022. Third-grade students were 28% below proficiency (a benchmark score of 205 on the NWEA assessment) at the end of the 2020–21 academic year. However, their performance has improved by 17 points over the past four years. Fourth graders gained 14 percentage points over the same period, while students in grades five to eight saw more modest increases, averaging only five points. The data reveal a clear trend: As students advance through grade levels, the rate of improvement narrows.
When disaggregated by race and socioeconomic status for third-grade students, all racial groups demonstrated double-digit increases in proficiency since 2021. The largest gains were among American Indian (+17), Black (+22), and Hispanic (+26) students, compared to a 17-point average gain for all third graders. Socioeconomic status, measured by the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch (FRPL), showed similar patterns. High-poverty districts (with more than 75% of students qualifying for FRPL) saw an average 25-point gain, while mid- and low-poverty districts posted smaller increases of roughly 13 points.
Reading proficiency, by contrast, has shown little recovery. Although scores did not decline as steeply as math during the pandemic, they have largely stagnated. Third- and fifth-grade reading scores have remained flat for five consecutive years, with 14% and 13% of students, respectively, still below proficiency. Students in grades six to eight have continued to experience gradual declines of three to four points since 2021. Fourth grade stands out as the only area of improvement, with proficiency rising by a single point over the same timeframe. The reading analysis did not include demographic or socioeconomic breakdowns.
> Read the full study report
> Read a summary on NWEA’s study
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