New York City, Houston perform best on NAEP
8/12/03 -- A first-ever national assessment on reading and writing for six of the nation's largest urban school districts found the highest achievement levels in Houston and New York City.
The Trial Urban District Assessment analyzed data for fourth and eighth-grade students in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C., who were part of the 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) reported July 22 that, in nearly all cases, more students in the six cities were closer to national averages in writing than in reading. Average scores in fourth grade were closer to those for public school students nationwide than the averages at grade 8, where more urban students fell behind.
NAGB, which oversees and sets policy for NAEP, says student writing in the urban districts was particularly strong.
Fourth graders in New York City exactly matched the proportion of public school students nationwide reaching NAEP standards -- 85 percent were at or above the basic level and 27 percent were at or above the proficient level.
Results for Houston also were similar to those for public school students nationwide.
Among the other four urban districts, the proportion of fourth graders reaching the basic level was much lower -- 30 percent in Chicago, 29 percent in Atlanta, 27 percent in Los Angeles, and 25 percent in the District of Columbia.
U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige commended the districts that agreed to participate in the study. "While the cities' overall scores are below the national average in reading and writing," he says, "the good news is that we can use this assessment as a benchmark for the future."
Paige says the urban districts "recognize that they have a lot of work to do to raise not only overall performance but particularly to erase the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and their peers."
Top of Page
| Reproduced with permission from the 2003 issue of School Board News. Copyright © 2003, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789. |