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Despite a pandemic, Indiana fourth and eighth-grade student outperformed their peers nationally in math and earned similar scores in reading according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
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The NAEP released its Nation’s Report Card for the first time in three years and the findings are alarming for students overall as math and reading scores nationally fell dramatically due to the pandemic. 33 percent of fourth graders and 31 percent of eighth graders were proficient or better in reading, compared to 40 percent of fourth graders and 30 percent of eighth graders being proficient or better in math. Both rates were lower than 2019, except for fourth grade reading, which stayed about the same.
In Indiana, reading scores were around the national average and math scores were higher than the national average. You can see the results here.
“If this is not a wake-up call for us to double down our efforts and improve education, even before it was – before the pandemic, then I don’t know what will,” US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona told CNN’s Brianna Keilar.
While the news for Indiana in terms of math is prosperous, no state or large urban district showed improvement in math, according to the assessment. The proficiency benchmark for NAEP tests is generally higher than state exams and the results show a nationwide trend as disruptions due to the pandemic led to unprecedented yet expected declines.
