FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Stephanie Germeraad
202/293-1217 ext. 354
sgermeraad@edtrust.org
EdTrust Statement on the 2008 NAEP Long-Term Trend Results
WASHINGTON (April 28, 2009) – According to today’s release of long-term trend data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), we’ve seen marked improvements in reading and math achievement among younger students, and achievement gaps between white students and students of color have narrowed over the past four decades.
However, 35 years of relative stagnation in reading and math achievement among high school students overall should be cause for great alarm. In the face of rapid changes in the workplace and the world, our schools are not preparing our students for the challenges and demands of today, let alone tomorrow.
When NAEP’s long-term trend assessment was first given in the early 1970’s, American homes and businesses were equipped with touch-tone telephones, mimeograph machines, and console TV sets with 12-channel tuners. Skylab was launched, the cost of a first-class postage stamp was eight cents, and technologies like the barcode and floppy disk drive were still in development.
At that time, less than a quarter of our young people earned bachelor’s degrees and only about 16 percent of U.S. jobs required an undergraduate education. In fact, the majority of workers earning a middle-class wage didn’t require any postsecondary training.
On those first NAEP long-term trend assessments, African-American and Latino 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds trailed far behind their white peers in both reading and math.
- In reading, African-American 9-year-olds scored 44 points lower than their white peers. At age 13, African-American students lagged 39 points behind white students. And among 17-year-olds, the white-African-American gap was 53 points.
- In math, Latino 9-year-olds scored 23 points lower than their white peers. At age 13, the white-Latino gap was 35 points. And at age 17, Latino students lagged 33 points behind white students.