Virginia Students Outperform Peers on National Math Tests

Virginia fourth-grade and eighth-grade students outperformed their peers nationwide and in the South in mathematics on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Students in only five states performed at what the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) considers a statistically higher level on the grade-4 test, and students in only eight states achieved at a higher level on the eighth-grade assessment.

The NAEP, also known as “The Nation’s Report Card,” is a national measure of student achievement that is taken by samples of students representative of each state and the country as a whole. Tests in mathematics are administered every two years and provide a means of comparing states’ progress in raising student achievement.

The average scores of Virginia students — 243 for grade 4 and 286 for grade 8 — were significantly higher than the average scores of their national and regional peers.

Virginia’s 2009 average grade-four score in mathematics was five points higher than the average score of 238 for the South and four points higher than the average of 239 for the nation.

Virginia’s 2009 average grade-eight score in mathematics was six points higher than the average score of 281 for the South and four points higher than the average of 282 for the nation.

According to NCES, the 2009 Virginia results represented the same level of achievement as 2007, when students last took the national mathematics tests. NCES considers the increase in mathematics achievement of Virginia students in both grades since 2003 as statistically significant.

“Virginia students are holding onto the gains in mathematics achieved during early and middle years of the decade,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright said. “Building on this progress requires a continued focus on strengthening the mathematics skills of elementary and middle school students.”

The inclusion of larger percentages of students with disabilities and limited English proficient students in the 2009 Virginia testing samples did not significantly impact achievement as average scores, and proficiency levels for the commonwealth’s fourth and eighth graders were similar to 2007.

“The Virginia Department of Education has worked in partnership with local school divisions to increase participation in NAEP among these subgroups,” Dr. Wright said. “I am impressed that the success of these efforts has not had a significant impact on average achievement.”

The 2009 NAEP sample of Virginia students for mathematics included approximately 2,901 fourth-grade students from 130 elementary schools and 2,804 eighth graders from 108 middle schools.

Of the students identified for participation in the 2009 state-level sample, 19.6 percent of the fourth graders and 16.5 percent of the eighth graders were students with disabilities or English-language learners. Of these students, 10.7 percent of the fourth graders were excluded from testing, compared with 21.7 percent in 2007, and 21.4 percent of the eighth graders were excluded, compared with
38.3 percent two years ago.

A common reason for excluding a student is when a testing accommodation specified in a student’s individualized education plan — such as use of a calculator — is not permitted for students taking NAEP.

Information provided by Virginia Department of Education.