Dropping test scores signal need for education aid in North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. (KXNET) — The results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are back, and according to State School Superintendent Kirsten Baseler, they only serve as a testament to the importance of supporting teachers and future education aid.

Often referred to as the ‘Nation’s Report Card’, the NAEP’s results were released Monday. These represent the test results in fourth-to-eighth-graders in both reading and math for all 50 states. In early 2022 (January 24-March 1), over 5,000 fourth-graders and 7,000 eighth-graders from North Dakota took part in the test.

Below is a summary of the state and overall country’s average scores for the previous two NAEP tests (2021 was skipped due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

While drops in the average score between 2019 and 2022 were noted, it’s also important to mention that student averages were still close to or slightly above the national averages.

It isn’t just North Dakota, either — national student scores have declined sharply since the assessments in 2019. A statement from the NAEP indicates that mathematics declines were particularly noticeable, with no state having math gains in either surveyed grade.

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The Department of Public Instruction’s director of assessments Stan Schauer stated that he believed that the NAEP data worked to confirm other test information that highlighted a learning decline during the pandemic — particularly the spring ND state assessments in spring 2021 and 2022.

“No one assessment or measure can accurately measure student learning or the performance of the state or a school district,” said Schauer. “These NAEP results are the fifth data point we have received regarding North Dakota students’ learning recovery trends since classes resumed in the fall of 2020. They are valuable in understanding what steps need to be taken next.”

“We have our work cut out for us,” said Baesler, “but we have seen that when our hard-working, caring educators are with our students in well-supported classrooms, our children thrive. Academic achievement can soar when adult behaviors are focused on student outcomes.”

Additional information on the NAEP can be found on their website pages for mathematics and reading.