Delaware Education News
October 2007
Copyright © 2007 Queue, Inc.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Almost Half of States Fail Academic Standards Test
DOE Releases Science and Social Studies Scores
2007 NAEP Math and Reading Results Released
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Weak expectations drive calls for national testing
Five years after No Child Left Behind made standards-based education reform the law of the land, a new study finds that the subject-by-subject state standards that undergird this reform strategy remain inadequate in most jurisdictions. The State of State Standards 2006, the first full review of such standards since 2000, confers an average grade of "C-minus"-the same as six years earlier-even though most states revised their standards during that period.
á Twenty-six states earned a "D" or an "F" grade overall, including Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Oregon.
á Eleven performed worse than in 2000, including Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio, and Utah.
á Nine states earned honors grades in all subjects, led by Massachusetts, California, and New York.
á
Nine improved their grade by one letter or more, including Indiana, Georgia, and Virginia.
Here is the report for Delaware
Overall Grade: D+
English: C
Math: D
Science: C
U.S. History: F
World History: D
More Details: http://www.edexcellence.net/foundation/publication/publication.cfm?id=358&pubsubid=1326#1326
Steady increases seen in both subject areas
DelawareÕs Department of Education ( DOE) has released the results from the eighth administration of the eighth and eleventh grade science and social studies portions of the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP).
In the eighth grade science 58.4% of the students tested scored at Level 3 or higher, a four percentage point increase from last yearÕs scores. In grade eleven, 64.9% scored at Level 3 or higher, also an increase of four percentage points from last yearÕs assessment. The science test measures studentsÕ knowledge and understanding in four areas: Inquiry, Life Science, Earth Science and Physical Science.
In eighth grade social studies 50.1% of students scored at level 3 or higher, which is the same result as last yearÕs scores. In grade eleven, 53.2% of students met or exceeded the standards, resulting in a two percentage point increase compared to last yearÕs scores. The social studies test measures studentsÕ knowledge and understanding in four areas: Civics, Economics, Geography and History.
Results can be viewed on DOEÕs website at: http://dstp.doe.k12.de.us/DSTPmart/default.asp.
Delaware remains above the national average in both subjects/grades
Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Mathematics and Reading assessments have been released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The NAEP assessments, known as the ÒNationÕs Report Card,Ó were administered to all fourth and eighth grade public schools in Delaware from January through March of 2007.
In most states, only a sample of schools is selected to participate in the NAEP assessments. Since Delaware is such a small state and a certain sample size is needed for accurate results, all Delaware public fourth and eighth grade schools were part of the NAEP sample. However, since fourth grade NAEP only assessed reading and mathematics, not all fourth grade students participated in NAEP this year. Eighth grade NAEP assessed three subject areas - reading, math or writing and all eighth grade students were selected for NAEP participation. Students were tested in one of the NAEP subjects as randomly assigned by NCES. Writing NAEP results for eighth grade will be released in the spring of 2008.
NAEP Mathematics
Delaware was one of fourteen states that had significant increases in both grades in math. In grade four math, Delaware had an average scale score of 242. This two point gain from 2005 continues to surpass the national scale score of 239. TodayÕs results also showed significant increases in average scale scores for Female, Black, Hispanic and low income subgroups. Delaware also saw an increase in students that moved to the NAEP Basic and Above level, from 84% in 2005 to 87% in 2007. Delaware continued to have a significantly higher percentage of students At or above Basic levels than the national public average of 81%.
DelawareÕs fourth grade also saw a significant increase in students in the At or above Proficient levels, from 36% in 2005 to 40% in 2007. The percentage of students that are At or above Proficient in Delaware is statistically equal to the national public percentage of 39%. There was a narrowing of gaps for long term NAEP (back to the 90Õs) for Black/White students, Low Income/Non Low Income students, and students in the 25th to 75th percentiles.
In grade eight math, Delaware had an average scale score of 283, also a two point gain which remains significantly higher than the national average of 280. Sub groups of White and low income students also showed significant increases in average scale score. The national public average scale score increased two points at grade four and one point at grade eight.
NAEP Reading
With one point decreases that were not statistically significant at both fourth and eighth grade, Delaware was one of 30 states which saw NAEP Reading scores remain stable from 2005 to 2007. However, even with national increases this year in reading, Delaware remains above the national public average with an average scale score of 225 compared to 220. In grade eight, Delaware continued to remain above the national figures with an average score of 265 compared to 261 nationally.
In grade four, the Delaware percentage of students At or above Basic in 2007 remained the same as 2005 at 73%. This percentage is significantly higher than the National Public percentage of 66% in 2007. The Delaware percentage of students At or above Proficient in 2007 was also stable at 34%, the same as 2005. The Delaware percentage of students At or Above Proficient was statically equal to the national pubic percentage of 32%.
For eighth grade, the Delaware percentage of students At or above Basic in 2007 was 77%, a reduction from the 2005 percentage of 80%. However, the Delaware At or above Basic percentage remains significantly higher than the national public average of 73%. The percentage of Delaware students At or above Proficient in 2007 was 31%, statistically equal to the 30% for Delaware in 2005. The Delaware students At or above Proficient was equal to the 2007 national public figure of 29%.
Long Term Gains
According to NAEP, Delaware continues to be a leader in long-term gains since the implementation of the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) first administered in 1998. Although a number of other states are statistically equal to DelawareÕs performance, DelawareÕs rank on the NAEP State Comparisons Tool for average scale score gains in NAEP are as follows:
á 4th Grade Math for 1996-2007 - Delaware is ranked first for All students with a 27 point gain, first for White students with a 25 point gain, first for African American students with a 35 point gain and first for Hispanic students with a 40 point gain.
á 8th Grade Math for 1996-2007 – Delaware is ranked fifth for All students with a 16 point gain, third for White students with a 19 point gain, and eighth for African American students with a 21 point gain.
á 4th Grade Reading for 1998-2007 - Delaware is ranked first for All students with an 18 point gain, second for White students with a 15 point gain, first for African-American students with a 24 point gain and first for Hispanic students with a 42 point gain.
á 8th Grade Reading for 1998-2007 – Delaware is ranked first for All Students with an 11 point gain, first for White students with an 11 point gain, first for African American students with a 16 point gain and first for Hispanic students with a 9 point gain.
According to NAEP:
á Delaware was one of only two jurisdictions that showed a significant narrowing of the White/Hispanic gap between 2003 and 2007 in fourth grade reading.
á The math scores for fourth and eighth grade African American students rose significantly.
á The math scores for fourth and eighth grade Hispanic students rose significantly.
á Fourth and eighth grade students with disabilities had a significant increase in math scores between 2003 and 2007.
á Math scores for low income fourth and eighth graders significantly increased.