A comparison of eighth-grade student test scores from the U. S. and international educational systems shows Missouri students ranking above average in math and science, according to the results of a new study by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). Results from the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) were used as a basis for the study.
Missouri eighth graders scored 512 in math, above the average TIMSS score of 500. The students scored 537 in science, above the TIMSS average and the U.S. average of 522.
Scores are reported in four categories: low, intermediate, high and advanced. In math testing, 31 percent of Missouri students scored at the high and advanced levels. The scores for science showed 45 percent of eighth graders at high and advanced levels.
NCES initiated this special study in an effort to link the NAEP scale to the TIMSS scale so that states could compare the performance of their students with that of students in other countries. Missouri placed in the mid-range of participating states and nations.
Scoring was based on NAEP results for 2011, which were used to predict performance on TIMSS testing. Three statistical methods were applied in linking the NAEP and TIMSS scales and showed the predictions to be accurate. TIMSS also performed random testing in nine states to validate predictions. Missouri was not selected as one of the nine states.
Differences between the NAEP and TIMSS administrations, assessment contents and program policies could contribute to the sources of error around predicted TIMSS scores. While predicted TIMSS scores should not be interpreted as actual scores, they provide states with a framework for global comparison.
NAEP is just one of the measures Missouri uses in its Top 10 by 20 initiative, which calls for Missouri to rank in the top 10 states for education by 2020 and help students graduate ready for college and career.
More information on the study is available at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/
or http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/science/. State comparisons can be found athttp://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/naep_timss.
2 comments:
It should be noted that Missouri's Math test scores STATE WIDE dropped last year for the first time in 5 years. DESE needs to do damage control due to this FACT as reported in the St. Louis Post :
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/missouri-test-scores-in-math-drop/article_824d2bc7-bcdd-5edc-a80a-9fda4016b105.html
In addition to the drop in MAP scores, DESE fails to be transparent about the drop in NAEP scores when comparing MO scores before and after the implementation of Common Core.
Missouri's highest 4th grade reading scores were reported in 2009 (224), the year Governor Nixon signed the agreement with the National Governors Association that Missouri would adopt common core standards and the year State Fiscal Stabilization Funds were awarded in exchange for "four assurances" which included adoption of "college and career-ready" standards. Since then, 4th grade reading score on the NAEP dropped to 2002 level.
Similarly, MO's highest 8th grade math score was reported in 2009 (286). Since then, the math score dropped to the 2007 level.
It's disingenuous for DESE to distract the public using favorable statistics with the TIMSS, when statistics comparing Missouri's scores to itself show a decline in student test scores since the implementation of it's own agenda.
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