[V]ermont’s students continue to beat the national average on math and reading tests, but the state’s national rank is slipping and students are performing worse than they did when they last took the test two years ago.
It’s a trend that has experts and educators on alert, and talking about what needs to change at Vermont’s schools.
Overall performance has slipped in both math and reading in fourth grade, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a biennial indicator commonly called the Nation’s Report Card. In eighth grade, math scores are down while reading stabilized.
The decline in average math and reading scores matches up with a downward trend on the Smarter Balanced test, a yearly assessment of student progress on Common Core state standards for English and mathematics.
When 2017 results released last August showed lower scores in English and math compared to 2015-2016, some education officials blamed the test — the contractor who designed the test was called to appear at a State Board of Education meeting to explain the slipping scores.
The Agency of Education and others are now looking to the schools and demographics for an explanation of a trend that appears contrary to the state’s reputation for sturdy academics.
“Declines in two different assessments in both English/language arts and math send a clear message that all schools need to re-commit to promoting these foundational skills for our young people that will help them to secure a vibrant future as members of our social, economic and civic communities,” Deputy Education Secretary Amy Fowler said in a press release.
The Nation’s Report Card shows what students in fourth and eighth grades can do in math and reading and how performance has changed over time. Average scores are higher across the board than they were when the assessment began about three decades ago, but in recent years scores plateaued and began to dip.
Since 2015, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has tested students on English and math in grades three through eight as well as grade 11.
NAEP doesn’t assess every student, but uses samples from each state every other year to provide a steady marker for states to evaluate their own testing programs. Results from both 2015 and 2017 showed persistent downward trends in scores across all groups of students.
It has changed the line of questioning in Vermont from what’s wrong with the assessment to what can be done to address sagging performance.
“When you have two different tests showing much the same thing, you have to pay attention to them,” according to Bill Mathis, an expert on testing and director of the National Educational Policy Center, as well as vice president of the State Board of Education.
Mathis’ best guess is that the trend has to do with a growing number of low-income students in the state. “As long as society has a large income gap, there will also be an achievement gap. Plain fact,” he said.
Since the scores began to decline in 2015, students taking advantage of the free and reduced price lunch program has grown from 40 percent to 44 percent, according to Mathis, who said that’s enough to account for the decline.
Low-income students performed below the state average for proficiency in both subjects in all grades in 2017 on the SBAC. In 2016, low-income students performed just as poorly.
There was also wide variability in the results for individual schools, with some schools showing great improvements as others saw scores fall significantly.
Michael Hock, testing director at the Agency of Education, said that same variation appears in the NAEP data. “It isn’t a uniform decline across all our schools,” he said, adding that the lowest performing students are continuing to do worse on both tests.
While Vermont students continue to beat out the national average, the downward trend in the state’s math scores in both grades since 2015 has been significant, and ranking among peer states has slipped in both subjects and grades.
Vermont’s ranking among peer states has also slipped in both subjects and grades. And in eighth grade math, only two other states — Rhode Island and Alaska — saw their scores drop as much.
The state’s best result was in eighth grade reading. Vermont students scored an average of 273 with 45 percent at or above proficient, meaning they have mastered the subject matter for that grade, compared to a national average of 265 and 35 percent proficiency.
Some of the other key takeaways from the 2017 NAEP:
• Massachusetts was the top performing state in both grades and subjects, whether by average scale score or percent of students reaching proficiency.
• Only three states and the Department of Defense schools outrank Vermont for both scores: Department of Defense, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New Hampshire.
• Vermont slipped from second place in 2015 to fourth for proficiency in grade four reading.
• Girls did better than boys in reading.
• Boys did slightly better than girls in fourth grade math, but girls did better in eighth grade.
• Low-income students and those with learning disabilities trailed their peers in both grades.
• When it comes to proficiency in fourth grade math, Vermont’s 42 percent was higher than nearby Maine (40) and New York (35), but lower than 17 states and Department of Defense schools.
• While the state average in eighth grade math was down 2 points from last year, it was still higher than the national average. Ten states scored higher.
The Agency of Education said in a news release that they are going to work with school systems to improve outcomes on both tests. To this end, the agency said it will provide “professional development related to early literacy, high-leverage instructional practices and support for improving school climate and responsive teaching.”
