Reading and math scores are up in Georgia and are near U.S. averages, 2013 data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show, but there’s still room for improvement in student understanding of subject material.
NAEP, frequently referred to as the “nation’s report card,” tests what it calls a representative sample of 4th- and 8th-graders across the country every other year. The reading and math scores of Georgia’s 4th- and 8th-graders were all higher in 2013 than they were in 2011.
Far more Georgia students take the SAT than the 18,000 who participated in NAEP testing earlier this year. But NAEP is viewed by many as a credible national measure of academic progress. NAEP test-takers are randomly selected and — unlike with the SAT — parents don’t pay for expensive prep courses or multiple tests to improve the scores of their children.
Georgia’s 4th-graders got a 2013 math score of 240 on a 0 to 500 scale. The national average score was 241. Georgia’s 4th-grade reading score was 222, one point better than the U.S. score of 221.
The scores of Georgia’s 8th-graders in reading and math were below national averages, but not by much. Eighth-graders in Georgia got a math score of 279 on a scale of 0 to 500, five points below the U.S. score of 284. And the 8th-grade reading score was 265, one point below the U.S. score of 266.
The NAEP scores run counter to the notion that Georgia’s public schools are abysmal and produce students who test near the bottom of national averages.