Indiana improves scores in education progress

The United States Department of Education released the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress reading and math scores Thursday, which ranked Indiana students above the national average.

The NAEP is a project carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics in the DOE. Its website says the program tests students in America uniformly with exams in various subjects to determine academic progress over time.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the scores showed modest, but encouraging signs of progress for the nation.

“In 2013, reading and math scores edged up nationally to new highs for fourth and eighth graders,” Duncan said in a statement. “It is particularly heartening that reading scores for eighth graders are up, after remaining relatively flat for the last decade.”

Duncan said while progress varied, states that had implemented the Common Core State Standards showed improvement in one of their scores, and none declined in scores.

Indiana has adopted the standards, but has since stopped using them and is currently reviewing the standards to ensure education beyond tests.

“Given the rapid and comprehensive changes that America’s educators are implementing in classrooms across the nation, it is to their credit that we are seeing the strongest performance in the history of the NAEP,” he said. “It is encouraging to see progress in tough economic times when so many states and local communities have struggled with significant cuts to their education budgets.”

Indiana improved across the board. Fourth grade reading scores are up from 2011, and the average score is 225, higher than the national average of 221. Eighth grade reading scores are also slightly up, but the average score of 267 is just above the national average of 266.

Fourth grade math scores are up, and the average score of 249 is higher than the national 241. The average eighth grade score of 288, while not significantly higher than past scores, is still higher than the national average, 284.

Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz said she is proud of Indiana’s continued improvements in both categories.

“I am encouraged by the gains that Hoosier students showed on these tests, particularly their gains in the fourth grade,” Ritz said in a statement. “This is yet another sign of the hard work and dedication exhibited by our educators, administrators, parents and, most importantly, students every day in our schools.”

Duncan said while scores are up generally since 2011, the U.S. still has areas to improve upon in education.

“While students in each racial group identified in the NAEP showed improvement in some areas, it is very troubling that achievement gaps between white and black students and white and Hispanic students failed to narrow from 2011 to 2013,” he said.

Duncan also said the nation still lags behind the rest of the world.

“If America’s students are to remain competitive in a knowledge-based economy, our public schools must greatly accelerate the rate of progress of the last four years and do more to narrow America’s large achievement gaps,” he said. “It is an urgent moral and economic imperative that our schools do a better job of preparing students for today’s globally competitive world.”

Follow reporter Stephen Kroll on Twitter @stephenkroll1.