History, geography scores dip:
The latest Nation’s Report Card gives eighth-grade students unsatisfactory marks in U.S. history, geography and civics.
The assessments, given for the first time digitally on tablets instead of paper, were administered from January to March 2018. History and geography scores on the assessments were lower than in the last round of tests in 2014 and civics scores didn’t move, according to results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress released Thursday.
Also troubling, administrators said, was that lower-performing students lost more ground than middle- and higher-performing students, mirroring a pattern seen in recent reading and math scores. The problem is likely to be made worse by the loss of class time caused by the coronavirus, which is expected to have a greater impact on lowerperforming students.
The pattern “should motivate us all to address the factors behind these declines for struggling students,” said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for NAEP.
Across all three subjects, a quarter or less of students scored at or above proficient, meaning they showed a solid understanding of challenging concepts. Another quarter or more failed to demonstrate a level of basic understanding, the results showed. The score gaps between white students and their black and Hispanic peers didn’t significantly change. (AP)