Neighbor News
Hispanic Students' Math Scores Improve
Washington Post reports a study showing a grade level of improvement.
The Washington Post today reported on a study of math achievement by Hispanic students in major cities. The Post headline reads “Hispanic students are making steady math progress.” The study was done by Child Trends Hispanic Institute, a nonprofit research center, which used ten years of NAEP math scores. NAEP is the most reliable assessment tool there is and it is given to randomly selected students nationwide every two years.
The study reports that 4th grade Hispanic students attending public schools improved their math scores by 9 points and eighth graders by 13 points. The gains are characterized as “rougly equivalent to one grade level.”
This study does not include the increase in achievement by white students, but the authors say that it “has been narrowing but still remains significant.” I discourage readers from looking solely at the achievement gap, as that blinds the reader to the levels of overall achievement students are making.