PRATTVILLE — It’s called “The Nation’s Report Card," and it’s the self-proclaimed gold standard of assessment of student progress.
National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test scores for 2024 were released on Wednesday.
Governor Kay Ivey and State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey gave a news conference at Daniel Pratt Elementary School in Prattville releasing Alabama’s scores.
“We are mostly smiling,” Mackey said. “While results are mixed, I am very proud that we are one of only two states that have seen any growth in 4th grade since 2019: first in math and second in reading growth in that time. Much work is left to do, but our strategy is the right strategy, and it's working.”
Ivey got the crowd into the game, saying, “Y’all, Alabama is now not just for football. We’re an education state.”
Ivey and Mackey both gave major credit to the new Numeracy Act and Literacy Act.
“While there is more work to be done, I am confident we are on the right road,” Ivey said.
A class of fourth graders from Daniel Pratt Elementary School was also watching the news conference, sitting on the floor as the room overflowed.
National scores dwindled, still not fully recovering from the scores right before the COVID-19 episode interrupted schools in 2020-21.
Alabama and Louisiana are the two bright spots in the nation. They are the only states with fourth-grade reading and math scores above pre-COVID levels.
NAEP tests only 3% of a random selection of fourth and eighth graders in math and reading.
Alabama fourth graders scored an increase of six points in math, the best improvement in the nation. Their reading score was essentially even.
Eighth-grade scores are still challenging. Reading dropped by one point and math dropped by three points.
The rankings comparing the states show Alabama doing even better. Since 2019, Alabama rose from 52nd to 33rd in fourth-grade reading and from 49th to 31st in fourth grade math.
The progress in math scores by fourth graders led the nation from 2019 to 2024. From 2022 to 2024, Alabama’s ranking skyrocketed from 40th to 32nd, its all-time highest level.
The NAEP site with national and state scores can be found here.
The old saying about education that “Alabama is dead last” is a thing of the past. The saying “Thank God for Mississippi” is gone with the wind.
NAEP is the largest national assessment of what U.S. students know. It is a congressionally mandated project administered since 1969 by the National Center for Education Statistics, within the Institute of Education Sciences of the United States Department of Education.
The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) is an independent, bipartisan board that has set policy for NAEP since 1988 and is responsible for developing the framework and test specifications. NAGB members are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education and include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988.
There are no results for individual students, classrooms or schools. NAEP reports results for different demographic groups, including gender, socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity.
NAEP uses a sampling procedure that allows the assessment to be representative of the geographical, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity of the schools and students in the United States. Data is also provided on students with disabilities and English language learners.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler writes about Alabama’s people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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