In just four years Idaho fourth and eighth graders have gone from above average standardized test scores to average, that's according to a U.S. Department of Education study out today.
The Nation's Report Card is released every other year and looks at how fourth and eighth graders score on standardized math and reading tests. If it gave letter grades, like on report cards kids bring home from school, Idaho would have a C this year. Going back just to 2009 Idaho was above average in all four categories. That's because Idaho's scores on these tests have remained relatively stagnant for the past several years while the national averages have been creeping up
In math, Idaho fourth graders matched the national average. They scored slightly below average in reading, though not enough for report authors to consider it significant.
Idaho eighth graders did slightly better than average in math, though not significantly. It's eighth grade reading scores that standout, rising close to B territory. Those scores were high enough for the report to list Idaho among about 20 states with above average eighth grade readers.
Those eighth grade readers did slightly better than their 2011 peers and Idaho’s fourth grade readers did slightly worse. But those changes weren’t big enough for the report to list Idaho among states that got better or worse in anything. There was no change for either grade in math.
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