Texas NAEP scores look better when adjusted for demographics

When the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores for 2019, were announced last week, it was not that average math and reading scores for Texas fourth graders had increased by three points and one point, respectively, from 2017. Texas eighth graders saw their math and reading scores drop from 2017, and it was noted that statewide reading performance in both fourth and eighth grade in Texas remained below the national average.

But the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, believes there is another way to look at those scores. According to the Urban Institute, Texas outperforms most other states when NAEP scores are adjusted for differences in student demographics.

When 2019 NAEP scores are adjusted for demographics, the Urban Institute says, Texas students rank fourth in fourth-grade reading; 22nd in eighth-grade reading; second in fourth-grade math; and fourth in eighth-grade math.

Additionally, African American students from Texas rank first in fourth-grade math performance among all the states, while Hispanic and Anglo students’ performance rank in the top 10 states, according to this analysis.

For more information, check out this account of the Urban Institute’s analysis by the Texas School Alliance.