California Insider

A Weblog by
Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub

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November 13, 2003

Reforms adding up?

The scores for "The Nation's Report Card" -- the National Assessment of Education Progress -- are out today, and California made big strides in both 4th and 8th grade math while holding steady (at a fairly low level) in reading. The biggest improvement was in 4th grade math, where two-thirds of California students reached the "basic" level, compared to 50 percent three years ago. "Basic" is nothing to get excited about -- it suggests only minimum competency. But one-quarter of California 4th graders also were rated "proficient" on this test, compared to just 13 percent in 2000. There was a similar if less pronounced trend among 8th graders.

In reading, 50 percent of 4th graders were at basic levels and 21 percent were proficient. For 8th graders: 61 percent basic, 22 percent proficient. These numbers were essentially unchanged from 2000.

Here is a link to the NAEP's California page, where you can get more detail on the state's profile and also branch out to see the national scores.