2019 NAEP Results: Evidence mounts against Common Core. Georgia stagnant; achievement gap widens

He inherited the Common Core from his 2014 election victory and despite his best efforts to stop the effects of Common Core, Georgia's State School Superintendent, Richard Woods, must convince the State Board and Governor Brian Kemp to get rid of the developmentally inappropriate standards.  Woods ran as the anti-Common Core candidate and has made noble efforts to stop Common Core's influence in Georgia. However, the truth remains. Georgia still has Common Core in Reading and Math, and it's not working. 

The new 2019 NAEP scores, known as the nation's report card, is out and the progress for our nation's education system continues to stagnate.

What is NAEP? According to the Georgia Department of Education press release (10/30/2019): 

NAEP, or the “Nation’s Report Card,” is a nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas. The test is administered every two years to a sample of fourth and eighth graders from a sample of schools across each state.

Even after the adoption of the famed Common Core State Standards initiative, which promised greater achievement and the claims of being internationally benchmarked with other countries, the Common Core has proven to be the biggest education disaster since No Child Left Behind. 

The nation and the state of Georgia must turn course now. Most of the states that adopted Common Core has proven they have not been able to meet the predictions of these so-called "internationally benchmark" standards. 

The evidence continues to mount that the Common Core is not working, and now the 2019 NAEP results continue to add to the talking points backed up by ten years of data. 

·         Nationally, ACT scores in math achievement are at a 20-year low. Georgia had a slight improvement in 2017, but the  gains are far from significant, but rather anemic.

·         SAT scores dropped until they changed the test to align to the Core – anything to change the goal post and create a perception it is working. After the change to the Core, national scores increased only by0.7 percent. 

·         On the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (2017), comparing 58-countries, U.S. fourth-graders dropped almost 10points on the reading test.

·         U.S. dropped from fifth to 13th on the Progress in International Reading (2017) – the study said the U.S. made no statistically significant improvement.

·         Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, results in science and math show “stagnant” for 15 year-olds.

·         NAEP scores, “the Nation’s Report Card,” shows similar trends in the data nationwide, and Georgia’s rate of change is also not significant in the NAEP, anddropped in reading for fourth graders in 2017. 

·         AP course taking in AB and BC calculus has been rising steadily over the years, yet the number of students who scored a passing grade this year – 3 and above – has plateaued in BC calculus and declined in AB calculus for many demographic groups.

This map shows which states adopted the implementation of Common Core, and the parallelisms of the 2019 NAEP results cannot be more clear. Get rid of Common Core and its assessments. 

(Picture - Education Week) 

2019 Math: 

Below is a screenshot image of the overall performance of the NAEP nationwide for 4th-grade math for 2017 to 2019. The data shows that over 40 states, most who adopted Common Core, have no change or a decrease in achievement results. 

• In 2019, average mathematics scores for the nation were 1 point higher at grade 4 and 1 point lower at grade 8 than in 2017.
• Georgia continues not to be proficient in 4th-grade math on the nation's report card. 
• Georgia improved overall by 1 point in 4th-grade math, and that is not significant. 

The eighth grade math results are lower for Georgia.

• Nationally, eight graders decreased by one 1 point while Georgia decreased in performance by 2 points. 

Reading:
Nationally, 4th grade students dropped 2 points while 8th grade students dropped 3 points. For Georgia, 4th grade students continues to score below proficient.

• Most states that adopted Common Core, had no change or dropped significantly in reading for 4th and 8th graders. 

 (8th Grade 2019 - Georgia)

Eighth grade:

• Nationally, the 8th grades look significantly lower and that can also be said for Georgia's eighth graders. 
• The nation had a 3 point drop in reading while Georgia had a 4 point drop, that is significant. 

The Achievement Gap in Georgia: 

The covenanted achievement gap widens, although the efforts from the National Governor's Associations claim that the achievements would close significantly. If anything, they are getting wider and wider. Common Core is not developmentally appropriate for all children.

How many times do legislators and state Department of Education officials have to be told that Common Core is causing more problems than it is helping? 

Score Gaps for Student Groups

•  In 2019, Black students had an average score that was 27 points lower than that for White students. This performance gap was not significantly different from that in 1998 (30 points). 
• In 2019, Hispanic students had an average score that was 23 points lower than that for White students. Data are not reported for Hispanic students in 1998, because reporting standards were not met.
•   In 2019, female students in Georgia had an average score that was higher than that for male students by 8 points.
•   In 2019, students who were eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), had an average score that was 33 points lower than that for students who were not eligible. This performance gap was not significantly different from that in 1998 (32 points).

The Common Core has run its course in Georgia and in the nation. It's clear; Common Core must go. I would like to say to the education establishment and the policymakers to control their enthusiasm for these "innovative" testing pilots and their Responses to Interventions programs. If we cannot get the content standards right with effective teachers in place that KNOW their content, how are we ever going to implement such "innovations"? 

It's time to stop telling us to be patient. We have been for ten years now. It's time to stop feeding us the line that this would cause teachers to quit if we change the standards again. We already have a teacher retention issue, and its not solely due to the standards. Districts cannot adapt to these standards and no amount of money will help. Let's get rid of these standards now. Almost two generations of students have been impacted by these standards and the achievement disparities continue for our minority students. 

The "needle" is not moving in the right direction. This is the 9th inning of the game. It's over. 

Currently, there is an effort to change the standards. The Georgia Department of Education and Governor Brian Kemp's office have put a timeline to review and rewrite the standards. I hope after reviewing the 2019 NAEP scores that there will be significant efforts not to just rewrite the standards but to completely wipe them out. 

Author:

Jeremy Spencer, Ed.S. - former teacher, educator, and state department official.