Mixed results from the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress released on November 1 paint a complex picture of student achievement at the fourth and eighth grade levels, in both reading and mathematics.  While the National Black Child Development Institute is pleased to note that several states have had success in narrowing their racial and economic achievement gaps, and increasing their overall performances, we continue to be challenged by the fact that there were no significant changes in fourth grade reading scores on the national level since 2009, the last time the assessment was administered.  Further, a 25-point score gap between Black and White students remains unacceptably high, though it has decreased from 26 points in 2009 and from a peak of 38 points in 1994.

There is some good news to celebrate, including the fact that low-income students performed better in 2011, in both grades and subjects, and the fact that higher percentages of students overall are scoring Proficient and above, compared to 2003, the first year for which we have data for all 50 states.  In the eighth grade, White, Black and Hispanic students achieved the highest reading scores to date.  Yet in the fourth grade, over 50 percent of Black children scored below Basic in reading, with only 14 percent scoring Proficient and 2 percent scoring at the Advanced level, as compared with White children, 22 percent of whom scored below Basic (33 percent scored Proficient and 11 percent scored Advanced).

It is clear that despite some advances, significant challenges remain on the national level.  It is critical that we celebrate the states that have made progress in both raising achievement and closing achievement gaps in reading and math, including Alabama, Hawaii, Kentucky, Rhode Island, and Texas, while also learning from these and other states, districts and schools that are relying on strong, proven methods to enhance teaching and learning, engage families, strengthen investment in early care and education, and prepare our students for sustainable academic and lifelong success.