In-Depth Analysis of Eighth-Grade Students Performing Below Basic in the National Assessment of Educational Progress

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

From 1990 to 2015, the percentage of 8th-grade students performing below Basic in mathematics fluctuated between 26 and 29 percent, showing that a large portion of the nation’s eighth-grade students did not meet partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills fundamental for the subject. The presentations in this session show which student, teacher, and school factors are associated with below Basic performance. Moreover, the study uses logistic regression analyses to highlight teaching practices that are related with below Basic performance, controlling for other contextual variables, to provide input into developing policies aimed at improving student performance. Moreover, we examine which subscales and items below Basic students particularly struggle with.

Sub Unit

• SIG-NAEP Studies

Chair

• Markus Broer, American Institutes for Research

Papers

• NAEP Below Basic Performance: An Overview - Taslima Rahman, National Center for Education Statistics

• Characteristics of Students Performing Below Basic - Jonathan Phelan, American Institutes for Research

• Characteristics of Schools and Teachers of Students Performing Below Basic - Juliet Holmes, American Institutes for Research

• Score and Item Analyses - Sakiko Ikoma, American Institutes for Research

Discussant

• George W. Bohrnstedt, American Institutes for Research