States' Performance on NAEP Mathematics and Reading Exams After the Implementation of School Letter Grades

• In Event: 25.082 - Fairmont Royal York Roundtable Session Three
  In Roundtable Session: 25.082-2 - The Effects of Accountability

Abstract

Spurred by one state’s work with Jeb Bush’s ExcelInEd foundation on its A-F school letter grade accountability policy, researchers sought to explore to how all 13 states that had adopted an A-F school letter grade accountability system performed on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) post policy implementation. Researchers investigated 13 states’ score variations as compared to the nation post A-F implementation until 2017 in NAEP grade 4 mathematics, grade 8 mathematics, grade 4 reading, and grade 8 reading. Researchers found results that were mixed, with about half of states increasing achievement post policy implementation and half not, moreover evidencing that states’ adoption of A-F policies does not apparently increase student achievement as intended, but rather yields random results.

Authors

• Tray Geiger, Arizona State University

• Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Arizona State University

• Kevin Winn, Arizona State University