• Communications Officer
  Mark Browning
  208-332-1591

April 3, 2008

IDAHO RELEASES NAEP WRITING SCORES

(Boise). Eighth graders from Idaho and across the nation scored significantly higher in writing in 2007 than they did in 2002, according to results released today from the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

The 2,807 eighth graders from 105 Idaho schools in the 2007 assessment each received a booklet with two 25-minute writing tasks. Due to the limited time constraints, student responses were scored as first drafts rather than polished student writing.

Here are highlights from the 2007 NAEP Writing assessment:

• Idaho’s average writing score for eighth graders (154) was not significantly different from that of the nation’s public schools (154).
• The percentage of Idaho’s eighth graders who scored at or above NAEP Basic in writing (i.e., who met or exceeded grade-level expectations for first-draft writing) was 88 percent, which was not significantly different from the nation’s 87 percent, but higher than Idaho’s 84 percent in 2002.
• The average writing score for Idaho’s eighth graders was higher than those of 11 states, not significantly different from 21 states, and lower than 12 states. Five states did not complete the writing assessment.
• Among Idaho eighth graders, the 2007 average writing scores for all students, male students, and White students were higher than their average scores in 2002, while the average writing scores female students and Hispanic students were not significantly different.
• In Idaho and the nation the average writing score for eighth grade female students was higher than for their male peers, but neither females nor males in Idaho were significantly different from their national counterparts.

The NAEP writing scale is zero to 300. Scores from 114 to 173 indicate students have met expectations for first-draft writing or have performed at the NAEP Basic level. Eighth-grade students performing at the NAEP Basic level produce an effective response within the time allowed that shows a general understanding of the writing task they have been assigned. Their writing shows that these students are aware of the audience they are expected to address, and it includes supporting details in an organized way. The grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization in the work are accurate enough to communicate to a reader, although there may be mistakes that get in the way of meaning.

NAEP, also known as The Nation's Report Card, is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do. Its major goals are to measure student achievement and to report change in performance over time. NAEP provides results for state and national subgroups but not for districts, schools, classrooms, or individual students.

The State Board of Education includes NAEP in the state testing program because it gives comparative state and national information about student achievement. The U.S. Department of Education pays for and administers NAEP.

For more information about NAEP writing results for Idaho or to see a writing task from the 2007 exam, please visit www.boardofed.idaho.gov/naep/ To learn more about national results from the writing assessment visit www.nationsreportcard.gov