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The Nation’s Report Card: 2007 Writing

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Overview of the 2007 Writing Assessment

Given January–March 2007 – 139,900 eighth-graders– 27,900 twelfth-graders

Writing tasks focus on three purposes– Narrative– Informative– Persuasive

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Scoring Students’ Writing

Students’ responses rated as first drafts and not as polished pieces of writing

Six performance ratings– Excellent– Skillful– Sufficient– Uneven– Insufficient– Unsatisfactory

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Writing Results

National results for both grades 8 and 12

Additional results available for grade 8– 45 states and Department of Defense schools– 10 urban districts

Results reported as– Average scale scores (on a 0–300 scale)– Achievement levels (Basic, Proficient, Advanced)

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Grade 8 Results

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National Scale Score Results

Average score up 3 points since 2002 and up 6 points since 1998

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2007.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

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National Achievement-Level Results

Higher percentage of students performing at or above Basic than in both previous assessments

Percentage at or above Proficient shows no significant change since 2002, but higher than in 1998

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2007.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

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National Results by Race/EthnicityWhite– Up 3 points from 2002– Up 7 points from 1998

Black– Up 6 points from 2002– Up 10 points from 1998

Hispanic– Up 5 points from 2002– Up 10 points from 1998

Asian/Pacific Islander– Up 6 points from 2002– Comparable to 1998

American Indian/Alaska Native– Comparable to 2002 and 1998

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

↑ Indicates the score was higher in 2007.↔ Indicates there was no significant change in the score in 2007.

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White – Black score gap narrows in 2007 compared with both previous assessments

White – Hispanic gap shows no significant change

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2007.NOTE: Black includes African American, and Hispanic includes Latino. Race categories exclude Hispanic origin. Score gaps are calculated based on differences between unrounded average scores.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

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Scores increase for both female and male students

No significant change in gender score gap

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2007.NOTE: Score gaps are calculated based on differences between unrounded average scores.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

National Results by Gender

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National Results by Eligibility for National School Lunch Program

Students eligible for free lunch score lower than students eligible for reduced-price lunch

Both groups score lower on average than students who were not eligible

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2007 Writing Assessment.

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State ResultsState participation in the writing assessment is voluntary– 46 jurisdictions participated in 2007

Results reported for public school students only

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Changes in Average Scores Compared With 2002Scores increase in 20 out of 39 jurisdictions

One state decreased

1 Department of Defense Education Activity (overseas and domestic schools).SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2002 and 2007 Writing Assessments.

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Changes in Average Scores Compared With 1998

1 Department of Defense Education Activity (overseas and domestic schools).SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998 and 2007 Writing Assessments.

Scores increase in 29 out of 34 jurisdictions

No states decreased

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Writing Trial Urban District Assessment

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Writing Trial Urban District AssessmentTen participating districts in 2007

Representative samples of between 900 and 2,000 students in each district

Trend results available for four districts

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Changes in Urban District Scores Compared With 2002

Three urban districts gain since 2002

Score increases for large central cities

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2002 and 2007 Trial Urban District Writing Assessments.

↑ Indicates the score was higher in 2007.↔ Indicates there was no significant change in the score in 2007.

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Urban District Average Scores in 2007

Most districts perform comparably to or higher than large central cities, but below the nation

* Significantly different (p < .05) from large central city public schools.** Significantly different (p < .05) from nation (public schools).SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2007 Trial Urban District Writing Assessment.

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Urban Districts Compared With Home States

Gains since 2002 in Atlanta and Los Angeles greater than their home states

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2007.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2002 and 2007 Trial Urban District Writing Assessments.

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Urban District Achievement-Level ResultsMost districts surpass or are comparable to large central cities in percentage at or above Proficient

# Rounds to zero.NOTE: The shaded bars are graphed using unrounded numbers. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2007 Writing Assessment.

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Sample Eighth-Grade Informative Writing TaskDescription of a Backpack

67% of eighth-graders received a rating of “Sufficient” or higher on their essays about a backpack, showing at least– information developed with some details– some organization with related ideas– control over sentence structure– minimal errors in grammar, spelling, and

punctuation

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Grade 12 Results

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National Scale Score Results

Average score up 5 points since 2002 and 3 points since 1998

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2007.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

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National Achievement-Level Results

Higher percentage of students performing at or above Basic than in both previous assessments

Percentage at or above Proficient shows no significant change since 2002, but higher than in 1998

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2007.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

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National Results by Race/EthnicityWhite

– Up 6 points from 2002– Up 4 points from 1998

Black– Up 7 points from 2002– Comparable to 1998

Hispanic– Comparable to 2002 and 1998

Asian/Pacific Islander– Up 9 points from 2002– Comparable to 1998

American Indian/Alaska Native– Comparable to 1998

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

↑ Indicates the score was higher in 2007.↔ Indicates there was no significant change in the score in 2007. ‡ Reporting standards not met. Sample size is insufficient to permit a reliable estimate.

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No significant changes in White – Black or White – Hispanic score gaps

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2007.NOTE: Black includes African American, and Hispanic includes Latino. Race categories exclude Hispanic origin. Score gaps are calculated based on differences between unrounded average scores.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

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* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2007.NOTE: Score gaps are calculated based on differences between unrounded average scores.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

Score for male students up since 2002, and scores for both groups higher than in 1998

Gender score gap narrows since 2002, but shows no significant change compared to 1998

National Results by Gender

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Sample Twelfth-Grade Persuasive Writing TaskBig or Small Inventions

60% of twelfth-graders received a rating of “Sufficient” or higher on their essays about the importance of big inventions or small inventions, showing at least

– a clear position supported with examples

– some development and general organization

– simple sentence structure– minimal errors in grammar, spelling,

and punctuation

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For More Information

http://nationsreportcard.gov