Atlanta gains on national reading assessment; rates up double-digits since 2002

By Kristina Torres

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta elementary and middle school students have all but closed the gap in reading between themselves and their big-city peers, posting double-digit gains since 2002 that are among the biggest for urban systems nationwide.

Staff erupted in applause Thursday at the news, which was from a report of the benchmark National Assessment of Educational Progress. The assessment is considered an independent barometer of what kids know and, more importantly, allows experts to compare student performance across cities and states.

In analyzing certain reading scores in 18 urban school systems, the report showed Atlanta's students in 2009 scored on average just points below public school students in big cities overall. It was a markedly better performance than seven years prior, when Atlanta lagged behind their peers by as much as 14 points.

Sixty-one percent of Atlanta's eighth-graders scored at basic proficiency or better, with an average overall score of 250, compared to 64 percent of big-city eighth-graders. Nationally, big-city students averaged a score of 252.

In fourth-grade, 50 percent of Atlanta students scored at or above basic, with an average overall score of 209. Nationally, 54 percent of their big-city peers did, with an average score of 210.

Compare that to 2002, when only 42 percent of Atlanta's eighth-graders scored at or above basic, as did just 35 percent of the city's fourth-graders. In sum, Atlanta students still score below national and state averages but "are digging out of a deep hole, and they're doing so at a significantly faster rate," Atlanta schools Superintendent Beverly Hall said.

Highlighting the achievements of both Atlanta and New York City, which has made gains especially in fourth grade, "both cities now have leaders who have been at the helm for many years," said David Gordon, schools superintendent of Sacramento, Calif., and a member of the assessment's governing board.

"Both districts have moved beyond random programs and quick fixes to stable systems, driven by data, that have shown positive results," Gordon said.

For Atlanta, where more than two-thirds of the public elementary and middle schools are under investigation for possible cheating on standardized state tests, it was a day of victory in an otherwise trying time. The state requested the investigation of 58 city schools because of unusual patterns of erasures on the state's Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests last spring. The state in part wants to know if employees had unsanctioned access to the state tests and possibly tampered with them.

In contrast, the national assessment, which is often called the Nation's Report Card, is independently administered by federal contractors. Local school staff have no control over the assessment's content or distribution.

"It validates the progress of the district very clearly," said Hall, who is nearing her 11th year on the job.

Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, called Atlanta's gains "real and substantial. The public can be confident that what it has seen is real progress."

The national assessment is given every two years to a representative sample of students in each state and participating city. National reading scores were released in March. Thursday’s report focused on the performance of urban students, who often have more in common including the number of students who come from low-income families.

All the cities, including Atlanta, volunteer to be part of the study, which last year expanded by seven systems and includes Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Houston, New York, San Diego, Baltimore, Miami-Dade and Jefferson County (Louisville), Ky.

Charlotte's fourth-graders had the highest performance last year, with 70 percent at or above basic. In eighth grade, 72 percent of Miami-Dade's students scored at basic or better to top the urban ranks.