In today’s story about diversity, school performance and the Burlington school district, I mentioned that race-based achievement gaps are present in national test score data to provide context and underscore that Burlington is not the only community grappling with this issue, which has been debated extensively in education research. I mentioned that Asians tend to score higher than other racial groups on standardized tests, which prompted a question from a reader for source information on that trend.
I’m listing some sources here and would add that the performance advantage is more pronounced in math than in reading. I also would share the point that one reader made, which is that there are many nuances within racial categories and the numbers don’t necessarily reflect that. Also, studies show a range of overlapping factors play a role in test scores, including family income, course difficulty and test prep. Here are some numbers and links on the race/score topic:
One source is the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a standardized testing program authorized by Congress to gauge the academic proficiency of elementary and secondary students across the country. The testing program, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, has been underway since 1969 and is administered state by state to tens of thousands of students. More than 52,000 grade 12 students took the NAEP reading test in 2009, for example.
The 2009 average scaled test scores for high school seniors show Asian students are at the head of the class in both reading (by a little) and math (by a lot.)
In reading, Asian/Pacific Islander students scored 298, followed by white students (296,) American Indian/Alaska Native students (283), Hispanic students (274) and black students (269).
In math, Asian/Pacific Islander scored 175, followed by white students (161), American Indian/Native Alaskan (144), Hispanic (138), and black (131.) The full report is at http://nationsreportcard.gov/grade12_2009_report/
When it comes to SAT scores for 2011 college bound seniors, Asian/Pacific Islander combined math, reading and writing scores were 1647 (out of 2400) in 2011, the highest of any racial group. White students posted the highest average reading score (531), but Asian student scores in writing and especially math outpaced all other groups and pushed the Asian combined score to the top. For information, go to collegeboard.com
When it comes to ACT scores for 2011 college bound seniors, Asians again led the way with the highest composite score of any racial group, with a score of 23.6. For more information, go to www.act.org