Connecticut’s Math Scores Don’t Add Up

Most of Connecticut’s grade-schoolers were stumped by questions on a national math test; state officials are equally puzzled about what to do about it.

The federal government’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), called the ​“nation’s report card,” was released on Tuesday. Connecticut elementary and middle school students scored about the same as they did the last time the test was given.

After a decade of losses in math scores, that flat-lining wasn’t what state education officials wanted to see.

“Connecticut’s performance in grades 4 and 8, in both sub-groups and for all student groups, is stable,” Ajit Gopalakrishnan, the State Department of Education’s chief performance officer, said in a phone call with reporters. ​“There’s really not a change from the 2015 to 2017 administration” of the test.

Administered every two years by the National Center for Education Statistics, the NAEP is given to a representative sample of fourth-graders and eighth-graders. In Connecticut, 2,300 kids from about half the state’s districts took the test.

The NAEP, known as a tough test, is particularly useful for its longevity. The math and reading test has been given biannually since the early 1990s. 

When the test first came out, Connecticut’s education system was the envy of the nation, beating average scores by double digits. But over the last two decades, the state’s public schools have lost much of their lead, especially in math.

“Connecticut continues to be a strong performer in reading nationally. We exceed national averages in grades 4 and 8,” Gopalakrishnan said. ​“When it comes to math, we are like the nation.” Pointing out that math scores were also lower on the state’s own tests, he added, ​“Math continues to be a challenge for us, as a state.”

According to the feds, Connecticut’s students get better at reading as their education continues. This year, 43 percent of students showed proficiency in fourth grade — a number that improved to 44 percent by eighth grade, beating out most of the nation. In raw reading scores, Connecticut students ranked fifth in the country for both grade levels.

But in math, the numbers moved in the opposite direction. In fourth grade, 40 percent showed proficiency in math — a number that dropped to 36 percent by eighth grade, in line with the national average.

In fourth-grade math scores, the state is now tied for 28th place, while just across state lines, Massachusetts claimed the top spot, followed by New Jersey in fifth.

And in eighth-grade math scores, Connecticut is tied for 22nd place, again trailing way behind Massachusetts, who nabbed the top spot, followed by New Hampshire in third and New Jersey in fifth.

How could the state start improving math scores? ​“I don’t think there is one blanket answer,” Gopalakrishnan said. He said that districts need to shore up students’ conceptual understanding of math, making sure that students grasp what they’ll need for fourth-grade math a year ahead of time.

Of course, the NAEP has its limitations. While it’s a useful tool to see how Connecticut’s average student stacks up, it doesn’t account for vast inequities within the state’s 205 school districts.

Statewide, more than half of the test-takers were white and only one-twentieth were enrolled in limited-English proficiency programs — far different from the demographics in New Haven.

Those differences were apparent in Connecticut’s achievement gaps, among the largest in the nation. Rich and poor eighth-graders were 31 points apart in math and 28 points apart in reading.

The disparities were even wider by race than income. Black eighth-graders trailed their white peers by 37 points in math and 33 points in reading. Likewise, Hispanic eighth-graders lagged behind their white peers by 32 points in math and 30 points in reading — both the third-biggest gap in the country.

The state, however, has significantly closed the divide in fourth-grade reading for both Latinos and economically disadvantaged students.

Over the last six years, since Gov. Dannell Malloy redirected state aid to poorer school districts in urban areas and officials implemented tougher Common Core standards, there has been a 10-point decline in the gap for Hispanics and 6‑point decline in the gap for students from low-income backgrounds.

The gap for black and white students also closed, but it was not statistically significant, Gopalakrishnan said.

“While Connecticut’s overall performance remains steady, we recognize the importance of expanding on and accelerating some of the improvements we did see in the 2017 NAEP results,” said Dianna Wentzell, the state’s education commissioner. ​“We continue to build on these positives only through a systemic approach to addressing the needs of all students.”