The Nation's Report Card: Geography, 2001.

Abstract

In 2001, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) conducted a geography assessment of the nation's fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students. This report presents the results of that assessment. Results in 2001 are compared to results of 1994's NAEP geography assessment, which was the preceding NAEP geography assessment and the only other geography assessment conducted under the current framework. Students' performance on the assessment is described in terms of average scores on a 0-500 scale and of percentage of students attaining three achievement levels: (1) basic; (2) proficient; and (3) advanced. Average geography scores for fourth and eighth graders were higher in 2001 than in 1994, while the performance of twelfth graders was not significantly different. At both grades 4 and 8, score increases occurred among the lower-performing students. The 2001 assessment showed that 21% of fourth graders, 30% of eighth graders, and 25% of twelfth graders performed at or above the proficient level for their respective grades. These levels are identified as those at which all students should perform. Both grades 4 and 8 showed an increase from 1994 to 2001 in the percentage of students at or above basic. No significant changes occurred in the percentage at or above "Proficient" at any grade. In addition to overall results, the report provides data on the performance of various subgroups of students and information about the contexts for learning by administering questionnaires to assessed students, their teachers, and their school administrators. The report contains six chapters, each of which Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. includes extensive figures and tables. Appended are additional data and an overview of procedures used for the assessment. (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. The Nation's Report Card: Geography, 2001 Andrew R. Weiss Anthony D. Lutkus Barbara S. Hildebrant Matthew S. Johnson In collaboration with Scott Davis Wendy S. Grigg Mei-Jang Lin Frank Jenkins Yuxin Tang National Center for Education Statistics U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION x CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. E Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE National Center for Education Statistics liarlment of Office0EdQ 1.0 :of -4 /,ation NW-2002484 What is The Nation's Report Card? THE NATION'S REPORT CARD, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Since 1969, assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, history, geography, and other fields. By making objective information on student performance available to policymakers at the national, state, and local levels, NAEP is an integral part of our nation's evaluation of the condition and progress of education. Only information related to academic achievement is collected under this program. NAEP guarantees the privacy of individual students and their families. NAEP is a congressionally mandated project of the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Department of Education. The Commissioner of Education Statistics is responsible, by law, for carrying out the NAEP project through competitive awards to qualified organizations. NAEP reports directly to the Commissioner, who is also responsible for providing continuing reviews, including validation studies and solicitation of public comment, on NAEP's conduct and usefulness. In 1988, Congress established the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) to formulate policy guidelines for NAEP.The Board is responsible for selecting the subject areas to be assessed from among those included in the National Education Goals; for setting appropriate student performance levels; for developing assessment objectives and test specifications through a national consensus approach; for designing the assessment methodology; for developing guidelines for reporting and disseminating NAEP results; for developing standards and procedures for interstate, regional, and national comparisons; for determining the appropriateness of test items and ensuring they are free from bias; and for taking actions to improve the form and use of the National Assessment. The National Assessment Governing Board Mark D. Musick, Chair President Southern Regional Education Board Atlanta, Georgia Michael T. Nettles, Vice Chair Professor of Education University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan Melanie A. Campbell Fourth-Grade Teacher Topeka, Kansas Honorable Wilmer S. Cody Former Commissioner of Education State of Kentucky Frankfort, Kentucky Daniel A. Domenech Superintendent of Schools Fairfax County Public Schools Fairfax,Virginia Edward Donley Former Chairman Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. Allentown, Pennsylvania Thomas H. Fisher Director Student Assessment Services Florida Department of Education Tallahassee, Florida Edward H. Haertel Professor, School of Education Stanford University Stanford, California Juanita Haugen Local School Board Member Pleasanton, California Honorable Dirk Kempthorne Governor of Idaho Boise, Idaho Honorable Nancy Kopp State Legislator Annapolis, Maryland Honorable Ronnie Musgrove Governor of Mississippi Jackson, Mississippi Roy M. Nageak, Sr. First Vice-Chair Alaska Board of Education and Early Development Barrow, Alaska Debra Paulson Eighth-Grade Mathematics Teacher El Paso, Texas Honorable Jo Ann Pottorff State Legislator Wichita, Kansas Diane Ravitch Research Professor New York University New York, New York Sister Lourdes Sheehan, R.S.M. Secretary for Education United States Catholic Conference Washington, DC John H. Stevens Executive 'Director Texas Business and Education Coalition Austin, Texas 4 Migdania D. Vega Principal Coral Way Elementary Bilingual School Miami, Florida Deborah Voltz Assistant Professor Department of Special Education University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky Honorable Michael E. Ward State Superintendent of Public Instruction North Carolina Public Schools Raleigh, North Carolina Marilyn A. Whirry Twelfth-Grade English Teacher Manhattan Beach, California Dennie Palmer Wolf Director, Annenberg Institute Brown University Providence, Rhode Island Grover J. Whitehurst (Ex-Officio) Assistant Secretary of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement U.S. Department of Education Washington, DC Roy Truby Executive 'Director, NAGB Washington, DC National Center for Education Statistics The Nation's Report Card Geography 200: Andrew R. Weiss Anthony D. Lutkus Barbara S. Hildebrant Matthew S. Johnson in collaboration with Scott Davis Wendy S. Grigg Mei-Jang Lin Frank Jenkins Yuxin Tang