Colorado students continued to perform well compared to the rest of the nation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing. However, students are not performing at the rate they were prior to the pandemic.
Test results were released last week, showing that Colorado eighth graders outperformed other eighth graders in the country in reading and math. Meanwhile, fourth graders surpassed the national public average in reading and matched the national public average in math.
While reading levels have been promising for fourth and eighth graders in the state, test results are still below pre-pandemic levels from 2019. But at the end of the day, Colorado students are outperforming the national public average with a higher percentage of students meeting or exceeding the NAEP Basic and Proficient levels in reading for both grades.
The NAEP test was given to fourth and eighth grade students in the spring of 2024. This test is administered about every two years by an arm of the U.S. Department of Education. Test scores are broken down by state and for a select handful of cities.
“While we have work to do to close post-pandemic learning gaps across all student groups and demographics, Colorado students are continuing to make promising progress in both reading and math. Our 2024 NAPE results reflect the hard work and dedication of our state’s educators, and we are committed to continuing to support Colorado school districts and BOCES in improving academic outcomes for every student,” said State Board of Education Chair Rebecca McClellan in a release.
NAEP test results also highlight gaps in learning and achievements among different groups in the state. For example, students eligible for free or reduced lunch, students with disabilities, Black students, Hispanic students, and students who speak more than one language continue to have lower average scores than their peers across both grades and test subjects.
In Colorado, gaps between students with and without disabilities and between multilingual students and non-multilingual students are larger compared to the rest of the country. The gap between Hispanic and white students is also significantly higher in Colorado for both grades of reading, fourth-grade math, and across both subjects for fourth-grade students eligible for free or reduced lunch.
The good news is the gap between white and Black students in eighth grade reading is significantly smaller in Colorado than in the national public gap.
“Colorado students and teachers have worked hard, and we’re proud our students are outperforming the national average. Today’s fourth and eight graders have overcome pandemic challenges, but learning gaps remain for some groups, like students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and those from underserved communities,” said Colorado Education Commissioner Susan Cordova in a statement. “We must keep working to close these gaps so all students can succeed.”
