(Submitted to NorthIowaToday.com Rep. Sharon Steckman)
High school seniors in Iowa outperformed their peers in reading and mathematics on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test, commonly referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card.” The report, released by the U.S. Department of Education, showed Iowa was the highest of 11 states that volunteered to participate in the pilot program.
Iowa students in the class of 2009 scored a 291 in reading; the average nationally was 287. Iowa students also scored a 156 in mathematics; the average national score was 152. Iowa students from 118 high schools in 105 school districts participated. A total of 2,684 seniors took the reading test and 2,583 seniors took the mathematics test.
The Nation’s Report Card is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics with the U.S. Department of Education. It is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what students know and can do in subjects such as mathematics and reading.
Iowa’s SAT scores are also number one in the country and Iowa places second among the states that had at least half their graduates take the ACT test.||
