Government and Politics
October 28, 2022
From: Florida Governor Ron DeSantisResilient Florida ranks 3rd in the nation in Grade 4 Reading and 4th in Grade 4 Mathematics
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — On Oct 24th, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the results of the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which demonstrate once again that keeping kids in school throughout 2020 and 2021 has put Florida students well ahead of their peers, especially with younger and educationally at-risk students who were harmed the most from distance-learning in other states. In 2022, Florida’s 4th and 8th grade students earned the state’s highest ever rankings in each assessment and demonstrated historic achievement gap closure for at-risk students at all levels. Florida’s Hispanic students, black students, and students with disabilities all scored in the top 10 in every category.
NAEP assessments are the only assessment taken consistently across the nation and therefore serve as the nation’s report card. Last administered in 2019, the NAEP is administered every two years, although the 2021 assessments were delayed to 2022.
“We insisted on keeping schools open and guaranteed in-person learning in 2020 because we knew there would be widespread harm to our students if students were locked out. On Oct 24th’s results once again prove that we made the right decision,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “We also knew that younger and at-risk students would be the most impacted if schools were closed, and the results speak for themselves. In Florida our 4thgrade students rank #3 in Reading and #4 in Math, achieving top 4 in both English and Math for the first time in state history, while lockdown California and New York aren’t even in the top 30.”
“If we are meant to measure our impact by how we elevate our young generation, especially those most at-risk, Florida is clearly the #1 state in the nation in elevating its young people,” said Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. “Florida’s Hispanic and black students, students with unique abilities, and students on free and reduced price lunch massively narrowed achievement gaps and proved the value of being in school in a classroom with their peers and learning in-person from Florida’s world-class teachers.”
These 2022 NAEP results affirm the predictions from national and Florida student learning indications over the last two years:
Overall, the nation’s NAEP results show a national decline in Reading and Mathematics for 9-year-old students (Grade 4) and America’s most vulnerable students. In many states, this decline was due to government-imposed lockdowns and school closures. Yet, under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, Florida avoided widespread learning losses and Florida’s students are far exceeding the nation’s expectations.
While Florida boasts historic rankings in all four NAEP tests, Florida’s achievement gap closures were profound across the board upon closer inspection, and these results are a clear indication that Florida’s strategy to focus its recovery on early grades and at-risk students paid off:
o Grade 4 Reading – #1 (maintaining this rank since 2013)
o Grade 4 Mathematics – #2 (same as 2019)
o Grade 8 Reading – #1 (up from number 2 in 2019)
o Grade 8 Mathematics – #4 (up from 5 in 2019)
o Grade 4 Reading – #1 (up from number 2 in 2019)
o Grade 4 Mathematics – #1 (third time in a row)
o Grade 8 Reading – #2 (same as 2019)
o Grade 8 Mathematics – #4 (same since 2017)
o Grade 4 Reading – #3 (up from 4 in 2019)
o Grade 4 Mathematics – #2 (same as 2019)
o Grade 8 Reading – #4 (up from 6 in 2019)
o Grade 8 Mathematics – #8 (up from 17 in 2019)
o Grade 4 Reading – #1 (same as 2019)
o Grade 4 Mathematics – #1 (third time in a row)
o Grade 8 Reading – #6 (down from 5 in 2019)
o Grade 8 Mathematics – #17 (up from 25 in 2019)
Grade and subject highlights include:
Grade 4 Reading
o Hispanic students increased 1 point on average scale score.
o Asian/Pacific Islander students increased 4 points on average scale score.
o Students with disabilities increased 3 points on average scale score.
o English language learners increased 3 points on average scale score.
Average Scale Score National Ranks for Grade 4 Reading Among Florida Subgroups
Grade 4 Mathematics
Average Scale Score National Ranks for Grade 4 Mathematics Among Florida Subgroups
Grade 8 Reading
Average Scale Score National Ranks for Grade 8 Reading Among Florida Subgroups
Grade 8 Mathematics
Average Scale Score National Ranks for Grade 8 Mathematics Among Florida Subgroups
NAEP Background
NAEP is a congressionally mandated program that is overseen and administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. Results are available for the nation, states, and 27 urban districts, and are used to provide critical information about student achievement and data for improving educational practices. The current NAEP assessments were scheduled for 2021 but were postponed one year due to the pandemic. The next NAEP results will be reported in 2024.
For more information about Florida’s 2022 NAEP results, visit NAEP Results or The Nation’s Report Card.