The data-driven conclusion: High-stakes testing has failed.

Has high-stakes testing improved overall academic achievement in Massachusetts? Has it improved the achievement of low-scoring student groups? The answer is, No.

The data: The National Assessment of Educational Progress NAEP tests samples of students in every state. There are no individual school scores and no punishments for low scores, so nobody preps for this test. That makes it far more accurate as a measure of skills than state tests that teachers spend weeks and even months getting their students ready for. Like other standardized tests, NAEP tests only a narrow range of the abilities and qualities that parents want schools to foster, but it does test that narrow range accurately.

The era of high-stakes testing Massachusetts students had to pass the MCAS to get their diplomas starting in (Three earlier classes took the test but did not have to pass it to get a diploma.) Beginning in 2002, No Child Left Behind mandated escalating penalties for an ever-growing percentage of schools. The Achievement Gap Act of 2010 and the federal NCLB waiver agreement let high-scoring schools off the hook while adding more sanctions for schools near the bottom. What do Massachusetts NAEP results show for the period after 2002 compared with the years before high-stakes testing?

All students 4 th grade reading

(Scores for Hispanic students are hard to interpret because the percentage of recent immigrants who speak little English has changed over the years, and these tests are only given in English.)

4 th grade reading (These data don’t go back as far as data for all students or for racial and ethnic subgroups.)

4 th grade reading

4 th grade math National reading scores have been mostly level since NAEP began in the 1970s. Math scores have been rising gradually over the years. The rate of improvement looks about the same before and after high-stakes testing started.

4 th grade math

8 th grade reading

8 th grade math

12 th grade reading NAEP only has scores for Massachusetts 12 th graders for 2009 and 2013.

12 th grade reading

12 th grade math