According to a report released this week by the Child Trends Hispanic Institute:
Hispanic fourth- and eighth-graders in many large U.S. cities also have made significant gains—the equivalent of roughly one grade level—in math over the last ten years. Large cities, despite rates of poverty or low-in come among Hispanic students ranging from 75 to 100 percent, had greater score increases for many Hispanic subgroups, particularly at grade four, than did the nation as a whole. Top districts like Dallas and Miami-Dade score more than two grade levels higher than bottom-tier districts such as Detroit and Fresno (2013). From 2003 to 2013, districts including Boston and Los Angeles have seen remarkable score increases—roughly equivalent to two grade levels—for Hispanic students. Child Trends recognizes school districts in Charlotte, Boston, and Houston as notable for their scores and gains for Hispanic students in grade four mathematics, with honor able mentions for Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles and the District of Columbia.
The data here is from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which has managed to get itself called the “nation’s report card.” It is the one test given most consistently across the country for many years. Not every kid takes it, however. Other weaknesses in the report: It does not look at whether the gaps between Hispanic and white students closed. If not, these gains could be an artifact of the test. Or represent a troubling lack of progress. The record examined here is from 2003 to 2013.
Another weakness:
Please note that there are many possible reasons for why these changes occurred, a topic not addressed in this report. Demographic changes, such as decreases in recent immigration, increases in proportions of highly-educated families, or, yes, school reform efforts may be responsible for the changes in scores. In other words, although the named districts and states are notable for their score increases, this does not mean that school authorities in these districts and states are necessarily responsible for those increases. Please read the “Limitations of the Data” section for more information. This report does not offer an explanation for this progress, but we hope to shine a spotlight on the changes to begin to ask why—and why not.
Boldfaced words are bold in the original.
So at least two cheers, maybe, for Dallas and the other touted districts. Better up than down.