Wyoming 4th and 8th Grade Math And Reading Scores Above National Average Despite Decline

The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) has released the state’s reading and mathematics results on the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card, or NAEP. 

“NAEP scores are an important indicator of how Wyoming stacks up nationally,” said Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Chad Auer. “In terms of public education in Wyoming – we have a lot to be proud of.” 

In 2022 Wyoming’s grade 4 and 8 students continue to outperform national average test results, in reading and mathematics, with the exception of grade 8 reading, where Wyoming student scores were statistically even with the national average in reading for public school students.

Average scores in Wyoming were lower than reported in 2019 for grade 8 reading, and lower in mathematics for both grades 4 and 8.

For the seven-year reporting period, from 2015 to 2022, Wyoming scores are down in all four reporting areas, but were statistically flat or unchanged for grade 4 reading since 2017.

The NAEP assessments scheduled for 2021 were postponed until 2022 due to the pandemic.

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), NAEP testing is administered every two years in reading and mathematics to grade 4 and 8 students.

All 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Department of Defense (DoD) schools participate in the assessment. 

Results for Wyoming mirror the trends nationally for public schools, with results down dramatically since 2019.

For example, 2022 grade 8 mathematics scores fell in 49 states, plus the District of Columbia, compared to 2019.

In grade 4 mathematics, scores fell in 42 states, compared to 2019.

For grade 8 reading, scores dropped in 33 states from 2019; in grade 4 reading, scores dropped in 30 states from 2019. 

“It is not surprising that the pandemic has had a negative impact on student achievement nationwide,” Auer said. “What the NAEP results suggest, however, is that Wyoming’s resolve to overcome the challenges associated with the pandemic paid off.” 

A bright spot in Wyoming’s 2022 results is the continued strong performance by the state’s Hispanic, special education and school lunch program students.

These student groups continue to outperform their peers nationally in grade 4 and 8 mathematics, and grade 4 reading.

These contributions provided a lift, keeping Wyoming’s aggregate or overall scores above the national average.

“Wyoming’s teachers continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to equity and providing a high quality education to ALL students regardless of a student’s ethnicity, socioeconomic status or learning challenges,” Auer said.

Despite lower NAEP scores locally and nationally since 2019, Wyoming continues to hold its ground among states during the 2022 assessments, improving its relative standing among states in all reporting areas since 2019.

For example, only one jurisdiction, DoD schools performed above Wyoming’s average score in grade 4 and 8 mathematics and grade 4 reading.

Additionally, only four states performed above Wyoming in grade 8 reading during (compared to seven states statistically above Wyoming in grade 8 reading during 2019). 

Unlike the WY-TOPP’s census approach of testing all students in grades 3-10, NAEP testing involves a statistical sampling of students, and does not render individual test results for students, schools or districts.

Due to the NAEP representative sampling strategy for assessing academic progress, sampling variability is inherent in all results.

Consequently, NAEP data are similar to and resemble survey or polling results, where numeric differences in NAEP scores may not reflect statistically reliable or true distinctions in the data reported.

NAEP provides an external reference or point-of-comparison to audit, review, and compare each state’s educational program. It serves as a common yardstick across jurisdictions and a shared, stable trend line over time for tracking student achievement during the continued flux nationally in states’ testing programs. 

The NAEP measurement scale represents a standardized national measurement of student achievement, with academic scores ranging from zero to 500 points. 

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