States’ Standards for Proficient Performance in Reading and Mathematics for Students in Grades 4 and 8

In 2017, most state standards for proficient performance in reading and mathematics for grades 4 and 8 mapped at the NAEP Basic achievement level. The National Center for Education Statistics report, Mapping State Proficiency Standards onto the NAEP Scales:  Results From the 2017 NAEP Reading and Mathematics Assessments, compared the NAEP scale scores equivalent to each state standard for proficient performance in grades 4 and 8 reading and mathematics. The results showed: Most state standards for proficient performance for both grades and subjects mapped at or above the NAEP Basic achievement level. For states with all three years of data, the ranges of difference between states with the highest and lowest standards were smaller in 2017 than in 2015 and 2007 for both subjects at grade 4 and for reading at grade 8. This difference was also smaller for grade 8 mathematics in 2017 than in 2007. The standards of proficient performance of ACT Aspire and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium in both subjects and grades mapped at the NAEP Basic level. The mathematics proficient standards of Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers for grade 4 mapped to the NAEP Proficient level. The report, the seventh in the series, used student achievement results from state and NAEP assessments administered in 2017.