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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250204T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250204T163000
DTSTAMP:20260408T132240
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UID:250000-1738681200-1738686600@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Decoding NAEP: Behind and Beyond the Headlines
DESCRIPTION:This GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar featured the voices of journalists\, data experts and community leaders in an engaging conversation as the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading launched its new mini-series on what we need to know about NAEP to accelerate learning recovery and close achievement gaps. \nModerated by John Gomperts of CGLR\, the conversation began with Morgan Scott Polikoff\, Ph.D.\, of University of Southern California providing an overview of NAEP\, its administration and what the various performance levels mean: \n\nNAEP is a national test required by federal law for the purpose of monitoring performance over time.\nRandomly selected representative samples of schools and children in fourth and eighth grades from across the U.S.  participate.\nThe National Assessment Government Board determines the content and format of each test including the performance levels.\nStudents take two 25-minute tests in one subject as well as survey questions about their learning habits and motivations.\nNAEP Proficiency is a relatively high benchmark that is above the proficiency levels of nearly all states with NAEP Basic being a little below state proficiency standards.\n\n\n\n\n  \nThe release of the NAEP scores on January 29 unleashed a slew of headlines\, including stories authored by our panelists who shared highlights and reflections on the issues they explored in their stories. \nKaylin Belsha of Chalkbeat drew attention to the growing gap between the lowest- and highest-performing students saying\, “Kids who are reading at the lowest levels are doing so at the lowest levels in 30 years.” \nKevin Mahnken of The 74 looked at the gaps for Asian and Hispanic students noting\, “Asian fourth graders saw a pronounced dip in fourth-grade reading\, but the figures for Hispanic students really jumped out because they were fairly consistent across both subjects” experiencing significant drops. \nSara Randazzo of the Wall Street Journal pointed out the slide in reading that began pre-pandemic (early 2019) explaining\, “You look at these numbers and you want to tell a narrative that says why this happened\, but nobody really knows.” \nReflecting on the headlines following the NAEP release\, Karyn Lewis\, Ph.D.\, of NWEA said\, “I was most surprised by how surprised everyone else was because this is exactly what [we] have been seeing in interim assessment and reporting over the last four years….The reading backslide is really alarming and the reading gaps are continuing to grow.” Meanwhile although there are still significant gaps in math\, that subject is “where we rang the alarm bells first” in response to the 2022 NAEP scores with many states and districts responding by directing resources and attention. Polikoff noted that the relative progress in math could also be attributed to the fact that “math is more sensitive to educational intervention.” \nIn reflecting on data from her company’s assessments over the past four years\, Kristen Huff\, Ed.D.\, of Curriculum Associates stressed the importance of paying attention to the ages of students when pandemic disruptions occurred. The fourth graders tested in the 2024 NAEP tests were in kindergarten in the spring of 2020. Curriculum Associates released research in 2024 showing that students who were 3 and 4 years old in 2020 are starting school behind pre-pandemic levels and are not learning at the same rate as their pre-pandemic peers. Huff noted that “what we’ve learned is that the impact of the pandemic on our nation’s youngest students and preK students is lasting….We’re going to continue to see this if we don’t put the right supports and interventions in place.” \nWith all this data and the variety of attention points\, it is important to use the data responsibly — failure to do so is what Polikoff calls “misNAEPery.” Munro Richardson\, Ph.D.\, of Read Charlotte encouraged users to “compare your state assessment with the NAEP\, look at what the NAEP says\, and if you’re lucky enough to be in [one of the Tribal Urban District Assessment areas] triangulate both of these.” He encouraged attendees to look for patterns in the data in order to ask better questions that can inform action. The data won’t necessarily tell you why\, but it can give some insights on what to look for. Karyn Lewis echoed this\, calling for self-reflection. \nAs the panel shared their reflections on the data and the things communities can be thinking and asking about as they seek to apply  NAEP data wisely\,  Belsha called on education stakeholders to drill down into the data\, noting that several large districts saw significant drops in eighth-grade math suggesting those students will need targeted interventions. Polikoff agreed with that call to action and pointed to the importance of looking at what is happening in places like Massachusetts\, Louisiana and Mississippi that are outperforming their peers. “[Find] one place where it’s working…one district\, one school even\, where something they’ve implemented is having immediate effects\,” said Randazzo. \n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				If you were able to attend the session\, we would love to hear your feedback! We appreciate your help in filling out the following form as we seek to learn and understand the perspectives\, ideas\, critiques and recommendations that better inform our key audiences. \n			\n				Share Feedback
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/naep/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250211T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250211T163000
DTSTAMP:20260408T132241
CREATED:20250131T084916Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251223T133731Z
UID:250089-1739286000-1739291400@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Decoding NAEP: Who's Below "Basic" and Why?
DESCRIPTION:“I don’t think we should ever stop paying attention to the data. I don’t think we should ever stop collecting data. I don’t think we should ever stop disaggregating and discussing it. But I do think we need to put more time into [engaging] our teachers and families who know more about our students than we might from our broader perspective.” – Melissa Castillo\, Ed.D. \n\nThis discussion\, part of our miniseries on the latest NAEP results\, explored the data to begin to understand which students fell further behind and why. \nThe conversation began with a special prerecorded segment that featured Mark Schneider\, Ph.D.\, with American Enterprise Institute and the former director of the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education from 2018 to 2024. Schneider emphasized the long-term\, continuing\, and growing trend of declines in literacy rates and pointed to the large and concerning growth in kids who are scoring at a “below NAEP basic” level. \nSchneider pointed out that while pandemic-related disruptions exacerbated these trends\, the declines in reading performance have been ongoing for over a decade. He stressed the urgent need for evidence-based interventions to respond to these challenges\, warning that without targeted action the consequences could extend far beyond the classroom\, affecting economic mobility and workforce readiness. Schneider also underscored the importance of leveraging data to inform policy decisions\, so that resources are directed toward strategies with a proven impact on student achievement. \nFollowing the segment with Mark Schneider\, we heard from Ian Rowe with American Enterprise Institute who reflected on the sobering NAEP results and emphasized the importance of examining not only students who are struggling but also those who are excelling to understand what contributes to their success. Rowe highlighted that the 2024 NAEP data point to a troubling milestone\, with more fourth graders scoring “below basic” than “proficient.” \nRowe then discussed the NAEP student survey\, which collects self-reported data on contextual factors such as family structure\, noting his concerns about the reliability of responses from young students. He called for a more thorough statistical review of the survey’s effectiveness in informing our understanding of student data. \nKatharine Stevens\, Ph.D.\, with Center on Child and Family Policy continued the conversation by arguing that focusing on averages in NAEP reporting masks critical disparities\, particularly at the lowest performance levels. While breaking down results by race and income is useful\, that analysis overlooks significant variations within these groups. Stevens showed that disaggregating data further reveals that the risk factors for low achievement are more complex than traditional categories suggest\, emphasizing no single factor — whether race\, income\, or family structure — directly causes student performance but rather correlates with a range of influences requiring deeper analysis. \nStevens also shared research underscoring the importance of early childhood experiences\, well before pre-K\, in determining academic success. She argued that focusing on supporting parents during these formative years could be key to closing achievement gaps and improving long-term student outcomes. \nClosing out the discussion\, Melissa Castillo\, Ed.D.\, formerly with the U.S. Department of Education\, emphasized the need for more nuanced data to make strategic decisions for students below grade level. She echoed Katharine Stevens’ point that conventional subgroups\, particularly for Black and Latino students\, overlook critical distinctions that could improve interventions. Castillo stressed that addressing learning gaps requires both closing disparities and accelerating learning. \nCastillo also highlighted the distinction between English language learners (ELLs) and multilingual learners\, noting that while some ELLs are multilingual learners\, not all multilingual learners are formally identified as ELLs. This distinction is crucial for providing targeted support and leveraging students’ strengths. Castillo further emphasized the importance of understanding the unique characteristics of students\, especially those from Latino demographics\, and ensuring teacher training is tailored to bilingual language acquisition and literacy in both English and other languages. \n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				If you were able to attend the session\, we would love to hear your feedback! We appreciate your help in filling out the following form as we seek to learn and understand the perspectives\, ideas\, critiques and recommendations that better inform our key audiences. \n			\n				Share Feedback
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/naep-2/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250218T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250218T140000
DTSTAMP:20260408T132241
CREATED:20250218T211458Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250218T221326Z
UID:250347-1739881800-1739887200@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:NCADE Emerging: A Briefing and Conversation With the Institute of Education Sciences
DESCRIPTION:The Institute of Education Sciences (IES)\, the independent research arm of the U.S. Department of Education\, has been vaulted into the news cycle with the announcement that the Trump administration has canceled more than $800 million of its contracts. These reports and the ensuing controversy make now an appropriate time for the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading to rebroadcast NCADE Emerging: A Briefing and Conversation With the Institute of Education Sciences\, an invitation-only session we hosted during GLR Week 2023. This session was held just after then-President Biden had signed into law a budget package that included an extra $40 million for IES to use for research\, development\, and dissemination. Then-IES Director Mark Schneider\, Ph.D.\, had proposed using a portion of these funds to establish a National Center for Advanced Development in Education (NCADE) to support “quick-turnaround\, high-reward\, scalable solutions” to significantly improve student outcomes. As proposed\, NCADE would follow a model like that of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to create the extra flexibility\, staffing\, interdisciplinary perspectives\, and practice orientation needed to achieve breakthroughs in education tools and practices.  \nOn February 18\, 2025\, CGLR hosted a special rebroadcast of a NCADE Emerging\, providing an opportunity for a broader audience to hear Schneider and Elizabeth Albro\, Ph.D.\, the commissioner of education research at IES\, discuss their vision for implementing a DARPA-like approach in education with commentary and reflections from philanthropic leaders who have invested in transformative research. The fact that this aspirational conversation occurred less than two years ago\, encouraged CGLR to believe that a revisit could play a value-added role in illuminating and navigating the current controversy.   \n 
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/ncade_emerging/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250218T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250218T163000
DTSTAMP:20260408T132241
CREATED:20250131T083649Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251223T133440Z
UID:250085-1739890800-1739896200@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Decoding NAEP: Attendance Matters
DESCRIPTION:Continuing CGLR’s winter series examining the data and results from NAEP\, also known as the Nation’s Report Card\, the latest session delved into an analysis of the recently released Education Recovery Scorecard report. While NAEP provides nationwide trends in reading and math\, the Scorecard offers an opportunity to focus on the impacts of pandemic-related disruptions and subsequent recovery efforts\, providing a deeper understanding of how remote learning\, federal expenditures\, and other factors influenced student learning during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these factors\, chronic absenteeism has had the most significant effect and continues to persist\, negatively affecting the progress and pace of learning recovery. \nIn this session\, John Gomperts of CGLR had the opportunity to engage with a lead author of the Scorecard report\, Tom Kane\, Ph.D.\, of the Harvard Graduate School of Education\, along with Hedy Chang of Attendance Works\, a leading voice on chronic absenteeism and strategies to increase attendance. Kane and Chang reviewed the findings from the Scorecard and examined data on the ways in which absenteeism is persisting and impacting learning recovery—not only for the students who are absent but for all students in the classroom. Kane provided context by sharing related findings from the Scorecard: \n\n“We provide evidence that shows the districts with higher absence rates had somewhat slower recovery\, drawing the connection between chronic absenteeism and slow recovery. From the evidence in the report\, [we have realized that we are not fully] understanding the effects of chronic absenteeism\, and we’ll be studying this more in the future. We may find out that absenteeism is having an even more negative effect than we’re estimating right now.” \n\nChang shared additional data on attendance and absenteeism across states and districts\, setting the stage for a discussion with state leaders who shared their strategies and the learning recovery progress they have seen as a result of their focus on increasing attendance. Those state leaders included Kari Sullivan Custer of the Connecticut State Department of Education\, Lewis Ferebee\, Ed.D.\, Chancellor of the District of Columbia School District\, Lori Masseur of Read On Arizona\, and Ernise Singleton\, Ph.D.\, of the Louisiana Department of Education\, each of whom described their work across their states and districts. \nHome visits emerged as a primary strategy to increase attendance through partnerships with families. Custer described how this strategy took effect in Connecticut: \n\n“One of the most effective strategies was our Learner Engagement Attendance Program\, which was founded in spring 2021—we call it affectionately LEAP. Governor Lamont and the Connecticut State Department of Education launched LEAP\, which is a statewide\, positive and relational home visiting intervention to re-engage students and families. LEAP is not just about the home visit. It’s about equipping districts and home visitors with training\, performance management tools\, and high-touch support. And we use home visit logs to analyze the barriers to attendance and address challenges head-on.” \n\n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				If you were able to attend the session\, we would love to hear your feedback! We appreciate your help in filling out the following form as we seek to learn and understand the perspectives\, ideas\, critiques and recommendations that better inform our key audiences. \n			\n				Share Feedback
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/naep-3/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250225T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250225T163000
DTSTAMP:20260408T132241
CREATED:20250131T085516Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250303T065807Z
UID:250098-1740495600-1740501000@leo.gradelevelreading.net
SUMMARY:Decoding NAEP: Different Contexts\, Different Results?
DESCRIPTION:The fourth session in our Decoding NAEP series brought together leaders from across educational contexts including: Raymond C. Hart\, Ph.D. of the Council of the Great City Schools; Drew Jacobs\, of National Alliance for Public Charter Schools; Kathleen Porter-Magee of Leadership Roundtable; Melissa Sadorf\, Ed.D.\, of Arizona Rural Schools Association; and Beth Schiavino-Narvaez\, Ed.D. of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA). Panelists discussed learning recovery\, key drivers of progress\, ongoing challenges\, and future plans.  \nWhile concerns about the NAEP results were shared\, participants also highlighted areas of progress and effective strategies. A key insight from the discussion was the identification of common success factors across diverse school settings. Here are a few key takeaways: \n\nThe importance of a strong and positive school culture means having clear priorities around learning and development\, and everyone in the system understanding\, living out\, and consistently conveying those priorities to students\, families\, and communities.\nThe value of a comprehensive approach to early literacy emphasizes early oral skills\, word knowledge\, and a content-rich\, knowledge-based curriculum that supports literacy development.\nStudent and family supports matter. Kids need to be in a position to learn\, and\, whatever the setting\, it is vital to create positive conditions for learning.\nAdequate and dependable resources and support matter. Being able to pursue a consistent approach over time creates predictability and allows for continued improvement.\n\n  \nWe hope you will continue to be a part of this important dialogue and attend the March sessions of our Decoding NAEP series. Join us on March 11 when we will hear from parent groups that are using the NAEP data and other assessments to promote better outcomes and resources for their children\, and on March 18 to hear from Chief State School Officers in five states about their NAEP scores and their plans for the future. \n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				If you were able to attend the session\, we would love to hear your feedback! We appreciate your help in filling out the following form as we seek to learn and understand the perspectives\, ideas\, critiques and recommendations that better inform our key audiences. \n			\n				Share Feedback
URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/naep-4/
CATEGORIES:Past Event
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