National Academies Press: OpenBook

Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2: Final Report (1999)

Chapter: Appendix B: Achievement-Level Descriptions for 4th-Grade Reading and 8th-Grade Mathematics

« Previous: Appendix A: The National Assessment Governing Board's Draft Scenarios for the Purpose and Use of the Voluntary National Tests
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Achievement-Level Descriptions for 4th-Grade Reading and 8th-Grade Mathematics." National Research Council. 1999. Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2: Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9684.
×

APPENDIX B
Achievement-Level Descriptions For 4th-Grade Reading and 8th-Grade Mathematics

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Achievement-Level Descriptions for 4th-Grade Reading and 8th-Grade Mathematics." National Research Council. 1999. Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2: Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9684.
×

NAEP 4th-GRADE READING ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS

Level

General

Literary Texts

Informational Texts

Basic

• Demonstrate an understanding of the overall meaning of what they read

• Make relatively obvious connections between the text and their own experience

• Tell what the story is generally about

• Provide details to support their understanding

• Connect aspects of the story to their own experience

• Tell what the text is generally about or identify the purpose for reading it

• Provide details to support their understanding

• Connect ideas from the text to their own background knowledge and experiences

Proficient

• Demonstrate an overall understanding of the text, providing inferential as well as literal information

• Extend their ideas by making inferences, drawing conclusions, and making connections to their own experience

• The connection between the text and what the student infers should be clear

• Summarize the story

• Draw conclusions about characters or plot

• Recognize relationships such as cause and effect

• Summarize information and identify authors intent or purpose

• Draw reasonable conclusions from the text

• Recognize relationships such as cause and effect or similarities and differences

• Identify the meaning of the selection's key concepts

Advanced

• Generalize about topics in the reading selection

• Demonstrate an awareness of how authors compose and use literary devices

• Judge texts critically

• Give answers that indicate careful thought

• Make generalizations about the point of the story and extend its meaning by integrating personal experiences and other readings with the ideas suggested by the text

• Identify literary devices such as figurative language

• Explain the author's intent by using supporting material from the text

• Make critical judgments of the form and content of the text

• Explain their judgments clearly

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Achievement-Level Descriptions for 4th-Grade Reading and 8th-Grade Mathematics." National Research Council. 1999. Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2: Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9684.
×

NAEP 8th-GRADE MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS

Level

General

Specifics

Basic

• Conceptual and procedural understanding of the five NAEP content strands

• Understanding of arithmetic operations—including estimation—on whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and percents

• Complete problems correctly with the help of structural prompts such as diagrams, charts and graphs

• Solve problems in all NAEP content strands through the appropriate selection and use of strategies and technological tools-including calculators, computers, and geometric shapes

• Use fundamental algebraic and geometric concepts in problem solving

• As they approach the proficient level, students should be able to determine which of the available data are necessary and sufficient for correct solutions and use them in problem solving.

• However, these 8th graders show limited skill in communicating mathematically

Proficient

• Apply mathematical concepts and procedures consistently to complex problems in the five NAEP content strands

• Conjecture, defend their ideas, and give supporting examples

• Understand the connections between fractions, percents, decimals, and other mathematical topics such as algebra and functions

• Have a thorough understanding of basic-level arithmetic operations-an understanding sufficient for problem solving in practical situations

• Quantity and spatial relationships in problem solving and reasoning should be familiar

• Convey underlying reasoning skills beyond the level of arithmetic

• Compare and contrast mathematical ideas and generate their own examples.

• Make inferences from data and graphs

• Apply properties of informal geometry

• Accurately use the tools of technology

• Understand the process of gathering and organizing data

• Be able to calculate, evaluate, and communicate results within the domain of statistics and probability

Advanced

• Reach beyond the recognition, identification, and application of mathematical rules in order to generalize and synthesize concepts and principals in the five NAEP content strands

• Probe examples and counterexamples in order to shape generalizations from which they can generate models

• Use number sense and geometric awareness to consider the reasonableness of an answer

• Use abstract thinking to create unique problem-solving techniques and explain the reasoning processes underlying their conclusions

 

SOURCE: Hoffman and Thacker (1999:14-15).

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Achievement-Level Descriptions for 4th-Grade Reading and 8th-Grade Mathematics." National Research Council. 1999. Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2: Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9684.
×
Page 93
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Achievement-Level Descriptions for 4th-Grade Reading and 8th-Grade Mathematics." National Research Council. 1999. Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2: Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9684.
×
Page 94
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Achievement-Level Descriptions for 4th-Grade Reading and 8th-Grade Mathematics." National Research Council. 1999. Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2: Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9684.
×
Page 95
Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests, Year 2: Final Report Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $40.00 Buy Ebook | $31.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

In his 1997 State of the Union address, President Clinton announced a federal initiative to develop tests of 4th-grade reading and 8th-grade mathematics that could be administered on a voluntary basis by states and school districts beginning in spring 1999. The principal purpose of the Voluntary National Tests (VNT) is to provide parents and teachers with systematic and reliable information about the verbal and quantitative skills that students have achieved at two key points in their educational careers. The U.S. Department of Education anticipated that this information would serve as a catalyst for continued school improvement, by focusing parental and community attention on achievement and by providing an additional tool to hold school systems accountable for their students' performance in relation to nationwide standards.

Shortly after initial development work on the VNT, Congress transferred responsibility for VNT policies, direction, and guidelines from the department to the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB, the governing body for the National Assessment of Educational Progress). Test development activities were to continue, but Congress prohibited pilot and field testing and operational use of the VNT pending further consideration. At the same time, Congress called on the National Research Council (NRC) to assess the VNT development activities. Since the evaluation began, the NRC has issued three reports on VNT development: an interim and final report on the first year's work and an interim report earlier on this second year's work. This final report includes the findings and recommendations from the interim report, modified by new information and analysis, and presents our overall conclusions and recommendations regarding the VNT.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!