Institute of Education Sciences
December 2009
Here we find new results from the Mathematics NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment, a.k.a. TUDA, which measures fourth and eighth-grade math (and, in other years, reading) in some of the nation’s large urban school districts. Eighteen districts participated in 2009. Between 2007 and 2009, we learn, the average math scores across these cities rose in both grades. But individual results for the eleven cities that participated in both 2007 and 2009 were fairly bleak: only Boston and Washington D.C. made gains in fourth grade and only Austin and San Diego did so in eighth; other cities had flat scores. The long-term data are more promising. Compared to 2003, the 2009 average math scores were higher in eight of ten participating districts in 4th grade and in nine districts in 8th grade. Although it’s difficult to spin one tale from this patchwork, one storyline worth mentioning is that TUDA is voluntary. Participation has steadily increased since its inception in 2003, even though the results usually bring bad news. You can find it here.
