Academic performance

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Academic performance is the measurement of student achievement across various academic subjects.
Teachers and education officials typically measure achievement using classroom performance,
graduation rates and results from standardized tests.

History

The origins of measuring academic performance in the United States date back to the 1830s. Education
advocates Horace Mann and Samuel Gridley Howe used a standardized test to evaluate student
progress in Boston. Kansas school administrator Frederick J. Kelly advanced the idea of standardized
testing with the Kansas Silent Reading Test in 1914. This multiple-choice test was used to decrease
grading time and standardize student evaluations. IBM employee Reynold B. Johnson developed a
grading machine in 1934 that could grade test sheets by picking up the electrical current created by
pencil marks.[1] Henry Chauncey developed the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) in 1934 to evaluate
scholarship candidates at Harvard University and University of Iowa Professor E.F. Lindquist created the
first version of the American College Test (ACT) in 1959.[2][3]

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 encouraged adoption of standardized
testing by all states. This legislation required states to measure student proficiency and develop
accountability measures for public schools. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 continued the ESEA's
focus on accountability by requiring states to ensure minimum proficiency levels in order to receive
federal funds.[4]
Method of measurement

Student performance is measured using grade point average (GPA), high school graduation rate, annual
standardized tests and college entrance exams. A student's GPA is typically measured on a scale of zero
to four with higher GPAs representing higher grades in the classroom. Graduation rates are collected by
state and federal education officials as a baseline measurement of secondary education performance.
Each state conducts annual tests at the elementary, middle and high school levels to determine student
proficiency in subjects like English and mathematics. These tests are also used to comply with federal
education standards.[5] School districts also track student performance on the ACT and SAT to
determine readiness for higher education.[6]

Issues

Achievement gap

The measurement of academic performance reveals achievement gaps in public schools based on race,
gender and economic circumstances. The National Center for Education Statistics found that black and
Hispanic students fell behind white students by the equivalent of two grade levels on the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment between 2009 and 2011.[7] A study by MIT
economists David Autor and Melanie Wasserman found that female high school students born in 1975
had a 91 percent graduation rate, while male high school students born in the same year had an 88
percent graduation rate.[8] The U.S. Department of Education issued a report in 2011 that found 68
percent of high school seniors in high-poverty schools graduated in 2008 compared to 91 percent of
seniors in low-poverty schools.[7]

Differences in state testing

Each state develops a unique K-12 testing process intended to determine student proficiency prior to
graduation. State control over standardized testing has led to divergence in academic rigor and
proficiency requirements in recent years. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) found that
about 20 percent of states changed annual assessment standards between 2007 and 2009. The NCES
determined that 21 of 34 instances where standards were changed led to more rigorous evaluations
than previous years. These changes increase the difficulty of assessing changes in academic performance
from previous years and comparing state proficiency levels.[5]

See also

School board elections portal

Glossary of education terms

External links

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Suggest a link

U.S. Department of Education

National Assessment of Educational Progress

The Education Trust

Footnotes

ProCon.org, "Standardized Tests," accessed February 27, 2014

PBS, "Americans Instrumental in Establishing Standardized Tests," accessed February 27, 2014

ACT, "Our Story," accessed February 26, 2014

Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, "Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA)," accessed February 27, 2014

National Assessment of Educational Progress, "Mapping State Proficiency Standards Onto the NAEP
Scales," accessed February 27, 2014

ACT, "2012 ACT National and State Scores," accessed February 27, 2014

Education Week, "Achievement Gap," July 7, 2011

MIT, "Wayward Sons: The Emerging Gender Gap in Labor Markets and Education," accessed February
27, 2014

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