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Catholic schools outperform publics on the Nation’s Report Card
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As School Choice Wisconsin took a look at recent data released on student achievement in the nation, we noted that Catholic schools outperformed public schools nationwide in math and reading in grades 4 and 8, the grades with data available for 2022.
ChoiceWords focuses on Catholic schools here because it’s the only type of private school that gets a standalone data breakout from the NCES, the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Department of Education entity that produces the Nation’s Report Card. Think tanks, journalists, educators and others use the Report Card data to gauge progress in the nation’s schools.
More than 200 Catholic schools and systems participate in Wisconsin’s four choice programs.
The gap in performance between the Catholic and public schools in not new in the Report Cards; it’s apparent all the way back to 1990. It’s gratifying to see the Catholic schools maintain their edge through the years, including through the pandemic.
See the charts below for the Report Card data for 2022.
Average scores in NAEP reading for all students, by grade and type of school: 2022 (grade 4), 2022 (grade 8). Line means no data available.
Average scores in NAEP math for all students, by grade and type of school: 2022 (grade 4), 2022 (grade 8). Line means no data available.
The data show that Catholic schools are better serving black and Hispanic students. See the graphs below.
Average scores in NAEP reading for black students, by grade and type of school: 2022 (grade 4), 2022 (grade 8). Line means no data available.
Average scores in NAEP math for black students, by grade and type of school: 2022 (grade 4), 2022 (grade 8). Line means no data available.
Average scores in NAEP reading for Hispanic students, by grade and type of school: 2022 (grade 4), 2022 (grade 8). Line means no data available.
Average scores in NAEP math for Hispanic students, by grade and type of school: 2022 (grade 4), 2022 (grade 8). Line means no data available.
(Graphs: NCES)
Catholic schools deserve accolades
The grim overall results in the Nation’s Report Card, released in September and October, were met with negative reaction from many quarters around the nation.
“A majority of states saw scores decline for fourth- and eighth-graders in mathematics and reading between 2019 and 2022,” said the NCES’s press release. “The national average score declines in mathematics for fourth- and eighth-graders were the largest ever recorded in that subject.”
“The results show the profound toll on student learning during the pandemic, as the size and scope of the declines are the largest ever in mathematics,” said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr in the release.
Catholic schools deserve recognition, and we provide it here: Congratulations to the nation’s Catholic schools for putting in hard work and getting results.
— School Choice Wisconsin
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