NAEP scores flat for Native American, Alaska Native students

The average reading and mathematics scores for Native American and Alaska Native students remained flat on the National Assessment of Educational Progress from 2005 to 2009, a federal report says.

And only 57% of 8th graders who are Native Americans or Alaska Natives report they plan to go to college full time after high school, the study released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences found.

The study stemmed from an executive order on American Indian and Alaska Native education signed by President George W. Bush in 2004. Its findings on Native American students’ lackluster achievement come as President Barack Obama’s administration is putting new emphasis on working with tribal leaders on American Indian education issues. Read more of this free premium access article in Education Week online.