The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) will introduce a new composite measure of student income that takes into account broader family and school resources, according to Education Slice.
The index incorporates factors such as eligibility for school meals and other federal safety-net programs, the total share of students eligible for income-related programs at the school, the number of printed books in the student’s home and the education level of either parent.
The new poverty index will allow test scores to be disaggregated for high, middle and low-income students. The index data can be retroactively applied to 20 years of student data, providing insights into achievement gap trends.
The new measure aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between student achievement and socioeconomic backgrounds. It will help shed light on different areas of the socioeconomic spectrum and enable educators to compare student performance across different states. The index may also prompt conversations at the state level about addressing students’ needs more effectively.
Education Slice
