The recently released reading and math scores from the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) caused consternation in the education world when they went down for the first time in the history of the NAEP. The exam is often referred to as the nation’s report card because it is the only measure of student achievement given periodically to a sampling of students nationwide.   

In an online piece published by The Washington Post, Dr. Sarah Lubienski tried to convey a reasoned outlook amid the chaos of spin surrounding the subject. Lubienski, a professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, wrote about what the drop in math scores says about Common Core State Standards, which have been implemented in most states for the past few years, and about the Core’s relationship to the NAEP.

“If we dig deeper into the data,” Lubienski wrote, “we can get a clearer sense of recent trends and the likely reasons for them.”

Read the full editorial by Lubienski.