By Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight
South Dakota’s math and reading scores are relatively flat, state Department of Education Secretary Joseph Graves told lawmakers Tuesday in the Capitol in Pierre.
That’s based on the biennial National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) rankings, often referred to as the Nation’s Report Card. Students in fourth and eighth grades nationwide took tests between January and March in 2024, and rankings were released last week.
South Dakota students scored above the national average in fourth grade math and eighth grade reading and math. The state met the national average in fourth grade reading.
“Not a lot of change in there. We’re not seeing the kind of growth we want to see in South Dakota,” Graves said, adding that the state is seeing a similar trend in its annual state assessments.
Math and reading scores nationwide and in South Dakota dipped after the COVID pandemic, Graves said.
Graves hopes a new statewide literacy initiative, using a phonics-based teaching approach known as “Science of Reading,” will help improve reading scores. The department wants to align standards for English and language arts with the framework.
The effort follows a global debate, often called the “reading wars,” about the best approach to improving children’s literacy. Some advocates emphasize phonics, which is understanding the relationship between sounds and letters. Others push a “whole language” approach that puts a stronger emphasis on words’ meaning, with some phonics mixed in. The “balanced literacy” approach gained popularity in the 2000s, which is phonics-inclusive but favors whole language instruction.
Graves told lawmakers on the Joint Appropriations Committee his department wants a similar evidence-based standard for math instruction. Mathematics competency relies on calculation and numeracy, or number sense, Graves said. Math instruction across the nation might emphasize one or another. To have students become proficient in math, they have to “get both of those together,” Graves said.
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