The average scores for eighth-graders nationwide decreased in both reading and math from 2017 to 2019, while Connecticut eighth-graders saw no significant change.

But both the increased performance in fourth-grade math and decrease in fourth-grade reading across the country were exaggerated in Connecticut.

This is according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress — known as the Nation's Report Card — which the National Center for Education Statistics released Wednesday.

"Over the past decade, there has been no progress in either mathematics or reading performance, and the lowest performing students are doing worse," NCES Associate Commissioner Peggy Carr said in a news release. She added that since the first NAEP administration in 1992, the state has made no progress on improving the performance of readers who struggle the most.

Carr added in a conference call that more states are seeing a decline in "reading for literary experience" — such as reading stories — than reading for information. She couldn't give reasons for the declines in reading performance across grade levels, saying the assessment is "designed to tell you what, not why."

NCES is part of the federal Department of Education, and participation in the every-other-year assessment is a requirement for states to get federal dollars.

The assessment "is the only common yardstick the country has" to compare across state and district lines, said Leslie Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board. The board is responsible for setting achievement levels and policy for NAEP.

Testing is done based on a representative sample, and NCES said it assessed about 590,600 students this year. Ajit Gopalakrishnan, chief performance officer for the Connecticut State Department of Education, said contractors went into a little more than 100 schools in the state from January to March. Students take the test on tablets.

Compared to other states not based on growth but on static scores for 2019, Connecticut ranked second for eighth-grade reading, seventh for fourth-grade reading, eighth for eighth-grade math, and ninth for fourth-grade math.

Compared to 2017, the national results showed a 1-point increase in fourth-grade math, 1-point decreases in fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math, and a 3-point drop in eighth-grade reading. All changes were marked as statistically significant.

Connecticut saw a 4-point increase in fourth-grade math, one of seven states and the District of Columbia to see a significant increase. Gopalakrishnan specifically attributed this to increased performance from Latino students, which mirrors a nationwide increase among this group.

But Connecticut saw a 4-point decrease in fourth-grade reading. Mississippi and Washington, D.C., were the only places to see improvements in at least three of the four subject/grade combinations.

Compared to 1992, Connecticut made great strides in math for both grades but no change in reading for either. Gopalakrishnan said this is in line with what he's seen on the state's Smarter Balanced assessment, which has a different proficiency standard than NAEP.

Gopalakrishnan attributes the disparity in growth to the "dramatic ways" the student population has changed, to the point where more than 50 percent of students now are high-needs — meaning those who are English learners, have disabilities or come from low-income families.

"Reading becomes that much more challenging, and math is probably more of a universal language," he said, adding that math tends to be more piecemeal while reading is more holistic. He said strategies for improving reading scores include reducing disciplinary measures, addressing chronic absenteeism and providing culturally responsive education.

Gopalakrishnan is not sure how other states compare in terms of the share of high-needs students, though he knows that English learners are increasing nationally but Connecticut has a greater percentage of students from low-income families than neighboring Massachusetts, which ranks No. 1 in three of the four groupings.

The Nation's Report Card also showed that 8 percent of fourth-graders in Connecticut have teachers who reported a "serious problem" with inadequate supplies, compared to 6 percent of fourth-graders nationwide.

e.moser@theday.com