N.J. eighth graders show math gains

New Jersey was among 15 states whose eighth graders have shown significant improvement in math since 2007, according to the results of national assessment tests released yesterday.

The state's eighth-grade score rose four points to 293 on the math National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), one of a series of federally funded achievement tests often tagged "The Nation's Report Card." Pennsylvania's average eighth-grade math score increased two points to 288, not considered a statistically significant change.

Eighth graders nationwide earned an average of 283 on a 500-point scale, up just two points from two years ago. And after nearly two decades of progress, fourth graders scored 240, exactly the same as in 2007.

In both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, math scores for fourth graders plateaued between 2007 and 2009. In Pennsylvania, the average score was static at 244. In New Jersey, it fell two points to 247.

Nevertheless, New Jersey and Pennsylvania students in both grades ranked above the national average. Only two states scored higher than New Jersey's fourth and eighth graders. Pennsylvania's fourth-grade score was tied in fifth place nationally; its eighth-grade score tied for seventh-highest.

Some education experts have said the NAEP's performance standards are tougher than state standardized tests used under the No Child Left Behind law.

Disappointed by the lack of consistent progress nationally, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called for greater action.

"None of us should be satisfied," he said in a statement. "We need reforms that will accelerate student achievement. Our students need to graduate high school ready to succeed in college and the workplace."

David Driscoll, chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board, the tests' overseer, said U.S. students' math achievement is "not close to where it should be compared to other nations."

Elementary- and middle-school teachers are often generalists and need to be better trained in math, he said.

In New Jersey, officials chose to focus on their students' achievements.

"This is good news for our kids, our families, and our future," said Gov. Corzine, adding that the eighth-grade score shows that the state's investment in education "is paying off."

Education Commission Lucille Davy noted that the state's eighth graders with disabilities increased their score from 251 in 2007 to 259 in 2009. The national average for disabled children in that grade was 249.

In 2007, the state's eighth graders scored highest nationally on the NAEP writing exam; its fourth graders trailed only one state in reading. An NAEP is also administered for science. The 2009 results for those subjects have not yet been released.

Pennsylvania education department spokesman Michael Race noted that even though the state's NAEP math score did not go up, Pennsylvania's fourth and eighth graders were performing above the national average. In addition, he said, children in both grades made gains in their Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) math scores between 2007 and 2009.

This year's NAEP math tests were given to more than 168,000 fourth graders and 161,000 eighth graders in public and private schools nationwide.

Also unchanged nationally were children's achievement levels. Only 39 percent of fourth graders and 32 percent of eighth graders performed at the "proficient" level or higher, meaning that they possessed grade-level knowledge and skills.

Tom Loveless, an education expert at the Brookings Institution think tank, said the results weren't much different from those of 2007. It would take another four to six years to know if fourth-grade progress truly had stalled, he said.

"Each of these is kind of like a public-opinion poll. It's an estimate," Loveless said. "I think people rush to take each release of test scores far too seriously and try to explain every little wiggle in the data."

The data also showed differences in performance along gender, racial, and economic lines.

In Pennsylvania, for example, black fourth graders scored 36 points lower than their white peers in 1992. In 2009, that achievement gap had narrowed to 26 points. In 2009, Hispanic fourth graders had an average score 22 points lower than that of white students; earlier comparison figures were not available.

Among Pennsylvania eighth graders, the average score for black students was 34 points lower than that of white students in 2009, a gap that has remained relatively unchanged since the early 1990s. Hispanic students scored 28 points lower than white students in 2009.

In New Jersey, the score gap narrowed between white fourth graders and their black peers: Black students' scores were 38 points lower in 1992 and 27 lower in 2009. The gap also tightened for Hispanic students. In 2009, Latino students' average score was 24 points lower than that of white students; in 1992, it was 32 points lower.

For Garden State eighth graders, black students' test scores averaged 34 points lower those of white students in 2009; in 1990, the gap was 38 points. Hispanic students averaged 30 points less than white classmates in 2009; in 1990, they averaged 37 points less.

In both states, poverty continued to accompany lesser school performance. In New Jersey, fourth graders who qualified for a free or reduced lunch scored 26 points lower on the math test. Eighth graders in that group averaged 30 points less. In Pennsylvania, low-income fourth graders scored 25 points less than their more affluent classmates. Eighth graders scored on average 30 points less.

Read the full text of the Nation's Report Card for mathematics at www.nationsreportcard.govEndText