Contact: Lisa Johnston
(404) 879-5544
Released: 1/9/2006
SREB States Lead the Nation in Rate of Student Improvement
ATLANTA - Fourteen of SREB's 16 member states have improved student
achievement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) at a rate
at or above the national average, according to Quality Counts 2006, the
annual report released January 4 by Education Week. NAEP tests in reading
and math are given to fourth- and eighth-graders across the nation every two
years. The report looked at state gains on the NAEP, known as “The Nation's
Report Card,” since 1992.
The only states that surpassed the national rate of improvement in both
fourth- and eighth-grade math were SREB states - Arkansas, Delaware, Louisiana,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
Delaware - an SREB state - was the only state in the nation to make
better-than-average gains in both fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math.
“This is very good news,” SREB President Dave Spence said. “It shows that
efforts that were going on in SREB states even before the No Child Left
Behind Act are paying off.”
Even more significantly, Spence noted, the report showed that SREB states
were among the nation's leaders in closing the achievement gaps between groups
of students. “This bucks the national trend toward widening gaps in many
states,” he said.
Quality Counts reported no SREB states in which the achievement gap
widened for any group:
- Twelve SREB states - among only 28 in the nation -
reduced the achievement gaps between black and white students and between
poor and non-poor students in fourth-grade math: Alabama, Delaware, Florida,
Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
- Texas decreased the gap in eighth-grade math between both
Hispanic and white students, and between poor and non-poor students.
- Delaware, Florida and Texas reduced the gap between poor
and non-poor students in fourth-grade reading. Delaware also reduced the
black-white gap in eighth-grade reading.
The report also graded states on progress in standards and accountability.
SREB states accounted for 13 of the 28 states that received A's or B's. Six SREB
states got A's: Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina and West
Virginia.
For details, see Education Week's individual state profiles at
www.edweek.org.
The Southern Regional Education Board, headquartered in Atlanta, was created
in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and
government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and
economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West
Virginia. Each state is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial
appointees.
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