ATLANTA — Students in most Southern Regional Education Board states continue to make record progress in reading and mathematics achievement, according to results from a national test released Tuesday, although many challenges remain.
Many of the 16 SREB states saw across-the-board gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade mathematics, the two grade levels and subjects most often used for state comparisons. The NAEP, given to a scientific sample of students in each state every two years, is known as "the nation’s report card" and helps states monitor students’ academic progress in comparison with other states across the country.
"Our region continues to make good progress," SREB President Dave Spence said.
"States need to build on the academic gains we’re seeing. We should work harder to raise achievement at faster rates and to eliminate the performance gaps that remain. Our future social and economic prosperity depends on it."
Five SREB states had percentages of fourth-graders score above the national percentage at the NAEP Proficient level in reading: Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia. Six SREB states had fourth-graders exceed the national percentages at the NAEP Proficient level in math: Delaware, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Three SREB states had percentages of eighth-graders exceed the NAEP Proficient level in reading: Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Five SREB states had eighth-graders exceed the national percentage at the NAEP Proficient level in math: Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Overall, most SREB states improved their scores in most academic-subject and grade-level categories. The percentages of fourth-graders meeting the NAEP Basic level rose in 14 of the 16 SREB states in reading and 13 states in math, for example. Scores rose or remained the same in 13 SREB states in eighth-grade reading and in all 16 states in eighth-grade math.
Alabama tied with New Jersey with the nation’s largest percentage-point increase in fourth-graders meeting the NAEP Basic level in reading (9 points). Alabama alone had the nation’s largest percentage-point gain in fourth-graders meeting the NAEP Proficiency level in reading (7 points).
Maryland had the nation’s largest percentage-point increase in fourth-graders meeting the NAEP Basic level in math (8 points) and tied with three other states for the highest gain in those students at the NAEP Proficiency level in math (7 points).
West Virginia had the nation's largest percentage-point increase in fourth-graders meeting the NAEP Basic level in math (6 points) and third-largest gain by those students at the NAEP Proficient level (7 points).
NAEP singled out Florida and Texas especially for improved achievement by black and Hispanic students in reading and math. Hispanic students are the fastest growing group in nearly all SREB states. Achievement gaps between white and Asian students and their black and Hispanic peers remain major challenges that deserve more attention from educators and state leaders, Spence said.
States need to continue to examine their statewide academic standards and assessments to ensure all students are challenged to succeed in higher-level work, Spence said.
The SREB Challenge to Lead Goals for Education, developed and approved by the region’s leaders in 2002, call for states to ensure that all fourth- and eighth-grade students meet the NAEP Basic level in reading, math and science, and for the percentages of fourth- and eighth-graders who exceed the NAEP Proficient level in reading, math and science to be higher than the national percentages. The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires all students to reach proficient levels in reading and math as defined by states by 2014.
A recent SREB report shows that in many states, students fare better on state exams than on the NAEP, which may be evidence that state academic standards and tests are not rigorous enough. States should work to continue to raise academic standards and help all students meet them. The report, Getting State Standards Right in the Early and Middle Grades, is available online at www.sreb.org.
For more information about your state’s progress, NAEP scores and state academic standards, please contact SREB Communications.
SREB, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, advises state education leaders on ways to improve education. SREB 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 is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial appointees.
