ATLANTA — A new report by the Southern Regional Education Board finds modest progress in early grades’ student achievement in many SREB states — but warns that states face many challenges ahead in continuing to improve this performance.
Over the last four years, most of the 16 SREB member states have increased the percentages of fourth-graders meeting their state’s academic standards on reading and math tests, and some SREB states have seen strong gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). But the number of SREB states in which these students are exceeding national percentages on NAEP has not grown since 2003, the report shows.
Achievement gaps between groups of students also persist — although they are narrowing in many states. From 2005 to 2007, nine SREB states narrowed the gap between black and white fourth-graders on state reading test scores, and nine states narrowed the gap in math. Seven states narrowed the gap between Hispanic and white fourth-graders on state reading test scores, and eight states narrowed the gap in math.
"States are making progress in helping all fourth-graders learn to read and do math at higher levels," said Joan Lord, SREB’s vice president for Education Policies, whose team authored the in-depth report. "Moving ahead, states need to step up their efforts in order to build on this success."
States face a possible major cut in federal Reading First funding — funds that have enabled states to start or expand reading programs resulting in some of the nation’s biggest gains in early grades reading achievement. The reduction could hamper states as they work to raise academic standards and help students meet them.
"Every state should be prepared to expand or create statewide reading programs with less help from the federal government," Lord said. "We also need to do a better job helping students advance their reading and writing skills as they proceed through the middle grades and high school."
Several SREB states have made solid progress in raising early grades achievement. The report cites the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI), begun in 1998, as one of several effective state programs in the region that help students read at higher levels in the early grades. In 2007, Alabama had the nation’s largest gains in the percentages of fourth-graders scoring at or above the NAEP Basic and Proficient levels in reading. State education leaders attributed the success to the ARI. Florida’s reading intervention program in the early grades also is noted for its success in identifying and responding to the needs of struggling students.
In both reading and math, the report also shows that higher percentages of fourth-graders from low-income families in the SREB median states scored at or above the NAEP Basic level over the last four years than their peers nationwide. But with a growing number of children from low-income families in the region, more progress will not be easy.
The report recommends that SREB states continue to raise their academic standards so that students are appropriately challenged. Principals and teachers need more training and professional development to meet the changing needs of students. State reading programs are providing extra help for struggling readers and professional development for teachers.
SREB also is helping its member states focus more intently on improving reading in the middle grades and high school this year. Led by Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia, education leaders serving on the SREB Committee to Improve Reading and Writing in Middle and High Schools plan to release a major report and set of state policy recommendations later this year.
For more information, see the SREB report, Set for Success: Improving Reading and Mathematics Achievement in the Early Grades, at www.sreb.org or 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. For more information, go to www.sreb.org.
