Preliminary scores on all state exams elementary and middle-school students took this year show mixed results, with small improvements on most tests but significant drops on a handful of others, according to figures released Wednesday and Thursday.

Scores improved if the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests were based on curricula teachers have been using for at least two years. But students failed in large numbers if the exams covered material schools just started teaching this year.

The state is phasing in new learning standards for all grades and subjects. Eight of the 36 CRCT exams were new — including the fifth- and eighth-grade math tests students must pass to move to the next grade.

The newly released results follow last week's announcement about dismal scores on three new math and social studies tests. Those results angered parents, students and educators.

State schools Superintendent Kathy Cox and other officials now are focusing on preliminary results from all 36 tests. They said scores dropped on the tests with new material because the questions were based on more rigorous learning standards.

Students' scores will improve as teachers become more familiar with the material, they said.

"We look at this as good news," education department spokesman Dana Tofig wrote in an e-mail. "In every area that the new curriculum has been implemented for two or three years, we are seeing growth in student achievement. We anticipate we will see this type of growth in grade 5 and 8 math and other areas, as well."

In a statement, Cox declined interviews or to provide detailed comments until official results are released next month.

Widespread failures on middle school math and social studies tests have frustrated parents and educators. Many students who earned As and Bs in the classes all year bombed the exams. Promises that passing rates will gradually increase provided little consolation.

"Like I'm supposed to feel better because test scores will eventually improve," said parent Juanita Morning. Her eighth-grade daughter at Chamblee Middle failed the math test. "What message does it send to the kids who didn't do well this year? How are they supposed to feel good about themselves and school if they failed one of these tests?"

The state announced last week that about 40 percent of eighth-graders failed the math test. Between 70 and 80 percent of sixth- and seventh-graders failed the social studies exam, although students are not required to pass for promotion.

Cox later threw out the social studies scores, saying there was a breakdown between test questions, state standards and what teachers taught. She called the math results valid, explaining tougher standards are needed to prepare students for college and jobs.

The newly released results show other revamped tests had sharp declines.

Seventy-one percent of third-graders passed the math test, compared with 90 percent last year. On the science test, about 60 percent of the eighth-graders passed, compared with 74 percent last year. On the social studies test, about 59 percent of the eighth-graders passed, compared with 85 percent last year. The state says results on the new tests are not comparable to previous years.

While it's common to see scores drop, a change of 20-plus percentage points is "a lot bigger than usual," said Robert Linn, co-director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing. The group looks at ways to improve testing and how to best use the results.

Linn said there's no rule for how much scores should drop on a new test. It depends on the test, the rigor of the new standards and how many questions students must get right to pass, he said.

"How fast the scores come back up is debatable," Linn said. "Usually you see some improvement in the next couple of years but then it tends to level out. If the scores drop 20 or 25 percentage points, to get back to where you were is going to take some time."

Tofig couldn't say when or if student scores will improve to what they once were.

"For us, what is important is that we continue to see growth in student achievement under the new curriculum," Tofig wrote.

The CRCT tests whether public school students learned what they were expected to master based on state standards.

Some of tests have high consequences. Third-graders are required to pass the reading exam for promotion. Fifth- and eighth-graders must pass the reading and math tests for promotion. Students who fail must take the tests again this summer. Schools are scrambling to offer optional summer classes.

DeKalb County schools planned to teach about 8,000 students during summer school this year. At least an additional 3,000 students are expected because of low math test scores, Superintendent Crawford Lewis said Thursday. He expects the system will spend an extra $500,000 for additional teachers and transportation.

About 63 percent of DeKalb's fifth-graders passed the math test, as did about 52 percent of the eighth-graders, Lewis said.

"We thought there would be a slight dip and made some provisions for a slight dip," Lewis said. "But we did not anticipate the gap that we've seen with the results we are reviewing at this time."

The CRCT math, reading and English tests also help determine whether schools meet the goals set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Schools that repeatedly fail face increasingly severe sanctions, from being required to offer free tutoring to a possible takeover by the state.

District leaders won't know until July if their schools met the federal testing goals, but Lewis said parents have called wondering what will happen.

"We don't know how bad it will be, but it will have significant negative implications," Lewis said.