State's 4th and 8th graders improve scores on national math test

Georgia is one of only 15 states to see eighth graders improve their scores on a major national math skills test, results released Wednesday show.

The state's three-point gain was not enough to put scores on par with the national average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly referred to as the "Nation's Report Card."  But State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox said the rise in eighth graders' scores is evidence the state's tougher curriculum is working.

"I am confident this is just the beginning of the gains our students will show on national tests as our new curriculum takes hold," Cox said in a prepared statement.

NAEP is given every two years to a representative sample of students in each state. Most Georgia eighth graders who took the test in 2009 had been taught for three years under the more rigorous Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), Cox said.

Georgia eighth graders scored an average of 278, out of a possible 500 on NAEP's test of student math skills. That's four points off the national average of 282, but higher than the 2007 average state score of 275.

Carol Taylor, an eighth grade math teacher at Rising Starr Middle School in Fayette County, said the tougher curriculum has made a big difference.

"It's less repetitive so the kids are not bored to tears," she said. "The important concepts are there. The rigor is there, and they [the students] are doing beautifully."

Shannon Hart, director of K-12 mathematics for Fulton County schools, said the lessons are sticking.  "Instead of it being a mile wide, it's a mile deep," she said.

The new curriculum began after years of complaints from teachers, parents and experts that Georgia's old standards were too vague and broad, resulting in lower scores on national exams.  But parents have said the state failed to give teachers enough training on the new material. Some worried that children were not prepared for the new work, which includes middle schoolers  learning algebra and other advanced concepts previously taught in high school.

Fourth graders didn't see a boost in Georgia or the nation on the math test, which some say is not surprising given the more generalist training of elementary school teachers. "What research is showing is that we need to better prepare our teachers to help our young students," said Judy A. Brown, mathematics program manager for Sylvan Learning, a private tutoring company.

Georgia fourth graders -- who had been taught the tougher math curriculum for about a year and a half -- scored an average of 236, one point over 2007 and three points below the national average.

Nationally, the average score for fourth graders on the math test was unchanged, something that hasn't happened since the assessments began in 1990.  That sparked a call to action by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

The NAEP results "are evidence that we must better equip our schools to improve the knowledge and skills of America's students in mathematics," Duncan said in a prepared statement. "None of us should be satisfied.

Nationally, eighth graders' scores increased two points from two years ago, while fourth graders scores stood still at 240.

Also unchanged nationally were student achievement levels; only 39 percent of fourth-graders and 34 percent of eighth-graders performed at the proficient level, meaning they show the knowledge and skills appropriate for their grade level. But that's not close to bringing all children to proficiency by 2014, a central goal of the national No Child Left Behind law.

In Georgia, 32 percent of eighth graders performed at or above the proficient level. Among fourth graders, it was 39 percent.

Besides Georgia, states that showed improvement include Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut and Hawaii.