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Maryland continued a nearly 20-year record of improvement in fourth-grade math achievement on a closely watched national exam, bucking a trend that saw scores stall in most states.
The overall results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress in math, released Wednesday, were disappointing to educators nationwide who expected an intense focus on math and reading over the past decade to translate into better scores.
Maryland's average score on the fourth-grade math exam rose to 244 from 240 two years ago, on a scale of 1 to 500. The national average was 239. Eighth-grade scores were up two points to 288, a statistically insignificant rise, but above the national average of 282.
Despite the improvement, only 44 percent of fourth-graders in the state and 40 percent of eighth-graders are considered proficient in math.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other education leaders nationally said the results showed the need for more work to improve math curriculum and teacher training, particularly at the elementary level, where teachers have the least amount of expertise in the subject.
"These NAEP results are a call to action for reforms that will prepare our students to compete in the global economy," Duncan said in a statement.
Maryland education officials said the rise in fourth-grade scores reflects the results of a statewide math curriculum put into place several years ago, as well as continued pressure on colleges and universities to better train elementary school teachers.
State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick said she was "very happy" with the results, and that fourth-graders "deserved a pat on the back."
But not everyone saw good news in the results. William Schmidt, a Michigan State University education professor and an authority on math teaching, said the results nationally and in Maryland show only small improvements even in the years since the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind act.
Across the nation, he pointed out, only about a third of students are proficient in math. "There is a hardly any change. There is hardly any difference," Schmidt said. "How could we as a nation let that happen?"
Since 1990, when Congress authorized the NAEP, the gap between African-Americans and whites has not changed. In Maryland, the fourth-grade gap has narrowed, but not in the eighth grade. The gap between poor students and all others has also gotten smaller since 1990..
In addition, Schmidt pointed out the vast differences in the state results. In Mississippi, about one in five students was proficient in math; in Massachusetts, half of students are proficient.
The disparities, he said, are in part because of differences in the level of math instruction students receive. Students in better-off socioeconomic areas are given more advanced math than those in poorer districts, he said.
In Maryland, most suburban counties offer gifted students Algebra I in sixth or seventh grade, and almost all other students take the course in eighth grade.
But most Baltimore City students usually don't take the course until ninth grade, making it difficult for them to take higher-level courses in high school.
Recently, the city has begun to change that. NAEP officials said eighth-graders who were taking Algebra I scored 15 points higher on the test.
Only four states had fourth-grade scores higher than Maryland's; seven states had better eighth-grade results. However, Massachusetts, which Maryland likes to compare itself to on other educational measures such as Advanced Placement tests, did far better in both grades. Massachusetts has worked with neighboring New Hampshire and Vermont on shared standards, and the three states posted some of the best results in the country.
The NAEP scores come at a time when states have joined a consortium to adopt a set of common core standards, or national standards in math and reading. If those are adopted, a national test would be put into place and the state tests would disappear.
These latest scores in math, Schmidt said, offer evidence of the need for national standards that could diminish some of the inequity now seen across the country.
The overall results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress in math, released Wednesday, were disappointing to educators nationwide who expected an intense focus on math and reading over the past decade to translate into better scores.
Maryland's average score on the fourth-grade math exam rose to 244 from 240 two years ago, on a scale of 1 to 500. The national average was 239. Eighth-grade scores were up two points to 288, a statistically insignificant rise, but above the national average of 282.
Despite the improvement, only 44 percent of fourth-graders in the state and 40 percent of eighth-graders are considered proficient in math.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other education leaders nationally said the results showed the need for more work to improve math curriculum and teacher training, particularly at the elementary level, where teachers have the least amount of expertise in the subject.
"These NAEP results are a call to action for reforms that will prepare our students to compete in the global economy," Duncan said in a statement.
Maryland education officials said the rise in fourth-grade scores reflects the results of a statewide math curriculum put into place several years ago, as well as continued pressure on colleges and universities to better train elementary school teachers.
State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick said she was "very happy" with the results, and that fourth-graders "deserved a pat on the back."
But not everyone saw good news in the results. William Schmidt, a Michigan State University education professor and an authority on math teaching, said the results nationally and in Maryland show only small improvements even in the years since the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind act.
Across the nation, he pointed out, only about a third of students are proficient in math. "There is a hardly any change. There is hardly any difference," Schmidt said. "How could we as a nation let that happen?"
Since 1990, when Congress authorized the NAEP, the gap between African-Americans and whites has not changed. In Maryland, the fourth-grade gap has narrowed, but not in the eighth grade. The gap between poor students and all others has also gotten smaller since 1990..
In addition, Schmidt pointed out the vast differences in the state results. In Mississippi, about one in five students was proficient in math; in Massachusetts, half of students are proficient.
The disparities, he said, are in part because of differences in the level of math instruction students receive. Students in better-off socioeconomic areas are given more advanced math than those in poorer districts, he said.
In Maryland, most suburban counties offer gifted students Algebra I in sixth or seventh grade, and almost all other students take the course in eighth grade.
But most Baltimore City students usually don't take the course until ninth grade, making it difficult for them to take higher-level courses in high school.
Recently, the city has begun to change that. NAEP officials said eighth-graders who were taking Algebra I scored 15 points higher on the test.
Only four states had fourth-grade scores higher than Maryland's; seven states had better eighth-grade results. However, Massachusetts, which Maryland likes to compare itself to on other educational measures such as Advanced Placement tests, did far better in both grades. Massachusetts has worked with neighboring New Hampshire and Vermont on shared standards, and the three states posted some of the best results in the country.
The NAEP scores come at a time when states have joined a consortium to adopt a set of common core standards, or national standards in math and reading. If those are adopted, a national test would be put into place and the state tests would disappear.
These latest scores in math, Schmidt said, offer evidence of the need for national standards that could diminish some of the inequity now seen across the country.
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