PA. SCHOOLS Scores are close to average
Test scores still reflected an achievement gap between white and black pupils.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- Roughly one-third of Pennsylvania's fourth- and eighth-graders met academic standards on national math and reading tests this year, but the results show little if any improvement from previous years, according to a report released Thursday.
The average score for the state's eighth-graders was slightly higher than the national average on both tests, while the average scores of fourth-graders matched the national average, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation's report card.
Achieving scores that are considered at least "proficient" has become important for schools across the nation under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which requires all pupils to achieve proficiency in math and reading by 2014. The term means pupils have shown they can understand challenging subject matter and apply it to real-world situations.
About the scores
In Pennsylvania, 32 percent of eighth-graders and 33 percent of fourth-graders achieved scores of "proficient" or better in reading, while 30 percent of eighth-graders and 36 percent of fourth-graders achieved proficiency in math.
"There are just far too many students at below-basic and basic levels overall. We have not made significant gains in closing achievement gaps for females, minority students and children who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunches," said Gerald Zahorchak, the state's deputy secretary for elementary and secondary education.
On the eighth-grade math test, for example, the gap between the average scores of white and black pupils narrowed from 35 points in 2002 to 25 points this year, with white pupils having the higher average score. The report said the average scores of whites and Hispanics this year were found "not to be significantly different," despite an 11-point gap.
"We see [the gap] as more evidence of the need for reform of Pennsylvania's school funding system, because the rural and urban schools, which are the most disadvantaged by the inequities ... also serve the greatest numbers of low-income and minority students," said Wythe Keever, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association.
Under the state's plan for complying with the federal academic achievement requirements, schools need to begin with at least 35 percent of their pupils proficient in math and 45 percent proficient in reading on state assessment tests.
Required to take part
All 50 states were required to participate in the national tests for the first time this year as a condition of receiving federal funding. Pennsylvania's previous participation has been sporadic, according to a "snapshot report" explaining its test results.
While comparisons to 2002 test results were available for the reading scores in both grades in Pennsylvania, the state's last math test was given in 1992 for eighth-graders and in 1996 for fourth-graders, according to the report.
In 2002, 34 percent of eighth-graders and 35 percent of fourth-graders demonstrated proficiency in reading. Twenty-two percent of eighth-graders were proficient on the 1992 math test, and 20 percent of fourth-graders were proficient on the 1996 math test.
Zahorchak said the results reinforce Gov. Ed Rendell's argument that the state should increase public school funding by injecting new dollars into programs that have proven to boost test scores, such as early-childhood education and tutoring.
Delaying funds
Disagreements between Rendell and state lawmakers over the cost of his initiatives have held up more than $4 billion in basic-education subsidies for the fiscal year that began July 1. A $1.1 billion package of new spending that includes $250 million for education initiatives awaits action in the Senate as the Legislature resumes its session Monday.
"We know that economists across the nation are telling us to invest, especially during austere times, in human capital, and they mean that investing in the educational system is your best economic recovery hope," Zahorchak said.