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Friday, August 19, 2005

Under 50% of Students Proficient in Math

By David Miles
Journal Capitol Bureau
    SANTA FE— Less than half of New Mexico public-school students scored proficient or better in math on new standardized tests, but performance in reading and science surpassed the math showings.
    State Secretary of Public Education Veronica Garcia on Thursday put a positive light on the test results from the past school year. She said roughly 80 percent of all students had scores of "nearing proficiency" or better.
    "This information tells me that we have many students who, with just a little more effort, will be at proficiency," Garcia said at a news conference.
    Test scores fall under the following categories, from lowest to highest: beginning step, nearing proficiency, proficient and advanced.
    Marshall Berman, past president of the Coalition for Excellence in Science and Math Education, described the test results in science and math as "very poor."
    "New Mexico reflects a national problem in science and math of ferocious importance," said Berman, a former member of the now-defunct state Board of Education.
    Berman said colleges of education need to improve their science and math instruction; teachers must instruct students how to take tests; and school officials must ensure that curricula match state education standards.
    Roughly 125,000 New Mexico students took the tests this spring.
    Students in grades three through nine and 11 took the reading and math tests, while students in grades three through nine were tested in science.
    Sixth-graders had the lowest reading scores, with 41 percent scoring proficient or higher. Grades five and 11 saw the highest reading scores, with 57 percent in both grades scoring proficient or better.
    In math, seventh grade saw the lowest proficiency level, with 20 percent of students scoring proficient or better. Third-graders ranked highest, with 43 percent scoring at least proficient.
    Eighth-graders ranked lowest in science, with 25 percent scoring proficient or better. Third-graders easily surpassed other grades in science proficiency— 77 percent had scores of at least proficient.
    Garcia noted the persistence of an "achievement gap" among different categories of students.
    She and other educators saw significant differences in test results along the lines of ethnicity, income level, disability and students' English proficiency.
    Anglo and Asian students scored higher on the tests, as groups, than blacks, Hispanics and American Indians.
    Factors contributing to the achievement gap include poor student nutrition and health, inadequate access to pre-kindergarten programs and lack of parental involvement, Garcia said.
    State education officials said test results should not be compared with results from previous years because the tests have changed.