Mo. students show gains in math scores on NAEP test; reading scores stagnant

Missouri students posted gains in math but remained stagnant in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests.

The same test is administered to fourth- and eighth-graders across the nation, allowing educators to see how Missouri students stack up against other states. For both subjects and both grades Missouri students are almost exactly at the national average.

Nationwide, 350,000 students took the test last winter, including students from North Elementary and the middle school in Jackson and from Alma Schrader Elementary, Franklin Elementary and Central Junior High School in Cape Girardeau.

Scores from specific schools are not released.

The NAEP test differs from the Missouri Assessment Program tests, which are only given on a statewide level. However, for the most part, scores on the NAEP and the MAP tests correspond.

For Missouri fourth-graders in reading in 2006: 29.4 percent were proficient on the MAP, 32 percent on the NAEP. For eighth-graders, the numbers were 27.2 percent and 31 percent, respectively.

As for math, 34.8 percent of Missouri fourth-graders were proficient on the MAP, while 38 percent were proficient on the NAEP. In eighth grade, 28.2 percent were proficient on the MAP and 30 percent were proficient on the NAEP.

Jim Morris, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Education, said he was "pleasantly surprised at the amount of change in the math scores" of students taking the NAEP.

But he said he was disappointed the reading scores continue to show almost no improvement.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

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