Washington students get good U.S. report card

Above-average scores in math, reading cited in national tests

October 24, 2005 - Washington students know more about math and are better readers than the national average in nearly every category cited Wednesday in what the federal government calls "the nation's report card."

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, which has conducted independent testing of students across the country in various subject areas during the past three decades, released results for math and reading achievement in grades 4 and 8.

On a scale of 0 to 500, eighth-graders in Washington state averaged a score of 285 for math, compared with the national average of 278. This made Washington one of the top seven in the nation for eighth-grade math.

Washington students' average math score of 242 for grade 4, compared with the national average of 237, made this state one of the top 12 in the nation for fourth-grade math.

In reading, Washington's fourth-grade score of 223 fell into the top 14, with a national average of 217. The eighth-grade score of 265 beat the national average of 260 but was close to the middle of the pack among the states.

In Renton, Hazelwood Elementary School fourth-grade students participated in the testing.

When the national results were announced in July, education officials said they were the best fourth-grade scores since the national testing program began, with reading in 1971 and math in 1973.

Achievement gaps between racial groups are narrowing nationally and on the state level, but the difference was particularly noticeable in Washington among black students, who nearly met the national average for all races in fourth-grade math and reading and significantly bypassed the national average for black students.

Washington's Hispanic fourth-graders scored one point below the national average in math in their ethnic group and Asian/Pacific Islanders were six points below the average for their ethnic group. Reading scores for all of Washington's ethnic groups in fourth grade beat their national averages.

Washington fourth-graders have shown steady improvement in NAEP test results, with an increase of about 10 points in math and nearly 20 points in reading during the past 10 years. Eighth-graders showed a similar improvement in math, but reading remained static.