JACKSON - Gov. Ronnie Musgrove says higher test scores on the new "national report card" show the state has pursued the right policies the past several years by raising teacher pay and putting a strict accountability plan in place.
"We're seeing the results of investments and it's paying off," said Musgrove, who leaves office Jan. 13. "And that's why we've got to continue to invest and make education our top priority."
Mississippi's fourth- and eighth-graders showed marked improvement in math on the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress since it was last given in 2000.
However, the results, released Thursday, also show the state's students are still scoring lower than the national average in reading and mathematics.
Reading scores for the same grade levels showed a slight gain from the 2002 test, but the gain was not considered statistically significant.
The NAEP scores, which are based on representative samples of public school students, are considered to be the nation's report card. This was the first year the test was given to students in every state, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
"When you look at scale score gains, we had better scale score gains than many states," said Cindy Simmons, Mississippi's NAEP coordinator. "We are not where we want to be, but we are closing the gap."
In fourth-grade math, for example, Mississippi's gain of 12 points exceeded the national gain of 10 points, she said. And while many states' reading scores stayed the same or declined, Mississippi's was up slightly.
Still, just 12 percent of Mississippi's eighth-graders, and 17 percent of its fourth-graders scored at or above the level test organizers say is the goal - "proficient," which means having a demonstrated ability to understand challenging subject matter and apply it to real world situations.
Nationally, 27 percent of eighth-graders and 32 percent of fourth-graders met the goal.
While white students' test scores were higher than black students, the gap did narrow slightly, as did the achievement gap between those who qualify for free and low-cost lunches and those who don't.
Peggy G. Carr of the National Center for Education Statistics said in an Internet interview with reporters Thursday, that NAEP is "used to gauge the general progress of a state's performance."
"Although NAEP is not designed to evaluate state testing programs, it has in the past and continues to be a serious discussion tool for how states are performing," she said. "NAEP does provide the one common yardstick on which state performances can be compared."
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