Reading and math scores shot up across New York City鈥檚 public schools last school year, according to state test results released Monday.

Among students in grades 3-8, nearly 57% of students were considered proficient in math, an increase of 3.5 percentage points. The gains were even sharper in reading. About 56% of students were proficient in the subject, a 7 percentage point increase.

Those gains come after Mayor Eric Adams has made overhauling reading instruction , an effort that has won support from union leaders and in this November鈥檚 election. Top city officials argued Monday that their efforts are bearing fruit, as all elementary schools were required to use city-approved reading curriculums last school year through an initiative known as NYC Reads.

鈥淭his is what happens when we stay focused on evidence-based instruction and never lose sight of what鈥檚 possible for our young people,鈥� schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said in a statement.

Experts said the test score gains were encouraging, but cautioned that many factors can influence them and it鈥檚 impossible to isolate the effect of the curriculum overhauls.

鈥淚t鈥檚 at least suggestive that there鈥檚 real improvement,鈥� said Aaron Pallas, a professor at Columbia University鈥檚 Teachers College who has studied school performance and accountability systems. Results from a also hinted at some progress.

At the same time, Pallas noted test scores increased statewide by a similar magnitude as in New York City, which 鈥渄oes tamp down a little bit that it鈥檚 something special New York City is doing.鈥� The city鈥檚 overall proficiency rates are slightly higher than those statewide, where 53% of students are proficient in reading and 55% are proficient in math.

City Education Department officials also mounted an targeting students who were at the cusp of passing the exams, which may have played a role in the test score increase. Some experts criticized that approach because it could create incentives for schools to focus on students close to proficiency rather than those furthest behind.

Officials noted that reading scores increased more sharply in earlier grades that were subject to the reading curriculum changes. There was an 11.6 percentage point jump in reading proficiency among students in grades 3-5 who were in the first phase of schools that started using the new curriculums two years ago. Among the second phase of schools, which implemented the curriculum changes last year, reading scores increased 10.4 percentage points.

Overall, Pallas said that more data is needed to draw firm conclusions about student proficiency over time. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 real growth, it should be sustained. And that requires looking at scores over the next couple years,鈥� he said.

Michael Mulgrew, president of the teachers union, said in a statement that the test score increases are 鈥渁 testament to the hard work by New York City educators and our students. He singled out Aviles-Ramos, noting she 鈥渇ought the Education Department] bureaucracy to make sure the needs of students and school communities came first.鈥�

The continued to reflect deep disparities between different student groups, though in some cases those gaps narrowed somewhat.

Black students, for instance, posted the largest test score increases in reading and math in the city鈥檚 public schools of any racial group. But they still lag their white and Asian American peers.

About 75% of Asian American students and 73% of white students were proficient in reading compared with 43.5% of Latino children and 47% of Black students. (Black students鈥� proficiency jumped about 8 percentage points.)

Meanwhile, nearly 81% of Asian American students and 75% of white students passed state math exams while only 43% of Black and Latino students were considered to be on grade level.

Only 29% of students with disabilities were proficient in math and nearly 27% were in reading. Even as students with disabilities made some gains in reading and math, the gap between those children and their nondisabled peers widened slightly.

Among students learning English as a new language, nearly 30% were proficient in math and 12.5% were proficient in reading 鈥� a gain of more than 4 percentage points in both categories.

The state exams have undergone a series of tweaks in recent years that have to draw comparisons from the results year over year. For the last two years, the tests have remained stable, meaning the results should be comparable.

The state Education Department has expanded computer-based testing in lieu of paper exams and all students will take digital versions of the test next school year. Pallas said it is unlikely that will dramatically skew the results, though some schools have struggled with .

Curious about school-level test results? Here is a searchable breakdown of math and English scores across all of the city鈥檚 public schools. (Charter schools are included in the table but not in the district鈥檚 overall numbers above.)

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at . Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

Indiana students鈥� English language arts scores have remained essentially unchanged for five straight years despite major state investments in literacy, although math scores grew over the same time period, new test results show.

The 2025 ILEARN results released Wednesday show that overall, 40.6% of students scored proficient or better on the English language arts portion of the state test, which is administered in grades 3-8.

That鈥檚 a decline of around half a percentage point from last year, and about the same percentage of students who reached proficiency as in previous years going back to 2021.

Since the 2022-23 school year, Indiana has overhauled its reading instruction in early grades to better align with the . This has included 聽earmarked for placing literacy coaches in schools and evaluating teacher training programs, as well as a new law to third graders who don鈥檛 pass the state reading test, the IREAD.

IREAD scores are expected in August.

In this year鈥檚 ILEARN results, the share of third grade students proficient in English language arts improved 1.6 percentage points over last year. But their proficiency rate has risen by only 1.7 percentage points since 2021, due to a decline in performance in 2023 and 2024.

In fourth grade, around 41.4% of students were proficient in English language arts in 2025, a .4 percentage point drop since last year, but a 1.8 percentage point improvement over 2021.

Meanwhile, Indiana students鈥� math proficiency has increased since 2021, when around 36.9% of all students were proficient in math. In 2025, 42.1% of students tested proficient, an increase of around 1.2 percentage points over 2024.

Notably, math performance in third grade has steadily declined since 2023.

Under passed in 2025, math instruction will see changes similar to the science of reading shift, beginning with a math skills screener for younger students in 2026-27.

Overall, 31.2% of all Indiana students scored proficient in both English language arts and math in 2025. Indiana students recently posted improved scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation鈥檚 report card, in .

鈥楢n urgent need to support middle school students鈥�

The bifurcation in math and English language arts performance is most prominent in grades 6-8, where some of the greatest declines in English language arts proficiency and greatest increases in math proficiency occurred this year.

In seventh grade, for example, math proficiency improved 2 percentage points over last year, and 5.4 percentage points since 2021. But in English language arts, proficiency has fallen 3.9 percentage points since last year and 3.2 percentage points since 2021.

State education officials have been highlighting the in these grades since 2022.

This year, they鈥檝e linked the state reading overhaul to the difference in scores, with a board presentation pointing out that older students would not have benefitted from the changes in reading instruction that began in 2022-23.

鈥淲hile we are positively moving and improving in math, there is an urgent need to support middle school students in English/language arts,鈥� said Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner in a news release about the scores.

鈥淭hese are our students who intermittently came to school during the pandemic,鈥� said board member Pat Mapes of older students. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to constantly be catching up.鈥�

Scores among different student racial, ethnic, and social groups have remained relatively flat, with some notable exceptions.

For example, Black students鈥� proficiency in both English language arts and math has grown each year since 2021, with around 21.8% of Black students now proficient in English and 19% proficient in math 鈥� an increase of around 4.4 and 7.4 percentage points, respectively. Black students and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students were the only student groups to improve in English language arts proficiency since last year.

Math proficiency among English learner students has improved by 4.2 points since 2021, but English proficiency has fallen from a peak of 13.9% in 2022 to 12.7% 鈥� around the same rate as in 2021.

Proficiency rates for students who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals have increased from 22% in 2021 to 28.6% this year.

See how students at your school did on the ILEARN test using the table below:

The 2024-2025 school year was the first year that schools could choose to administer the ILEARN at several checkpoints throughout the year, with the goal of giving educators more data on student performance. Around 75% of schools participated in this pilot.

Beginning next year, all students and schools will participate in the checkpoint model. Department of Education officials said that beginning next year, the state will roll out portals for parents to view the results.

SAT reading scores improve, math scores flat

The state also released SAT scores Wednesday in a presentation to the State Board of Education.

Though not required for graduation, the SAT currently serves as the state鈥檚 federally mandated high school assessment, and students can use them to meet one of the state鈥檚 graduation pathways.

Around 54.8% of 11th grade test-takers met the college-ready benchmark for reading and writing in 2025, an increase of around 2.7 percentage points over 2024. Math proficiency remained flat, with around 25.4% of students meeting the benchmark.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at .

End-of-year testing results show Florida students were more proficient in math and reading than a year ago.

Statewide progress monitoring , announced by Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday, detail how Florida鈥檚 students performed in reading, math, social studies, and science.

Math scores for all students from third grade to high school improved by 3% from 2024, with 58% of students demonstrating a level 3 or higher understanding. The county with the lowest score was Gadsden, with 35% testing at a level 3 or higher, and the highest, Nassau, with 78%.

Level 3, on the state鈥檚 scale of 1-5, is considered on grade level. Level 4 is considered proficient and level 5 is considered exemplary. Students who scored below level 3 are considered below or well below grade level.

Reading scores for students in grades 3-10 increased from 53% at level three or higher in 2024 to 57% in 2025. Gadsden County had the lowest performance at 36% at level 3 or higher and St. Johns was the highest at 72%.

鈥淔lorida insists that education be factual, student-focused, and parent empowered,鈥� DeSantis said in a news release. 鈥淔lorida has led the nation in instituting progress monitoring assessments that allow for teachers and parents to provide real-time interventions that support the long-term success of their students, and our approach has paid off.鈥�

The progress monitoring tests are administered three times per year by the state. The periodic testing is designed to allow instructors to make interventions for struggling students sooner. This is the third year of progress monitoring in Florida.

During the Spring 2025 end-of-course assessment for the civics assessment, 71% of students tested at a level 3 or higher; 47% were proficient or higher.

鈥淭oday鈥檚 results affirm that our first-in-the-nation statewide progress monitoring system is making a difference for our students. Under Governor DeSantis鈥� leadership, Florida will continue to provide the best opportunities for our students,鈥� Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said in a news release.

This year Florida on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Eighth grade math scores have dropped in the last three iterations of the test, and Florida students that age ranked in the bottom 10 states for math and reading scores. Fourth grade reading scores on the NAEP were the lowest in 2024 since 2003, while their math scores increased but remain below pre-pandemic numbers.

The data for the NAEP, collected in early 2024, were disputed by Diaz, who questioned the methodology of the exam. Diaz wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Education with 鈥渟uggestions to help make NAEP great for educational progress once again.鈥�

He took issue with the lack of inclusion of private school students and he believed urban students were included at a disproportionate rate.

Diaz will step down next month to become interim president of the University of West Florida. , the Florida Board of Education named DeSantis deputy chief of staff Anastasios Kamoutsas the next education commissioner.

That鈥檚 one of the top-line findings from a from the Urban Institute, which sought to understand whether devoting resources to children鈥檚 health and social development yields greater benefits than devoting resources to their cognitive development; the study also looks at what aspects of a child鈥檚 cognitive development play relatively larger roles in their adult outcomes.聽

Researchers found that math scores have a significant predictive impact on earnings into adulthood. That finding holds true for children of all races and ethnicities 鈥� including for Hispanic children who consistently experience the largest gains 鈥� and for girls, who tend to see a higher earnings boost than boys. 

鈥淢ath scores seem to matter a good bit,鈥� says Gregory Acs, vice president for income and benefits at the Urban Institute and one of the lead authors of the policy paper. 鈥淓verything matters a little, but cognitive skills seem to matter a lot.鈥�

The findings, which replicate a longstanding correlation between math and adult success, come as school districts across the country consider ways to provide more effective math instruction, especially in the early elementary years, and build a stronger connection in the K-12 setting to local workforce needs.

Specifically, the analysis shows that improving math scores by 0.5 standard deviation for children up to age 12 is associated with larger increases on earnings by age 30 than other equivalent improvements. 

The impact also increases as children get older. For example, a half standard deviation increase in preschool math scores raises earnings by 2.5 percent, while a half standard deviation increase in middle childhood raises earnings by 3.5 percent. A 3.5 percent increase corresponds to about $1,200 a year in additional earnings for the average adult. Notably, girls see a greater increase in adulthood earnings from an improvement in math scores than boys 鈥� more than three-quarters of a percentage point at every life stage.

The same cannot be said for the earnings impact of improving reading scores, which actually diminishes as students get older, falling from 0.9 percent (about $300) to 0.5 percent (less than $200) from ages 5 to 11. Meanwhile, the impact of health and social relationships are consistent but modest as children get older. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not an enormous impact, but it鈥檚 an impact,鈥� Acs says. 鈥淲ould you pass up a 3 percent raise?鈥�

鈥淚t consistently shows that things you do early in life do ripple through,鈥� he continued. 鈥淎nd even when you might not see a clear causal pathway,鈥� he says, 鈥渋t鈥檚 a good framework for understanding how early life stuff matters.鈥�

The analysis bolsters previous research touting a correlation between math and earnings later in life and gives policymakers much to think over as they choose among interventions aimed at benefiting children in the short or long term, as well as when might be the most effective moment to unleash those targeted interventions. 

鈥淚t is useful to see what are the curricular options and where you can intervene in kids鈥� lives early on if you want to have a long term impact,鈥� Acs says. 鈥淎nd it does show that improvements in childhood and elementary school do matter and carry on into earnings.鈥�

For example, Acs says, it may be worth making bigger investments in math in later grades given that improvements in middle school have a more significant impact on earnings than in preschool. And for school leaders looking to make a dent in the earnings gap between men and women, it鈥檚 important to know that increasing math scores in childhood consistently raises the adult earnings of girls by a greater percentage than those of boys 鈥� even if in absolute dollar terms, increasing math scores raises boys鈥� earnings, too. 

In the wake of the recent 鈥渟cience of reading鈥� overhaul that shifted how educators teach students to read, policymakers are increasingly setting their gaze on math pedagogy. improved slowly between 1990 and 2013 and then plateaued, only to fall sharply during the pandemic. On average, students lost in math between 2019 and 2022. The most vulnerable students fell even further behind, exacerbating racial and socioeconomic inequities. 

Recovery has been stubborn and slow. Students recorded the largest drop ever in math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress last year, to their lowest levels in more than three decades.

鈥淲e always talk about this amazing predictive power of early mathematics,鈥� says DeAnn Huinker, professor of math instruction at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and director of the Center for Math and Science Education Research. 鈥淎nd I think we’ve taken math identity and agency away from kids, and just squashed the love that you find in 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds when they鈥檙e exploring numbers. Kids just really get turned off of mathematics, so I think we’re fighting that right now.鈥�

Education policy experts, lawmakers and business leaders agree that the nation needs to drive improvements in K-12 math to remain competitive in an increasingly technical global economy. On the most recent internationally benchmarked , known as the PISA, Americans scored lower than students from 36 other countries. And Defense Department officials are concerned about Americans鈥� contempt for math, warning that it has serious implications for national security, including .

Looking ahead, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the number of jobs in so-called 鈥渕ath occupations鈥� is set to increase by 29% by 2031, or by roughly 30,000 jobs per year 鈥� a faster clip than for other occupations. 

Though the debate over how to correct course is ongoing, experts say that the way schools are currently teaching math doesn鈥檛 work very well; further complicating the problem is the fact that many teachers who seek out positions in early elementary grades 鈥� the important foundational math years 鈥� do so because they don鈥檛 like math. Teachers should move away from procedural learning that involves rote memorization, Huinker and others say, and focus instead on conceptual understanding, which helps students recognize underlying math relationships, and developing a positive math identity.

鈥淭he number one goal is to really get at this deeper understanding of mathematics,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e want kids to make sense of the mathematical ideas that they’re exploring and learning about. So not rote learning, not memorizing, not worksheets. We do a lot that still is perhaps bad practice in early mathematics.鈥�

Huinker says she hopes research like that from the Urban Institute鈥檚 analysis crystalizes for policymakers and school leaders the importance of getting math instruction right 鈥� especially in the early years.

鈥淥ne thing that鈥檚 starting to really be more acknowledged is the importance of early mathematics and its predictive power for the long term,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here’s so much emphasis on reading and literacy, which is super important, but it kind of always overshadows mathematics. The crux of all of this early childhood, elementary and middle math is ensuring that kids feel empowered with agency to make sense of mathematics, to question, to explore, to really think of themselves as confident in that.鈥� 

A new state-by-state report shows Indiana鈥檚 child well-being ranking has dropped 鈥� in part due to Hoosier kids鈥� , as well as increased rates of youth deaths.

Although Indiana continues to rank in the bottom half of states for its rates of teen births and children living in high-poverty or in single-parent households, those numbers are showing improvement.

The ranked Indiana 27th among states, three places lower than last year. It鈥檚 still a slight improvement, however, compared to 2022 and 2021, when the state ranked 28th and 29th, respectively.

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In specific categories covered in the latest report, Indiana came in 15th for economic well-being, 17th in education, 31st in family and community, and 32nd in health.

鈥淚ndiana has significant opportunities and challenges ahead in supporting the well-being of our children,鈥� said Tami Silverman, president and CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute.

鈥淲e should celebrate the progress we鈥檝e made, especially in economic well-being areas such as parental employment rates and housing affordability; and we must acknowledge the disparities that persist for our kids,鈥� Silverman continued. 鈥淓very child in Indiana should have access to quality education, regardless of their background or circumstances. By addressing these disparities head-on, we not only invest in the future of our children but also in the economic prosperity of our state.鈥�

The report is prepared by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in conjunction with organizations across the county, including the Indiana Youth Institute. It rates states in 16 wide-ranging areas, which are lumped together under the categories of health, education, economic well-being, and family and community support.

Gaps in reading and math

The education portion of the 鈥� focused on student achievement 鈥� reiterates low numbers familiar to Hoosier education officials.

Just 32% of fourth graders nationally were at or above proficiency in reading in 2022, the latest year for which numbers were available. That was down from the 34% who were proficient in 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scores were even worse for eighth grade math. Nationwide, only 26% of eighth graders were at or above proficiency in math two years ago, down from 33% in 2019.

In Indiana, one-third of fourth graders performed at or above proficiency in reading 鈥� a four percentage-point decrease from the 2019 rate of 37%, the report showed.

Further, only 30% of Indiana eighth grade students performed at or above proficiency in math, marking an 11% decrease from 2019, ranking the state 11th nationally.

Among Indiana fourth graders in 2022, Black students had an average reading score that was 23 points lower than that of white students. Students eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) had an average reading score 18 points lower than those not eligible for NSLP, according to the KIDS COUNT report.

Meanwhile, eighth grade Black students in Indiana had an average math score that was 31 points lower than white students. Hispanic students in the same grade had an average math score that was 19 points lower than their white peers.

The Casey Foundation report contends that the pandemic is not the sole cause of lower test scores, though. Rather, the foundation says educators, researchers, policymakers and employers who track students鈥� academic readiness have been ringing alarm bells 鈥渇or a long time.鈥�

U.S. scores in reading and math have barely budged in decades. In Indiana, state education officials have repeatedly pointed out that Hoosier literacy exam scores have been on the decline since 2015.

During the 2024 legislative session, state lawmakers took decisive action as part of an ongoing push to improve literacy and K-12 student performance.

Paramount among the new laws passed was one to .

Stats on youth health and family life

Health-focused portions of the report show that 鈥� after peaking in 2021 鈥� the national child and teen death rate stabilized at 30 deaths per 100,000 children and youth ages 1 to 19.

But in Indiana, the death rate has continued to rise. While 29 deaths per 100,000 Hoosier children and youth were recorded in 2019, the rate increased to 36 deaths in 2022, per the report.

The Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) has already drawn attention, for example, to such as depression and suicidal ideation among the state鈥檚 youth. According to IYI data, one out of every three students from 7th to 12th grade reported experiencing persistent sadness and hopelessness. One out of seven students made a plan to commit suicide.

The most recent data available additionally show that nationwide and in Indiana, the child poverty rate improved and economic security of parents increased back to pre-pandemic levels.

Between 2018 and 2022, roughly 113,000 鈥� or 7% 鈥� of Hoosier children were reportedly living in high-poverty areas. That鈥檚 a drop from 10% between 2013 and 2017, according to the report.

From 2019 to 2022, teen births per 1,000 declined from 21 to 17, and the percentage of children in single-parent families also dropped from 35% to 32%.

Still, some gains

Advocates pointed to 鈥渟ome bright spots鈥� for Hoosier kids and their families in this year鈥檚 national report, as well:

Between 2019 and 2022, more parents (75%) had full-time secure employment in Indiana 鈥� which surpassed both the national average and that of the four neighboring states: Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio.

In 2022, fewer children (22%) lived in households that faced a high housing cost burden, spending 30% of their income solely on housing expenses, in comparison to the national average (30%).
In 2022, more Hoosier teens (95%) between the ages 16 and 19 were either enrolled in school or employed, an improvement from 93% in 2019.
Far fewer children under 19 (5%) were also uninsured. Indiana saw the fifth-highest decrease nationally in uninsured children between 2019 and 2022 鈥� a 29% improvement.

The report offers several recommendations for policymakers, school leaders and educators that include chronicling absenteeism data by grade, establishing a culture to pursue evidence-based solutions and incorporating intensive, in-person tutoring to align with the school curriculum.

鈥淜ids of all ages and grades must have what they need to learn each day, such as enough food and sleep and a safe way to get to school, as well as the additional resources they might need to perform at their highest potential and thrive, like tutoring and mental health services,鈥� said Lisa Hamilton, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. 鈥淥ur policies and priorities have not focused on these factors in preparing young people for the economy, short-changing a whole generation.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on and .

Mayor Eric Adams and schools Chancellor David C. Banks unveiled the initiative, 鈥�,鈥� earlier this week, saying they hoped to build off the success of 鈥淣YC Reads.鈥� 

Starting in the fall, 93 middle schools and 420 high schools will use the , open-source Illustrative Mathematics curriculum, which is . Schools in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Seattle also use the curriculum.

Like many school systems across the country, New York City, the nation鈥檚 largest, has long struggled with the subject. in 2023, but the figure is stubbornly low and is even worse for some student groups: of the city鈥檚 Black and Latino children are not performing at grade level in the subject. 

“Schools all over the city, even on math, were just kind of doing their own thing 鈥� people just creating their own curriculum,鈥� Banks said during a televised press conference. 鈥淭hat’s no way to run a system.” 

I鈥檓 proud to be following the groundbreaking rollout of 鈥楴YC Reads鈥� with 鈥楴YC Solves,鈥� reimagining math education and ensuring students and educators have access to high-quality instructional materials and support.

鈥� Chancellor David C. Banks (@DOEChancellor)

The chancellor did not blame teachers, administrators or students for their struggle, saying they just needed a better framework. Marielys Divanne, executive director of Educators for Excellence-New York, said her group has been pushing for change for years: More than 1,000 of her 16,000 members signed a petition urging the city to act on the issue.

鈥淥ur educators feel that NYC Solves is a much-needed step forward in making progress in addressing our crisis in math instruction,鈥� Divanne said, adding that the previous, school-by-school approach left 鈥渢housands of students with low quality instructional materials and uneven support for educators.鈥� 

In addition to the mathematics initiative, Adams also announced the creation of the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning, which aims to support multilingual learners and students with disabilities. The division will have a $750 million budget 鈥� and roughly 1,300 staff members.

Maria Klawe, president of Math for America, a non-profit organization founded 20 years ago to keep outstanding math teachers in the classroom, lauded the city鈥檚 choice of Illustrative Mathematics, calling it a very strong curriculum. She had already reviewed some of the materials and praised its approach in taking math from the theoretical to the practical.

鈥淭he whole idea is trying to help students understand that a mathematical concept, even if it鈥檚 abstract in nature, is actually something that you encounter in your daily life,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou have a sense that what you鈥檙e learning is 鈥� something that you can actually use.鈥�

William McCallum, Illustrative Mathematics鈥檚 CEO and co-founder, was a lead writer of the Common Core State Standards in math. He said, through a spokesperson, that IM鈥檚 work 鈥渉as evolved far beyond its original focus on illustrating the standards.鈥�

The Common Core had a bumpy roll-out, was maligned by some parents and . The math portion became a , though it has won favor in academic circles.

McCallum strongly recommends teacher training for those who seek to implement Illustrative Mathematics. 

鈥淭he curriculum supports a problem-based instructional model that is a shift for many teachers, and they have the most success when they have the support they need to make that shift,鈥� he said. 鈥淚M and its partners offer professional learning for those districts that want it.鈥�

Klawe also credited Department of Education officials for making the curriculum the standard for schools. She said it allows teachers to work together across the city to share best practices. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 also very helpful for students who move from one school to another,鈥� she added. 

New York City officials say each curriculum has been reviewed and recommended by , a nationally recognized nonprofit organization. The curriculum also has undergone a formal review by a committee of New York City Public school educators including those with expertise in mathematics, special education and multilingual learners 鈥� in addition to district-based mathematics specialists. 

Minus charter schools, there were close to in the NYC school system as of fall 2023. Nearly 73% of students were economically disadvantaged. 

Like Klawe, , executive director of The Education Trust鈥揘ew York, favors the uniform curriculum, though she notes it might not be the preference for all. 

鈥淒ifferent schools have different feelings about that,鈥� she noted. She added that the approach does, however, relieve teachers from the arduous task of having to develop their own curriculum, allowing them to instead focus on implementation.

But teacher Meredith Klein, who worked for more than a decade at before switching to West Brooklyn Community High School, which serves under-credited students, said the new curriculum might not satisfy all kids鈥� needs. 

鈥淚’ve always worked with a really specialized population of students and the curriculum is usually not designed with them in mind,鈥� she said.

Klein has spent the past year implementing Illustrative Mathematics as part of the pilot program and said she struggled to adapt the materials for her students. While the city initially pushed for strict adherence to a pre-set learning schedule, the coach who visited with her to help with the rollout soon recognized the need for adaptation. 

鈥淭he curriculum is written like a story and you need to teach the full curriculum without any alterations for a full year,鈥� she said, but that鈥檚 not the educational experience of so many of the students she鈥檚 served. 鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 any guidance about how to break it up 鈥� how to retrofit it to our existing system. Not all students are the same.鈥� 

Partial scores from the state鈥檚 standardized test released Friday show high school students are still struggling with algebra, once again raising concerns about young Texans鈥� readiness to enter high-paying careers in STEM-related fields.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness end-of-course tests evaluate high-schoolers in five subjects: Algebra I, Biology, English I, English II and U.S. History. The exams gauge and if they need additional help to catch up.

The percentage of students who took the test this spring and met grade level for Algebra I was 45%, the same as last year. Since the pandemic, students鈥� academic performance in the subject has remained mostly unchanged. The latest results are still 17 percentage points below students’ scores in spring 2019.

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鈥淭he data is clear, Texas students continue to struggle with math recovery,鈥� said Gabe Grantham, policy advisor at public policy think tank Texas 2036. 鈥淲e run the risk of leaving students ill-equipped to enter the future workforce without the basic math skills needed to be successful.鈥�

Education policy analysts closely observe Algebra I results because a wealth of research links the subject to students鈥� future success in their careers after high school. Kate Greer, the managing director of policy at The Commit Partnership, said STAAR test scores allow researchers to delve into districts that performed better than the state average and form concrete policy proposals to help improve math scores.

鈥淲e are still underperforming compared to where we were pre-pandemic, so it is incumbent on us as a state to collectively focus on what we know works,鈥� Greer said. 鈥淭he value of assessments is it can focus adult behavior, shine a flashlight on opportunities where we can improve more and highlight best practices when we鈥檙e seeing impressive growth.鈥�

However, in the past few years, high schoolers have consistently scored better on their English tests since the pandemic. Emergent bilingual students, or students who are learning English as a second language, have steadily performed better on the English I and II tests. The percentage of emergent bilingual students who met grade level went from 12% in 2019 to 30% this spring.

Test results for U.S. history and biology still lag behind pre-pandemic levels, but they are much closer to catching up than in math.

Across all five subjects, low-income students graded lower than students who were not economically disadvantaged. For example, 35% of low-income students met grade level in Algebra I, compared to 61% of all other students.
In a push to improve math skills, the Texas Legislature last year passed , which automatically puts middle schoolers into a higher math class if they do well in previous courses. Lt. Gov. included reading and math readiness on his , suggesting that lawmakers will revisit the issue during next year鈥檚 legislative session.

Disclosure: Commit Partnership and Texas 2036 have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete .

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The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Superintendents of Louisiana public school districts would be evaluated based on their students鈥� math and English test scores based on proposed legislation a committee advanced Wednesday.

Rep. John Wyble, R-Franklinton, authored that would require all superintendent contracts to include performance evaluations based on the English and math scores for K-3 students, along with other student growth factors.

Superintendents are evaluated by their own school boards. Wyble鈥檚 bill would affect new contracts and those renewed after Aug. 1.

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鈥淚t鈥檚 really important that we continue to focus that investment but also bring in some accountability with it so that we know that our local school districts are moving in that positive direction,鈥� Wyble said.

The investment Wyble referenced is a policy change made last year. Former Rep. Richard Nelson, R-Mandeville, who now leads the state revenue department, gained approval for a measure to hold back students in the third grade if they did not reach the age-appropriate reading level. It goes into effect for the 2024-25 school year.

Additional advances in English education practices have made Louisiana one of three states to reach pre-pandemic levels in reading assessments.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will be part of the superintendent assessment process. According to Wyble, board members will help create the standards and formula for incorporating math and English scores into the superintendent鈥檚 annual review.

His bill calls for math and English scores to account for at least one-third of the evaluation. Currently, superintendents are only mandated to reach performance targets if their school district receives a C, D or F grade.

Rep. Josh Carlson, R-Lafayette, supports the bill.

鈥淵es, school districts can put in their own requirements for the superintendents, but we haven鈥檛, not widespread,鈥� Carlson said. 鈥淎nd up until recently, we were one of the last states in the nation for education.鈥�

The state also needs to start putting the same emphasis on math and numeracy that it has on literacy in recent years, Carlson added.

The Louisiana Association of Superintendents opposes Wyble鈥檚 bill because its members want to make the math and English performance evaluations optional for school districts.

DALLAS 鈥� In Eran McGowan鈥檚 math class, students try to teach each other.

If a student is brave enough to share how they solved a math problem, they stand up in front of the other third graders and say, 鈥淎ll eyes on me.鈥� The classroom responds, 鈥淎ll eyes on you,鈥� and the student explains how they did it.

This collaborative method of learning math is part of a new curriculum, named , that was launched in the Dallas Independent School District this school year. It emphasizes helping students better grasp mathematical concepts instead of their performance on the state鈥檚 standardized test. The new curriculum is described as a step away from memorization.

The new curriculum 鈥渕oves away from using tests as a way to measure success,鈥� said McGowan, who teaches at the Eddie Bernice Johnson STEM Academy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more focused on the kids understanding the concept, and in turn, that will help a child pass assessments.鈥�

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While the teaching approach is different, the intent ultimately continues to be helping students do better on the math portion of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. Last summer鈥檚 showed that Texas students have still not caught up to the math scores they had in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Forty-five percent of students who took math in third through eighth grade or Algebra I last year passed the STAAR test. While their math scores represent a slight increase from last year, they are still 7 percentage points behind the state average in 2019.

What鈥檚 more, the number of students who went above and beyond and 鈥渕astered鈥� the subject has not recovered since the pandemic. In 2023, 19% of all Texas students mastered math at their grade level, down from 26% in 2019. While Texas students鈥� overall math scores last year were four points higher than the national average, the percentage of students who master math in the state is significantly behind the national average of 38%, according to the Nation鈥檚 Report Card, which samples fourth- and eighth-grade students鈥� reading and math grades across the country.

Policymakers and educators worry that the low number of students who master math will mean not enough Texans will have the skills to meet the demands of the most lucrative, in-demand jobs in the next few decades. They fear Texas will not be able to produce its own workforce and will be forced to look for talent elsewhere. According to a Stanford University , students who do not bring their math scores back up to pre-pandemic levels will earn 5.6% less over the course of their lives than students with better grades just before the pandemic hit.

鈥淚s our inability to get kids back towards this increased level of mastery 鈥� for math 鈥� going to limit them in the long run for the types of jobs that you’re going to be able to access, or even feel like they can access, in the future?鈥� said Gabe Grantham, a K-12 policy analyst at Texas 2036, a public policy think tank. 鈥淚f we don’t do anything about this at the state level in 2025, we鈥檙e going to be behind the ball.鈥�

Texas won’t know how well Eureka Math is working until later in the year, when the next STAAR results are released, but there is optimism. About 400 other Texas school districts, both private and public, are using the curriculum. Across the country, districts that have the curriculum have seen scores . Dallas ISD the program at Anson Jones Elementary before adopting it districtwide and found that students’ math scores and confidence in their handling of the subject went up.

The Texas Legislature has also taken steps to make it easier for students to advance in their math studies. Lawmakers last year passed , which automatically promotes middle schoolers to a higher math class if they do well at a lower level.

The law鈥檚 author, state Sen. , R-Conroe, said having students perform at a high level in math will increase their lifetime earnings and contribute to a healthy Texas economy. Lawmakers, policy analysts and public education officials are looking for other ways to help students bring up their math scores ahead of the 2025 legislative session, he said.

Grantham said Texas is behind other states when it comes to math reform at the legislative level, but it鈥檚 better to design policies based on data and a careful review of what鈥檚 working and what鈥檚 not.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to throw things at the wall and see what sticks,鈥� he said. 鈥淓veryone wants the same silver bullet, but we鈥檙e trying to parse out what that actually looks like.鈥�

For now, Texas is betting on laws passed over the last couple of years to help struggling students, such as mandated tutoring and, more recently, a law that makes it easier for teachers and districts to have access to 鈥渉igh-quality鈥� instructional materials. Texas education experts and school administrators believe both policies are promising, though they say staffing shortages have made it difficult to comply with mandatory tutoring.

Teaching challenges

When the pandemic forced Texas schools to close and shift to virtual learning, STAAR scores plummeted to lows not seen in a decade.

Schools and families weren鈥檛 ready for the change. Some children didn鈥檛 have internet access or computers at home; others were completely absent. Academic achievement in both reading and math took a hit.

Four years later, reading scores have surpassed pre-pandemic levels but students are still struggling with math.

鈥淭he pandemic was just such a large-scale interruption, one that our system didn’t really know how to engage with,鈥� said Carlos Nicolas G贸mez, an assistant professor of STEM Education at UT-Austin. 鈥淎nd due to that, even coming back, we’re still dealing with the interruption.鈥�

G贸mez and Grantham said the reason why students have recovered faster in reading is because they can practice it at home much easier than math.

鈥淩eading, it’s a lot easier for parents to read to their kids at home,鈥� Grantham said. 鈥淢ath is going to take a lot more direct instruction. That was just lost when kids were out of school.鈥�

When kids came back to the classroom, many didn鈥檛 have a grasp of mathematical concepts they should鈥檝e learned in previous years, said Umoja Turner, principal of the Eddie Bernice Johnson STEM Academy.

It fell on teachers to come up with learning plans that incorporated the concepts students are supposed to learn at each grade level, plus fill out the gaps in learning caused by the pandemic.

But Michelle Rinehart, superintendent of the Alpine Independent School District, said the state鈥檚 teacher shortage crisis and the departure of experienced teachers from schools have made it difficult to help students catch up. Only two out of her seven math teachers in grades 3-8 have taught math before, she said.

Experienced teachers lead to increased student achievement, according to the , an education policy think tank. But during the last school year, 28% of new teachers hired in Texas did not have a certification or permit to teach, and 13% of all teachers left the profession. Both figures represented historic highs.

鈥淭hat is a really high challenge right now,鈥� Rinehart said.

The teaching shortage is especially hard for rural districts compared to their urban counterparts. For starters, Rinehart said, small districts like Alpine can鈥檛 pay teachers as much and usually have far fewer resources.

A new way to learn

Before Eureka Math was introduced in Dallas and Alpine ISDs, teachers could use a variety of different curricula, mostly geared toward passing the STAAR and memorizing how to solve equations.

This led to differences in how students across the state learned math. Turner said this sometimes causes students who move to a different campus to struggle when adapting to a new teaching method.

With Eureka Math now being widely adopted across Dallas ISD, students have a more consistent way of learning math, which hopefully will result in better test scores, he said.

McGowan said the curriculum he used in the past heavily emphasized passing the STAAR.

鈥淲ith previous curriculums, it was just, 鈥榳e have an equation, we solve it,鈥� but the kids cannot explain the process well,鈥� he said.

Brittany duPont with Great Minds, the company that designed Eureka Math, has been helping Dallas teachers adopt the new curriculum. She said it’s been a huge shift in math teaching, and some veteran teachers have pushed back.

But duPont said the teaching tactics that Eureka Math proposes are needed to help kids catch up with their math studies after the pandemic. They’re also timely because the recently redesigned STAAR test now focuses more on how a child solves a math problem, she added.

Kids are more excited to learn and master concepts with Eureka Math, McGowan said. Another upside of the new curriculum is that it gives teachers room to test kids’ knowledge on a topic before each lesson, making it easier for teachers to collaborate on ways to help students catch up, he said.

The new curriculum also emphasizes collaboration. McGowan lets his students debate concepts with each other and figure out how they got to certain conclusions. The process allows them to gain a deeper understanding of mathematics.

Moving to a new curriculum always poses a bit of a risk and challenge, especially when it鈥檚 easier to stick to what you know, but McGowan said he鈥檚 seen kids enjoy learning math in a way he never has in his 18-year career.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about trusting the process. Trusting that the kids will learn,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut we have to be consistent.鈥�

This article originally appeared in at .

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

New standardized test scores for Rhode Island students in grades 3 through 8 made public Wednesday show modest gains in reversing pandemic declines for math and English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency last year.

But improvement at the elementary and middle school levels on the 2023 Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) was tempered by PSAT and SAT results for grades 10 and 11 respectively. Nearly half of students taking the SAT last spring met expectations for high school ELA, but slightly more than 25% demonstrated proficiency in math.

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That said, Education Commissioner Ang茅lica Infante-Green still saw cause for celebration in shrinking the gap between the lagging test scores of Rhode Island students with their counterparts in Massachusetts 鈥� which leads the nation in math and reading. Since 2018, the performance gap has shrunk from 21% in math to 11% and from 17% to 9% in ELA, according to the new data from the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE).

鈥淭his is the closest we have ever been as a state. That鈥檚 pretty amazing,鈥� Infante-Green said during a virtual presentation to share results with reporters Tuesday morning after holding sessions earlier and the previous day with groups of school superintendents.

The data was reviewed by Gov. Dan McKee last Friday. In a statement, McKee said the 2023 RICAS results show Rhode Island schools moving in the right direction to meet his goal of meeting or surpassing Massachusetts鈥� performance by the year 2030.

鈥淥ur students can perform at high levels, and we must stay the course and make sure our school communities have the support and resources to thrive,鈥� McKee said.

A 2022 analysis by the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment suggested it would take three to five years of accelerated learning for student achievement to return to what it was pre-pandemic. To at least match Massachusetts on test scores, McKee has launched his , which has distributed nearly $3.8 million to communities that signed compacts committing to  creating out-of-school learning opportunities. RIDE was scheduled to hold sessions with city and town officials to review test scores on Wednesday.

The state saw a second year of significant growth in math proficiency with an approximate 2.7 percentage point increase this year, and an increase in English Language Arts (ELA) of approximately 2%.

Among all grades taking the RICAS, fourth graders saw the highest increase in proficiency in both math (from 30.2% to 36.0%) and ELA ( 29.0% to 33.3%)

Fifth grade math proficiency went from 25.9% to 30.0%. Math scores dropped for third graders by half a percentage point to 34.5%

Seventh graders saw a 0.2% drop in ELA proficiency to 29.0%.

Across all racial and ethnic groups, ELA scores increased over last year. In math, all but one racial and ethnic subgroup performed higher. The exception was the Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders subgroup which dropped one percentage point, a small demographic of only 93 students, of 0.16% of the 59,272 third through eighth graders tested, Infante-Green said.

Increasing the number of students taking the PSAT and the SAT every April is considered the first step toward ensuring more students are college and career ready.

A total of 9,430 11th graders across the state took the SAT for mathematics, or 94.1%, up from 91.9% in 2022. The lowest rates of participation were at Providence鈥檚 Mount Pleasant (81.9%) and Central (82.1%) high schools and Woonsocket High School (82.5%)

The percentage of high school students meeting or exceeding expectations in math on the SAT remained flat statewide at 25.3% while those not meeting expectations increased 1% to 38.5%. In 2022, 30.8% of 11th graders did not meet expectations for math.

A total of 9,384 high school juniors, representing 94.4% of the state鈥檚 11th graders, took the SAT for ELA/Literacy, up from 92.3% in 2022. The new results show 49.1% met or exceeded expectations, up from 47.1%, while 29.1% of students did not meet expectations, down from 30.8% in 2022.

The percentage of high school sophomores taking the PSAT increased over the past year from 90.5% to 92.4% in math and 91.1% to 92.9% in ELA. Statewide math scores dropped from 29.2% proficient in 2022 to 27.2% proficient this year. Statewide ELA results show 55.3% of students met or exceeded expectations, a drop from 59.2% proficient in 2022.

鈥淭hose were our kids that were in 8th grade when the pandemic started and we鈥檙e seeing that impact,鈥� Infante Green said of high schoolers who had to struggle with the effects of lockdowns and social distancing during a pivotal year in their education and development. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty consistent across the nation.鈥�

Results showed a drop in the percentage of students in foster care taking the SAT, from 75.9% in 2022 to 71.8% in 2023, and from 80% to 76.4% who were homeless. The state saw a significant increase in American Indian and Alaskan Islander students taking the SAT, from 83.3% to 88.6%. More students with disabilities also took the SAT from 83.4% to 85.8%.

Multilingual learners

There was a 0.5% increase in multilingual students taking the ACCESS assessment, which tests students in four language domains: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Student results are categorized in six levels: Entering, Emerging, Developing, Expanding, Bridging and Reaching. The percentage of students scoring at the Expanding and Bridging levels rose 0.3%.

Bright spots

Tiverton saw ELA proficiency rise significantly districtwide, a 10% increase to 47.3%. In Coventry, students proficient in ELA rose 5.2% to 39.2%.Significant gains in ELA proficiency were made at Providence鈥檚 Leviton Dual Language School, from 12.3% in 2022 to 29.6% this year; Richmond Elementary School from 49.4% to 66.5%; and Wyman Elementary School in Warwick, 24.7% to 41.7%.Math proficiency increased the most at West Kingston Elementary School in South Kingstown (20.7% to 47.3%); Norwood School in Warwick (18.0% to 38.5%) and Woodridge School in Cranston (31.9% to 48.9%).

RIDE will offer families Personalized Individual Student Reports that include individualized informational  videos accessible through a QR code. The videos are available in 10 languages and help provide insight for comparisons to school, district, and state performance. Examples of the student report videos that families will be able to access and additional informational resources for assessments can be found on .

The Maryland State Department of Education released detailed results Tuesday on how some students in the state鈥檚 24 public school systems fared on the latest standardized tests.

Broader results from each school system were from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) tests students took during the 2002-23 school year.

The latest data are from tests taken by students in grades 3 through 8 in English language arts and math.

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Additional tests in English were administered for 10th graders; science tests were given to students in fifth and eighth grade; and students were tested who were enrolled in Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and geometry.

The data also broke down school system performance based on race, English language learners and students with disabilities.

Each school鈥檚 data and other information can be viewed on the state鈥檚 annual .

MCAP results are among the factors that determine the state鈥檚聽report card and school star rating system. Schools get stars based on what percentage of total points they earned in measurement areas such as growth in achievement, high school graduation rates, student access to a well-rounded curriculum, progress in achieving English language proficiency, the prevalence of chronic absenteeism, and student and teacher perceptions of the school environment.

New reports were聽, the first time the state dispensed the annual report card since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While discussing an update on a college and career readiness standard in the state鈥檚 Blueprint for Maryland鈥檚 Future education reform plan, State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury had a message Tuesday for parents and guardians with children at a school where MCAP test results are low.

鈥淵our child is not a failure because they didn鈥檛 do well on the MCAP,鈥� he said. 鈥淵our child knows a lot of things because [he or she] got that 鈥楤,鈥� that 鈥楢鈥� in their class. They know a lot of things and we鈥檙e going to acknowledge that and鈥e鈥檙e not going to use one approach to deem what they know.鈥�

Here鈥檚 a summary of the proficiency level on how some schools fared on English, math and science:

English language arts

Twenty-two schools with students in grades 3, 4 and 5 recorded at least 90% proficient on the MCAP.

Bonnockburn Elementary in Montgomery County (94.7% in grade 3) had the highest proficiency level among all schools in English, according to the state data.

Glenarden Woods Elementary in Prince George鈥檚 County reached the highest proficiency level among fourth grade students at 94.2%. Another school in the county, Heather Hills Elementary, recorded the highest percentage of fifth grade students at 93.3%.

Schools that exceeded 90% proficiency in grades 6, 7, 8 and 10 are:

• South Dorchester School in Dorchester County (91.7% grade 6 and 92% grade 7)
• Thomas W. Pyle Middle School in Montgomery County (90.8% grade 8)
• Barbara Ingram School for the Arts in Washington County (92.6% grade 10)

Montgomery and Baltimore counties both had seven schools record at least 90% proficiency in English.

The state also reported schools that showed the lowest proficient level in these grades.

Several of those schools are in Baltimore City, including New Song Academy (5.9% grade 3), Bay-Brook Elementary/Middle School (5.1% grade 6) and National Academy Foundation (5.3% grade 10).

A few schools in the Baltimore area recorded some of the lowest percentages in middle and high school, including sixth grade students at Bay-Brook Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City (5.1%), seventh graders at Crossroads Center in Baltimore County (5.9%) and 10th graders at National Academy Foundation in the city.

Math

Glenarden Woods, a Talented and Gifted school (TAG), also had third grade students achieve a 90.1% proficiency level in math, one of the highest percentages in the state for that grade.

The other three schools with third graders to reach at least 90% proficiency were two schools in Montgomery County 鈥斅燱oodfield and Wayside elementary schools 鈥斅燼nd West Towson Elementary in Baltimore County.

Some schools reached 90% proficiency in Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and geometry.

Students who took Algebra 2 at Robert Frost Middle School in Montgomery County recorded the highest percentage in math at 94.7%, according to the MCAP results.

Students at Lime Kiln Middle School in Howard County also scored above 90% proficiency in that subject.

Three Howard County middle schools also achieved at least 90% in geometry 鈥� Clarksville (93.3%), Burleigh Manor (93%) and Mount View (91.3%).

Students at Greenbelt Middle School in Prince George鈥檚 also exceeded above 90% proficiency in geometry.

On the opposite end, several schools recorded slightly above 5% proficiency in math at various grade levels.

The state reported several of those schools are located in the majority-Black jurisdictions of Baltimore City and Prince George鈥檚 County. These include Highlandtown Elementary/Middle in Baltimore (grade 3), Gwynns Falls Elementary in Baltimore (grade 4), John Hanson Montessori in Prince George鈥檚 (grade 4) and Chillum Elementary in Prince George鈥檚 (grade 5).

Three Montgomery County middle schools recorded some of the lowest proficiency levels at 5.1%, including Forest Oak (sixth grade), Briggs Chaney (seventh grade) and Julius West (eighth grade).

Science

Test scores showed seven elementary schools in four counties with fifth graders recording at least 80% proficiency in science. Those schools were West Towson (89.7%) and Rodgers Forge (80.5%) in Baltimore County, Bells Mill (87.4%) and Cold Spring (82.8%) in Montgomery, Glenarden Woods (85%) and Heather Hills (84.4%) in Prince George鈥檚 and Benfield (86.6%) in Anne Arundel.

Eighth grade students at Monocacy Valley Montessori in Frederick County was the only middle school in the state to achieve at least 80% proficiency in science.

Two other middle schools 鈥斅燙larksville in Howard and Thomas W. Pyle in Montgomery 鈥� had eighth graders that exceeded 70% proficiency.

MCAP results also show which elementary schools recorded the lowest percentage of students in grades 5 and 8 who were proficient in science.

A few of the schools with fifth graders that achieved 6% proficiency or lower were Moravia Park in Baltimore City, Oakleigh in Baltimore County and Carmody Hills in Prince George鈥檚.

Eighth grade students were just slightly above 5% proficient in science at some schools, including Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Prince George鈥檚 and Maree Garnett Farring Elementary/Middle School and KIPP Harmony Academy in Baltimore.

Statewide test results in science showed a slight increase by fifth grade students overall at 35% proficient, compared to nearly 31% last year.

But there was a decrease among eighth grade students statewide, who scored 26% proficient, versus 35% last year.

Student performance by race last year broke down this way:

• Asian students: 59% of fifth graders were proficient this year compared to 56% last year; eighth graders were 56% proficient this year and 69% last year.
• White students: eighth graders were proficient at a 53% rate this year and at 46% last year; eighth graders were at nearly 42% proficient this year and 52% last year.
• Black students: eighth graders were at 20% this year and 17% last year; eighth graders were at 13% this year and 20% last year.
• Latino students: fifth graders were at 20% this year and 17% last year; eighth graders were at 13% this year and 20% last year.

Carroll County fifth graders recorded the highest proficiency percentage statewide this year at 54%, compared to 45% last year. Howard County eighth graders achieved the highest percentage at 42%, but that represents a 12-point decrease from last year.

Baltimore City recorded the lowest proficiency percentage in fifth and eighth grade students this year at nearly 12% and 9%, respectively. The percentage in fifth grade increased by nearly 3 points from last year, but decreased by that same figure in eighth grade.

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Student scores in the state鈥檚 standardized test have continued to improve since the pandemic, but more than half of Texas students are still struggling with math and about a half of them are below grade-level reading, according to score data from this spring released Wednesday.

While overall math scores improved from last year after falling to their lowest levels in a decade, they have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. And while the percentage of students who can read at grade-level 鈥� the reading level appropriate to most students in their grade 鈥� is higher than before the pandemic, overall scores in this subject remained flat from last year. The state鈥檚 most vulnerable students still lag behind state averages in both subjects.

Each spring, Texas students in third through eighth grade take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test in math and reading. Fifth- and eighth-graders also take the STAAR test in science, eighth-graders take a social studies version of the test and high school students take some STAAR tests known as end-of-course assessments.

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The scores released Wednesday are the first to come out since the STAAR test was redesigned to more closely resemble what students learn in a classroom setting. The new test did not appear to have a significant impact on student performance.

Forty-three percent of students taking math in third through eighth grade or Algebra I met grade level or above this year, a 3-percentage-point increase from the previous year. Fifty-two percent of students who took reading in third through eighth grade, English I or English II met grade level or above, which is the same percentage as the year before.

While the math scores represent an increase from last year, they are still 7 percentage points behind the state average in 2019, before the pandemic hit. Reading scores, on the other hand, have seen a 5-percentage-point increase since then.

鈥淭eachers across Texas continue to work with passion and skill to help students learn,鈥� Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said. 鈥淭his year鈥檚 results show the efforts of our educators continue to deliver improved results for students.鈥�

Test scores for the state鈥檚 most vulnerable students 鈥� such as special education students, bilingual students and low-income students 鈥� continue to lag behind state averages, but gains have been made in recent years. About 60% of Texas鈥� 5.5 million students are considered economically disadvantaged.

In math, only 33% of low-income students met or exceeded grade level, compared with the 60% of students who met grade level but are not considered low income. This year’s score for low-income students is a 3-percentage-point increase from last year but still 8-percentage-points lower than 2019 scores.

In reading, only 41% of low-income students met grade level, compared with the 71% of students who met grade level but are not considered low income. The 41% did not change from last year but is 5- percentage-points higher than 2019 scores.

The latest scores show that 33% of bilingual students met grade level, representing a 2-percentage-point increase from last year and a 10-percentage-point increase from 2019. In math, 32% of these students met grade level, a 3-percentage-point increase from last year but still 4-percentage-points lower from 2019 scores.

Meanwhile, 16% of special education students met grade level in math, a 3-percentage-point increase from last year but 1-percentage-point lower compared with 2019 levels. In reading, 17% of these students met grade level, the same as last year, but the figure is 5-percentage-points higher than 2019 scores.

Broken down by race and ethnicity, 58% of white students and 79% of Asian students were at grade level in math, but both groups are still behind pre-pandemic scores. Among Hispanic students, who make up more than half of Texas鈥� student population, 36% met grade level, 9-percentage-point lower than 2019 and a 2-percentage-point increase from last year. Only 28% of Black students, who make up about 13% of the state鈥檚 student population, met grade level, a 3-percentage-point increase from last year, but 7-percentage-points lower than 2019.

In reading, 68% of white students and 82% of Asian students met grade level, both representing increases from pre-pandemic scores. Forty-five percent of Hispanic students met grade level for the subject, the same as last year and 5-percentage-points higher than 2019. Forty-one percent of Black students met grade level, a 1-percentage-point increase from last year, but 7-percentage-points lower than 2019 scores.

Mary Lynn Pruneda, senior policy adviser for the public policy think tank Texas 2036, said the results show that students are continuing to recover from the learning disruption created by the pandemic, but noted that fewer students are reaching mastery-level performance, the top tier on the exam. In almost every grade level for both math and reading, the percentage of students who mastered either subject fell from last year and is still lagging compared with pre-pandemic levels.

Pruneda said the results show that past investments in schools to help with student performance are paying dividends but more is needed.

Over the last several years, the Texas Legislature has tried to move the needle with laws providing more tutoring for struggling kids, more preparation for educators on how to teach reading to kids and more high-quality teaching materials.

Schools have also received federal funds to aid learning recovery after the pandemic. And a special legislative session expected sometime this fall will provide another opportunity for lawmakers to pass laws that spur academic growth.

鈥淭he decisions and investments we make now will shape the opportunities that generations of students will have following graduation to pursue higher education or start a meaningful career,鈥� Pruneda said.

Disclosure: Texas 2036 has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete .

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An Alabama State Department of Education official told legislators Tuesday that a law aimed at improving student math achievement will be ready for intervention in 2025.

, passed in 2022, aims to improve math scores. Karen Anderson, director of math improvement for the Alabama State Department of Education, said the law tries to help students understand the concepts of math and how they work, rather than just teaching them techniques.

鈥淥ne of the tricks that students are told is when they are dividing a fraction by a fraction you flip it you multiply,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ell, I want students to understand why that is.鈥�

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Anderson said there has been some discussion about the implementation of individual recommendations and questions about the qualifications of math coaches from House members after.

Members of the House Ways and Means Education committee appeared most interested in training ahead of the implementation of the act. Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, the chair of the committee, asked how the task force, which makes curriculum recommendations, was operating. Anderson said that the task force worked well together.

鈥淲e do have very spirited conversations, but I find those spirited conversations frankly very refreshing because we are able to discuss varying points of view, but those conversations do not deter us from our goals,鈥� she said.

Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, asked about specific training, referencing the professional training used for teachers in conjunction with the Literacy Act, which has the goal of all third-graders reading on grade level.

At this stage, Anderson said, there is no training with the same reputation of quality as LETRS for math.

鈥淭raining is not something that you could really jump into just kind of right off the bat, we really need to be sure that teachers have the pedagogy and that they have the content,鈥� she said.

Anderson said they need to ensure teachers with emergency certifications are just as qualified as traditional teachers. Emergency certifications are offered to teachers who have not completed a traditional college or university pathway and have received certification under special circumstances.

In recent years, there has been an effort to implement the science of reading, a multidisciplinary body of research about how children best learn to read. LETRS and the Literacy Act both focus on the science of reading.

Unlike literacy, a science of math .

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, asked about the qualifications of math coaches, which includes a master鈥檚 degree or other approved professional development. Anderson said they are looking for professional development that could be equivalent to a master鈥檚 degree.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in the room scoring resumes and just providing support to districts, so we really want to guide them to find the best possible individuals but simply having a bachelor鈥檚 degree is just not enough to serve in this role,鈥� she said.

Daniels said he hopes they will look at the qualifications and experience of people beyond just the degrees that a person holds.

鈥淚 just think sometimes we look so much at degrees, to where we end up missing someone that has a proven track record of overcoming all of the odds and their students being able to overcome all of the odds with just a bachelor鈥檚 degree but with a number of years of teaching experience,鈥� he said.

In her presentation, Anderson said she hears from people that they can鈥檛 do math and don鈥檛 like the subject (Garrett identified himself as a math person), and she doesn鈥檛 think people would respond to people talking about reading in the same way.

鈥淗ow many times have you had folks say 鈥楿gh, I can鈥檛 do math, my mama couldn鈥檛 do math, my son probably won鈥檛 be able to do math either,鈥� 鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat has always upset me because if you had heard someone say, 鈥極h, I know about half my letters. I really couldn鈥檛 read. Well, my father couldn鈥檛 read either.鈥� You would be really upset about that.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .

El Paso area high school students performed significantly worse on this spring鈥檚 state standardized math exam, the first indication of the extent of pandemic learning loss in public education.

The percentage of first-time test takers who scored on grade level for the Algebra I end-of-course exam fell by 47 points compared to 2019, the most recent year the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness were administered.

The Texas Education Agency defines performance that 鈥�” as 鈥渟trong knowledge of course content鈥� and preparedness to move to the next grade level. Algebra I is one of five subject exams students must pass to graduate.

Only 32% of students in Region 19, the area that includes 12 school districts in El Paso and Hudspeth counties, scored on grade level this spring, compared to 79% in spring 2019.

Though the percentage of students considered at grade level on end-of-course reading and writing exams also fell, the declines were less severe, mirroring national and state trends.

This spring, 49% of the region鈥檚 first-time test takers scored on grade level on the English I exam, down from 59% in 2019. The percentage of students on grade level for the English II exam remained unchanged 鈥� at 57%.

Most students only engage with math in the classroom, whereas they are able to develop literacy skills in daily life, said Carmen Crosse, assistant superintendent of secondary education in the Socorro Independent School District.

鈥淲e read and write as we communicate with others,鈥� Crosse said. 鈥淢ath is not such a skill. It is one that is done academically, in classes.鈥�

Texas released STAAR scores for high school end-of-course exams last week, the first statewide data showing the impact of months-long school closures. Results for students in grades 3 through 8 will be available June 28, Texas Education Agency spokesperson Frank Ward said.

Despite pressure from lawmakers and superintendents to cancel this year鈥檚 state standardized tests, which  happened in 2020, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to gauge students鈥� academic progress.

But unlike 2019, the STAAR exams were not mandatory this spring. Students who were learning virtually were not required to show up to campus to take the test, though high school seniors were required to take any end-of-course exams they either had not passed or not yet taken.

Though fewer students took the STAAR exams this year, Crosse said the results are still a valuable tool to evaluate learning loss.

All but one of El Paso County鈥檚 nine districts saw larger math performance declines than the state as a whole.

The share of El Paso County students on grade level in Algebra I dropped between 34 to 55 percentage points, compared to the 24-point drop seen statewide. Only the Canutillo Independent School District saw slightly more of its students perform at grade level in math than the state average.

The county鈥檚 large, urban districts, including Socorro ISD, were some of the last in the state to resume offering in-person classes in , though many families kept their students at home given the region鈥檚 high rates of coronavirus cases. About three-quarters of SISD students finished the school year learning remotely, and close to two-thirds of Ysleta students, according to data the districts provided.

Crosse anticipated SISD would see a decline in the number of students performing at grade level on this year鈥檚 STAAR exams, but said she was 鈥渞eally floored by the large drop in math,鈥� which fell from 80% in 2019 to 25%.

鈥淏ut I also know that it is a skill that needs to be practiced and that is only practiced in the academic setting,鈥� she said.

SISD teachers and administrators are using the results to develop strategies to get students back on track, which Crosse said will likely take more than next school year. That will include integrating concepts students struggled to master into next year鈥檚 curriculum, as well as offering after-school and Saturday school tutoring programs for students who need extra support.

This fall will see students鈥� return to the classroom, as districts will to offer virtual learning.

That will go far in addressing learning loss, Crosse said.

鈥淲e know that face-to-face instruction is critical and we know that it is the best way to learn,鈥� she said. 鈥淎lthough we did have many kids thrive in the virtual world, we had more kids that did not do as well, whether it was for social-emotional reasons or just academically because of the engagement.鈥�

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.