Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 9, 1993 TAG: 9304090165
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
STUDENTS A LITTLE BETTER AT MATH
American students are getting a little better at math but most still aren't as adept as they should be, Education Secretary Richard Riley said Thursday."While we're moving in the right direction, unfortunately today's news is not all good," Riley said at a news conference to release the 1992 "Mathematics Report Card for the Nation and the States."
"We see that students across the board are not meeting the high standards we have set."
The report found student performance in math has improved nationally and in some states, but cautioned that "a considerable challenge remains."
The study compared student performance in 1992 and 1990 in grades four, eight and 12 in 44 states, territories and the District of Columbia.
It found that, on a scale of 0 to 500, the nation's average score increased from 262 to 266 from 1990 to 1992.
Riley called the report "a positive statement about the increased attention that is being given to mathematics in our schools and in our homes."
Iris Carl, past president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, said the report card "means our students' major improvements are at very low levels."
The report found that only one in four students had fully mastered the math at his or her grade level or beyond. And only 2 percent to 4 percent of all students showed superior mathematical performance, the report said.
Six students in 10 had partially mastered the math expected of students at their grade level, the study also found.
Among the report's other findings:
Boys did better in math than girls in grade 12, although gender differences in performance were not large overall.
The Southeast trailed other sections of the country at all three grade levels.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.