Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 3, 1994                   TAG: 9407050004
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: E-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AVERAGES . . .

It depends on one's perspective. But on one test that matters a lot - young people's ability to compete in a global, knowledge-based economy - Virginia is flunking.

Sure, there's been some modest progress. It's evident in "Educational Benchmarks 1994," a recent report by the Southern Regional Education Board. In 1990, 58 percent of Virginia eighth-graders scored at or above "basic" achievement levels on a mathematics assessment test. By 1992, the figure had increased to 62 percent.

What's more, Virginia closely matches national averages on science and math scores. For example, the 62 percent of eighth-grade Virginians scoring at or above the basic level compared with 61 percent nationally. The percentage scoring at or above proficiency levels in math was 23 percent in Virginia, compared with 25 percent in the nation.

All of which may seem adequate, but isn't by a long shot.

To begin with, these averages mask dramatic disparities in achievement and opportunity. When you break out the scores of minority students, in particular, they raise serious concerns about the quality of education blacks are getting, not to mention the prospects for minority representation among the future ranks of scientists, doctors and engineers.

In 1992, the percentage of fourth-grade Virginia students scoring at or above basic achievement levels on standardized math tests was 72 percent for whites, only 27 percent for blacks. The percentage scoring at or above proficiency levels in math (forget about "advanced") was 25 percent for whites and just 3 percent for blacks.

Notwithstanding all the social factors that contribute to these disparities, the numbers offer worrisome evidence of unequal educational opportunity in vitally important disciplines.

Another problem with the modest overall progress noted above is that it starts from an alarmingly low base. There's little reassurance in keeping up with a national average if the national average itself is a failing mark.

Global economic competition does not grade on a curve. No one should rest under the illusion that having a quarter of Virginia students proficient in math will cut it in the coming century.