DATE: Thursday, November 6, 1997            TAG: 9711060427

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY FOON RHEE, KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS 

                                            LENGTH:   59 lines

NORTH CAROLINA MAKES PROGRESS ON IMPROVING EDUCATION SCORES

North Carolina goes to the head of the class - at least in getting closer to national education goals.

It improved in 14 areas, the most of any state, says a major report out Wednesday that is one of the broadest looks at school trends.

``We're encouraged by the results this time because so many states made progress,'' said Ken Nelson, executive director of the National Education Goals Panel. ``And North Carolina leads the way in that.''

South Carolina also did pretty well, advancing in 10 areas.

Despite the progress, the Carolinas still rank below the national average on some measures.

The bipartisan 18-member panel, created in 1990, reports directly to Congress on how the nation is progressing toward eight ambitious goals for the year 2000. The benchmarks range from all children starting school ready to learn, to raising achievement in math and reading, to improving adult literacy and job skills.

By compiling test scores and other data on 33 indicators, the panel takes a much broader look at education trends than some other highly publicized measures, such as SAT scores, on which Carolinas students lag behind the national average.

The most encouraging sign from the panel's seventh annual report is that most states are making significant gains in math and science achievement and education, Nelson said.

The panel's chairman is, coincidentally, N.C. Gov. Jim Hunt, who wants to make improvements in public schools the legacy of his fourth, and last, term as governor. His office took pains Tuesday to give reporters access to the report before Wednesday's official release.

``These results show we're on the right track in North Carolina,'' said Hunt spokesman Sean Walsh. They show dividends, he said, from Hunt's emphasis on higher standards for students, on higher pay and standards for teachers and on his Smart Start early childhood education program.

North Carolina improved in areas ranging from better infant health to more high school graduates to fewer students bringing guns to school. It was one of five states that improved in all seven science and math areas.

The percentage of N.C. fourth-graders who met the panel's standards in math rose from 13 percent in 1992 to 21 percent in 1996; the percentage of eighth-graders proficient in math jumped from 9 percent in 1990 to 20 percent in 1996. Those improvements moved the state from well below the national average to close, if not equal, to it.

But it fell further behind in percentage of babies born at low weights and in student disruptions and marijuana use.

South Carolina was one of 21 states that improved on at least 10 indicators. For instance, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds with high school diplomas increased from 83 percent in 1990 to 88 percent in 1995 - above the national average. It also made significant strides in the number of students getting math and science degrees, among other areas.

Jim Foster, spokesman for S.C. Education Superintendent Barbara Nielsen, touted the state's recent push for higher standards and better technology in schools and for more high school equivalency degrees for adults. KEYWORDS: EDUCATION

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