Friday, March 05, 1999
Pupils do Ky. proud on tests
4th, 8th grades above average in reading
BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Kentucky is one of three states to show significant gains on a national reading test first given in 1992.
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report released Thursday, Kentucky fourth-grade reading scores increased 5 points compared with 1992 scores. And Kentucky scores for fourth- and eighth-graders were above the national average.
Connecticut and Colorado also made large gains.
Kentucky Education Commissioner Wilmer Cody was in Washington for the release of the scores.
“Today, I am extremely proud of the Kentucky students, teachers, administrators, parents, school board members, legislators, governors and citizens who have worked so hard for so long — and have encountered so much skepticism — to catapult Kentucky from mediocrity toward excellence,” Mr. Cody said.
After 10 years of dramatic education reforms, 1998 was the first year Kentucky saw a bump up in its national scores, moving slightly above the national average in both fourth- and eighth-grade reading scores.
“This was a first for Kentucky and occurred even though Kentucky's level of poverty ... is much greater than average and the educational level of parents is below the national average,” Mr. Cody said.
NAEP is the federal program that regularly tests national samples of American students in such subjects as reading, mathematics and science. The NAEP in reading was given to 2,242 fourth-graders in 99 randomly selected Kentucky schools and to 2,282 eighth-graders in 91 schools. The reading test was not given in 1996 and was not given in eighth grade before 1998.
Richard Innes, a Villa Hills parent who keeps track of Kentucky educational progress, said he liked the scores.
“This is certainly a good thing for the school system,” Mr. Innes said. “The kids must have been excited about this test.”
Kentucky's score ranked 13th among the 39 states that took the exam. That's a jump from a 24th place ranking in 1994 and a 21st ranking in 1992.
Connecticut led the way among all states, registering the highest average reading scores in the nation, a likely reflection of its status as having the highest per-capita income in America.
But Connecticut also produced the biggest gains during the 1990s, which indicates something beyond mere wealth is driving up the scores.
“The results for Connecticut really are notable,” Mr.
Cody said. “That state not only has the highest scores in both fourth and eighth grades, but it also has the greatest gains since both 1992 and 1994.”
Other states showing progress include Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington.
Although the state-by-state report card showed most states moving upward, education officials were cautious.
“While Connecticut is clearly doing something right, not even a majority of that state's students are reading at the proficient level, which is where we want all students to be,” Education Secretary Richard Riley said.
Nationally, only one-third of the students tested met the proficient mark. The test is a national survey of a quarter-million students. Results are divided into these categories: advanced, proficient and basic.
And the gap between white and minority students, male and female, did not budge between 1992 and 1998.
“Unfortunately, in two instances, the gaps have actually widened,” Mr. Cody said.
The fourth-grade reading disparity between whites and Hispanics grew, and among 12th-graders, girls widened their reading advantage over boys.
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