Cincinnati Public Schools received welcome news this week with significant improvement on its elementary school Ohio Proficiency Test scores. Besides being spectacular single-year gains, the scores present proof that the struggling district can indeed get a handle on student performance.

And it must.

In math, sixth-grade scores rose by 17 percentage points to 43 and fourth-grade scores by 10 percent to 38. Reading scores rose by 3 percent for fourth- and sixth-graders to 43 and 45 percent. These are preliminary numbers and won't be official until August, but usually prove accurate indicators.

These increases would turn the heads of top suburban schools, and the district will be wise to analyze them carefully. Despite the gains, the overall numbers still are too low. Better than six in 10 fourth-graders still are not passing math. Fewer than half of fourth- and sixth-graders are passing reading. These are sobering numbers for the district's sympathizers, and infuriating for its critics.

Still, these are significant gains and good thinking lies behind them. After years of fancy approaches, the district got down to business in the most basic ways. Last year's campaign to improve student attendance bore fruit and surely helped improve learning. School staff used incentives and a marketing campaign to get families to see that consistent attendance is essential for high achievement. Daily attendance grew by nearly 4 percent. Now 94 percent of students are in school each day - higher than the state requirement.

The district took another significant step when it accelerated its efforts to align curriculum to state standards - which means kids now learn the material on which they will be tested. Besides making perfectly good sense, the move shows that the district is focusing its mission and developing some academic consistency and discipline.

Finally, the district put resources in a sure-bet effort. With $1.2 million in state and federal grants, CPS offered after-school intervention to more than 2,000 students in 33 elementary schools. This approach works: Identify students who need help, get to them early, offer them individual or small group help, and something's going to happen.

This year - finally - something did.