State math Hawaii's fourth and eighth graders are doing better in math but still fall well below the national average, according to a national assessment released today.
scores lagging
Isle students' scores have
been improving, but still are
below the national averageThe schools chief says the
results are 'a wake-up call that
serious work is needed'By Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.com"We've seen modest but steady improvement over the last decade," said Superintendent Paul LeMahieu.
He said Hawaii's results in the National Assessment of Educational Progress -- "The Nation's Report Card" -- "are a wake-up call that serious work is needed to raise academic performance to greater levels."
The average score for Hawaii's public school fourth graders was 216, compared with 226 for the national average. The Hawaii score rose from 215 in 1996 and 214 in 1992.
For Hawaii, the most impressive improvement occurred in the eighth grade, where scores jumped 12 points from 251 in 1990 to 263 in 2000.
The national average for 2000 was 274. The latest Hawaii score compared with 262 in 1996 was considerably higher than 257 in 1992 and 251 in 1990.
"While the trend is encouraging, progress to this point has been slow," LeMahieu said.
State Department of Education officials said they expect future scores to climb much higher, however, because of the Hawaii Content & Performance Standards launched in the fall of 1999.
Students were tested in math in the spring last year, just about the time Hawaii Content & Performance Standards adopted were being implemented, noted Selvin Chin-Chance, DOE test development chief.
One reason why Hawaii's students may not have accelerated in math as fast as other states, he said, is that many had standard-based assessments and teaching techniques for almost a decade.
Most East Coast states and some Western states showed improvements because of a standard-based approach, he said.
Hawaii's performance standards also should lead to accelerated learning, Chin-Chance said.
But he pointed out, "It took them 10 to 12 years. We're certainly not going to do it in two or three years. The fact that there has been steady improvement is an indication that we're on the right track."
About 102,000 fourth graders in 46 states, U.S. territories and other jurisdictions and about 98,000 eighth-graders in 44 states, territories and jurisdictions participated in the math tests.
States with the highest average scores for fourth graders were Minnesota, Massachusetts, Indiana, Connecticut, Iowa, Texas, North Carolina, Kansas and Vermont.
Students from Minnesota, Montana and Kansas tied for the lead in the eighth grade.
Greg Knudsen, state Department of Education spokesman, said the national assessment tests are "rigorous, well constructed, good valid tests to see where we stand in relation to students across the nation."
Although Hawaii's scores remain below the national average, there is improvement in almost all areas of math tested, he said.
Achievement levels for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a congressionally mandated project, are set by a national board.
The test gauges whether students understand the subject at a basic, proficient or advanced level. Basic indicates partial mastery of grade-level knowledge and skills.
Proficient reflects solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter, and advanced means performance is superior.
In achievement levels, 55 percent of Hawaii's fourth grade students were at or above the basic level, including 14 percent at or above proficient level, and 1 percent at advanced level.
Nationally, 67 percent were at or above the basic level, including 25 percent at or above proficient and 2 percent advanced.
Knudsen noted that Hawaii's percentage of proficient fourth-grade students was higher than or statistically equivalent to 14 of the 46 states and jurisdictions participating.
Looking at the achievement level of Hawaii's eighth graders, 52 percent were at or above the basic level, including 16 percent at or above proficient and 2 percent advanced.
Nationally, 65 percent scored at or above basic, including 26 percent at or above proficient and 5 percent advanced.
Hawaii's percentage of proficient eighth graders was higher or statistically the same as 14 of the 44 jurisdictions participating.
LeMahieu said the 2000 national assessment scores serve as a baseline for the revised Hawaii Content & Performance Standards. He said the performance standards in math "provide the expectation of higher achievement, coupled with the belief that all students can, and must, achieve those standards.
"Students in Hawaii have done relatively well on other math assessments in the past and have the ability to improve those scores as well," he said.
How students fared
The average score of Hawaii students in "The Nation's Report Card," issued by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The test evaluates proficiency in fives areas: number sense; measurements; geometry; algebra; and data and statistics.
FOURTH GRADE YEAR SCORE 2000 216 1996 215 1992 214 EIGHTH GRADE YEAR SCORE 2000 263 1996 262 1992 257
State of the states
The best and the worst from the national test:
FOURTH GRADE SCORE Top states: Massachusetts and Minnesota 235 Bottom state: Mississippi 211 Hawaii 216 U.S. average 226 EIGHTH GRADE SCORE Top states: Nebraska and Montana 287 Bottom state: Mississippi 254 Hawaii 263 U.S. average