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Texas Elementary Students Top U.S. Average on Test: But Upper-Level Pupils Show Mixed Results on Achievement Exam

Posted on: Friday, 31 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By Terrence Stutz, The Dallas Morning News

Mar. 31--AUSTIN -- Texas elementary students scored better than the national average in reading and math on a national achievement test last year, while results for students in upper grade levels were mixed, with some below the national average, the Texas Education Agency reported Thursday.

Results for a sample of Texas students who took the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills showed elementary children beating the national averages in grades third though fifth on both the reading and math sections of the exam. Their highest scores were in math.

Middle and high school students were close to the national average, although 11th-graders did slightly better. High school students took the Iowa Tests of Educational Development.

Exams were administered to a sample of students in nearly 500 school districts in the 2004-05 school year, with about 12,500 students per grade -- three through 11 -- tested across the state.

Texas students are tested with the Iowa tests once every five years to gauge how they compare academically with students in other states.

"The results on the Iowa tests offer another validation that the Texas Reading Initiative, which focuses on grades three to five, is paying off," said state Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley. "These results also confirm that the state's increased focus on improving secondary schools is justified."

Dr. Neeley said math scores provided the most positive results, with Texas students in seven out of nine grades above the national average -- though some just barely so. Ninth-grade students were at the national average, while 10th-graders were below it.

"We are pleased that our math scores are above the national average, but we must continue to improve in this area," she said. "Math skills are a key component of 21st century jobs, and we want our students well prepared."

Dr. Neeley said results on the two Iowa tests track those of the state's own testing program, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. TAKS scores have been gradually improving since the tests were first given in Texas schools in spring 2003.

E-mail tstutz@dallasnews.com

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Source: The Dallas Morning News

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