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Connecticut continues to lose ground against other states in grade-school and middle-school mathematics, according to a national “report card” published last month by the U.S. Department of Education.
Connecticut fourth-graders achieved an average score of 243 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP) exam. That was 4 basis points better than the national average, but Connecticut trailed 14 other states, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New Jersey, which secured the three top scores.
In 1996 and 2000, Connecticut fourth-graders received the top scores in the nation. In 2003, six other states notched better scores, and in 2005 nine states outperformed Connecticut.
Eighth-graders fared far worse, with students in 28 states exceeding Connecticut”™s average score of 282. In 2003, just seven states posted better results.
Fourth-graders were tested on concepts such as identifying fractions depicted in pictures; determining the probability of an outcome; and finding the perimeter of a shape.
Among other questions, eighth-graders had to estimate time given a rate of speed and distance; compute the measure of an angle in a geometric figure; and identify the graph of a linear equation.
Connecticut youngsters fared better on the NEAP reading exam, with fourth-graders trailing just four states; and eighth-graders placing 12th while registering the highest percentage of advanced readers in the nation at 5 percent of those tested.
Students were tested on their ability to understand the structure and content of a written passage, and on their ability to synthesize information from various parts of a passage.
