Test shows students
can do better in
math, reading

LeMahieu says results show
a need for continued effort
and improvement

SAT scores database online

By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

The latest standardized test results show that Hawaii public school students are capable of doing better in math and reading, the state's schools chief said.

"The pattern suggests ... growth that we can really be gratified to see, but also a level of performance that suggests a need for continued effort and continued improvement," state Schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu said, referring to Stanford Achievement Test results released yesterday.

Students in grades 3, 6, 8 and 10 took the test last spring.

The results show that public school third-graders made the greatest improvement with increases in both math and reading. Sixty-six percent of students in that grade scored average or high in reading, and 76 percent scored average or high in math.

Last year, 63 percent of third-graders scored in the average and high categories in reading and 74 percent in math.

Sixth- and eighth-graders remained stable in reading, but sixth-graders showed a slight decline in math, while eighth-grade math scores improved a little.

Students in grade 10 showed a decline in reading scores while math scores remained steady.

"Actually, a fair amount of credit should be given to the system, in the elementary years especially," he said. "That's the result of some effort that's now paying off. It's encouraging because it affirms that that effort can pay off."

Third- and sixth-grade math scores exceeded the national norm, but other scores lagged behind, the state Department of Education said.

LeMahieu said that although the scores are promising, schools should keep trying. "The encouraging thing in there more than anything else is not, 'Oh, good, the scores are high; we can relax.' But it's, 'Oh, good, when you put in the effort, you get the results.' So, let's keep that up," he said.

LeMahieu said he sees the scores as a benchmark to gauge future progress. "For me they're a starting point."

He said the scores show that reading remains a worry. "Kids need to learn to read so they can read to learn." Children learn to read by grade 3, and then from grade 4 and up, reading becomes more and more a central tool for learning, he said.

"Up to grade 3, you're focusing on learning how to read, but from grade 4 on up, it's using the reading in order to learn," he said. "So, if you aren't prepared to do that, it's not just that you get bad reading scores; the rest of your learning drops off."

LeMahieu's comments appear to be borne out in the numbers.

The longitudinal analysis, which follows the test scores of students as they move from grade to grade, show that third-graders who took the test in 1993 and were in the eighth grade when they took the test in spring of this year showed reading scores improving but then going back down to the same levels as in 1993. Math scores steadily declined throughout the years.

Sixth-graders who took the test in 1994 were 10th-graders when they took the test last spring. Their reading scores initially went down in 1996 but then back up this year. Their math scores steadily declined.

Schools that did not participate in the testing included Waialae Elementary and Aiea, Mililani and Radford high schools.