Wyoming TOP - Wyoming students top national test results

From- http://www.wyomingnews.com

Tational Test Results CHEYENNE -- Wyoming students scored above the national averages in reading and math on the National Assessment of Educational Process exams.

And fourth-graders saw an increase in average math scores.

But the other scores for both fourth- and eighth-graders - in both math and reading - didn't increase by statistically significant amounts.

"I would think that we can do better," said Cindy Hill, state superintendent of public instruction. "We always think we can do better. We're looking for more growth."

Nationally, the 2010-11 school year scores rose in math for fourth- and eighth-graders and in reading for eighth-graders, according to data released by the National Center for Education Statistics.

But national scores didn't change in reading for fourth-graders.

The national test, which has become known as NAEP, offers educators a way to compare students as a whole to those in other states. School district figures are not available.

"(The test) is an indicator of where our state is; it's not broken down by district," said Marc LaHiff, director of instruction with Laramie County School District 1. "We make up about 17 or 18 percent (of the state's student population), so we have a big input.

"It can be informative. We can do some comparisons, and that's helpful."

In Wyoming, fourth-graders had an average score of 244 in math and 224 in reading out of a possible 500 points. That compares to a national averages of 240 in math and 220 in reading.

The fourth-graders scored better than students in 28 states and jurisdictions in reading and better than 30 in math.

Wyoming eighth-graders had an average score of 288 in math and 270 in reading. The national averages were 283 and 264, respectively.

Eighth graders in the Cowboy State scored higher than 27 states and jurisdictions in reading and higher than 29 in math.

"In our district, we did a lot of work in math and brought in a lot of math improvement (tools)," LaHiff said. "I don't know that we can take credit, but any indication that we're going up is good. But we need to be making greater gains."

The NAEP results, sometimes called the "nation's report card," did not show significant increases for percentages of Wyoming students testing proficient or above compared to the tests in 2009.

Both state officials and administrators from area districts said they will continue to push for greater gains.

State officials suggested areas where parents can help improve student achievement, including:

n Cutting the number of school days students miss.

n Reading everyday to young children.

n Limiting the hours of television students watch.

"Everybody wants to see numbers, but the part we got excited about was that there are some things we can do," Hill said. "If we could focus on these (factors), it could begin to impact these kids."