http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/12/02/boston_schools_get_an_a_for_improvement_in_math/

Boston schools get an 'A' for improvement in math
But scores remain in middle, US says
By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff | December 2, 2005

The Boston Public Schools system remained in the middle of the pack among 11 urban districts on national reading and math exam results, but it rose to the top when judged on its pace of improvement in mathematics, according to test results released yesterday.

The Boston system is routinely touted by educators as one of the best urban school programs in the country, and it once again won accolades yesterday from national education leaders, even though its students' scores weren't stellar.

Almost half of the system's fourth-graders flunked the reading test, but Boston, educators said, deserves credit for improving more rapidly than the other urban school systems in math on the 2005 National Assessment of Education Progress, a study that is issued by the federal government.

The test of the school districts is often referred to as the ''nation's report card." It has been given to a representative sample of pupils in all 50 states since 1969, to gauge student progress.

The US government first began comparing urban school systems' performance on the test in 2002, with six volunteer districts. Boston agreed to join its urban counterparts in 2003.

GLOBE GRAPHIC: Fourth-grade math scores

About 2,300 Boston pupils, of about 8,500 fourth- and eighth-graders, took the 2005 test.

They picked which kids got to take the test, real nice. Isn't that Cheating?

Two years ago, 58 percent of Boston fourth-graders passed the math test, achieving a basic or higher level on the test. This test rates them in four categories -- below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced. This year, 72 percent passed. This was the most improvement among the 11 districts.

''God, those math numbers are eye-popping," said Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of Great City Schools, a group representing the largest urban districts. ''That is the single largest increase in any subject in any grade" since 2002, Casserly said.

Don't break you arm, patting yourself on the back, Mr High Expectations.

''Overall," Casserly added, ''Boston's improvement in math was the best in the country."

Boston's fourth-grade students ranked sixth among the 11 cities in reading and math, and its eighth-graders placed fourth.

The other cities were: Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.

Boston's eighth-grade average math score of 270, of a 500, is inching closer to the national average of 278, a feat for any urban school system with a high number of minority students from low-income families, Casserly said.

These nigger kids are geniuses, imagine that, a little over 50%. Silly me, but I always thought 60% or less was failiing.

Still, Boston's average fourth-grade math score of 229 did not differ significantly from those of other cities; the average math score for fourth-graders in urban districts was 228.

''I was surprised by the amount of improvement," said Boston's schools superintendent, Thomas W. Payzant.

''But," Payzant added, ''it's never good enough until we get all students to proficiency."

The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires all students to be proficient by 2014. While 72 percent of Boston's fourth-grade pupils and 57 percent of its eighth-graders, passed the math test, less than a quarter scored ''proficient" or above.

Payzant attributed the gains in math to a curriculum the school system began using four years ago. Teachers emphasize discussion, hands-on solutions, and the idea that there is more than one way to solve math problems.

Yesterday's test scores painted a grim picture of reading performance in most urban districts. Reading scores were stagnant for Boston's fourth- and eighth-grade pupils. Boston's average eighth-grade reading score was 253, compared with 250 for urban districts and 260 nationwide.

Ooops, I thought everything was great a few paragraphs back, what happened.

The district has started reading programs in some middle schools to focus on comprehension.

Boston has a smaller achievement gap between white students and black and Latino students than the average urban district, according to the results.

Wouldn't be because the other races mature faster, now would it?. The intelligence gap will really start to widen,as the students get older, because the White Kids will start maturing, and with it their brains. Don't you like how they omitted that fact.

But the gap between white and black eighth-graders in math grew from 2003 to 2005. The gap between whites and black and Hispanic fourth-graders in reading also grew, but the scores for black fourth-graders in Boston were higher than black students in most other urban districts. Still, more than half of the black fourth-graders in Boston flunked the reading test.

When kids are small and undeveloped its easy to try to compare them, but as they get older, they get smarter. A niggers peak brain power, is probably developed by 8th grade, but the White continues to mature to adulthood. This rigged comparison is an insult to Whites.

The school districts compared yesterday vary widely in student population, poverty level, and demographics. Atlanta, the smallest of the 11 districts, has 51,000 students, while New York City, the largest, has 1.1 million. Boston has roughly 58,000 students.

Tracy Jan can be reached at tjan@globe.com.