Little or no improvement in '06 MCAS scores

English and math MCAS scores in elementary and most middle school grades were flat or declined for the second consecutive year, raising concerns that the state's progress has stalled, according to statewide test results released yesterday.

Tenth-graders brought the only bright spot on the exams taken last spring, producing the best results since the state testing began in 1998.

Eighty-four percent of high school sophomores passed the English and math tests on their first try, up from 68 percent in 2001. The Class of 2003, who were sophomores in 2001, were the first students required to pass the test to graduate.

The mixed results heightened worries that Massachusetts is losing ground in the push to give all students a command of reading and math by 2014, as required by federal law. Though test scores are higher now than when testing began, thousands of Massachusetts students still lag behind in reading and math.

``Flat last year bothered me, and flat this year bothers me," said Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll at a press conference in Boston. ``After two years, you can't say it's a one-year problem. In order to go to the next level, we clearly have to do something different."

More than 500,000 students in grades 3-8 and Grade 10 took the tests last spring in English and math, the first time every grade took both exams. The declining or flat scores occurred in English in grades 3, 4, and 7, and in math in grades 4, 6, and 8.

Driscoll said he was especially worried about a four-point drop in third-grade reading statewide, because students who fall behind early struggle to catch up.

He said schools should study the scores and try new ways to improve them, such as training teachers or giving some students a longer day .

About 58 percent of third-graders scored proficient or higher on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, which gives ratings in four categories: failing, needs improvement, proficient, and advanced. Students must score in the needs improvement category or higher to pass the 10th-grade test. But the federal No Child Left Behind Act sets a higher standard and requires all students to reach proficiency by 2014.

In English, the percent age of students scoring proficient or higher ranged from 50 percent of fourth-graders to 74 percent of eighth-graders, while math scores were even lower.

Yesterday, the MCAS results became a political football.

Romney, a possible contender for president in 2008, said the 10th-grade scores are proof that high-stakes testing works and worried that Deval Patrick, who just won the Democratic nomination for governor, would not defend the test.

``The exam is having an impact in closing the achievement gap," said Romney in a telephone interview. ``Going wobbly on the MCAS would be devastating to the education of our children."

Romney blamed the stagnant scores in the lower grades on opposition to his education proposals -- including merit pay for teachers -- by teachers unions and the Democrat-led Legislature.

However, a Harvard education professor, Richard Elmore, said the scores could be flat for a variety of reasons, such as improperly trained teachers.

Patrick spokesman Richard Chacon said Patrick supports the MCAS as a graduation requirement, but doesn't think the exams should be the only measure of student performance.

Anne Wass , president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, said test scores would improve if the state would invest in preschool and small class sizes.

Black and Hispanic students still trail white and Asian students statewide, often by wide margins. In Grade 3, only 36 percent of black students and 28 percent of Hispanics scored proficient or higher, compared with more than 60 percent of white and Asian students. Special-education students, low-income students, and students who aren't fluent in English also scored lower.

Tenth grade was the only place the state has markedly reduced the achievement gap, Driscoll said. Black students shrunk the gap with white students by six points over last year; 89 percent of white students passed the MCAS English test, compared with 68 percent of black students.

Statewide scores are at www.doe.mass.edu.