Are states kids stuck in neutral in math?
Fourth-graders in Florida’s public schools could divide three-digit numbers, reason about even and odd numbers, and understand fractions better than many of their counterparts across the country, according to results of a national math test released Wednesday. The students’ scores did not improve this year, which followed the national trend. But they maintained their better-than-national-average ranking. Meanwhile, the state’s eighth-graders followed the national pattern, continuing to improve and posting the highest scores ever for that grade level. But Florida’s eighth-grade math scores continued to lag behind the national average. Florida also made some small gains in closing the test-score gap between white and minority students — a sought-after trend not seen nationally. And its black and Hispanic students outperformed black and Hispanic students nationwide.
