Fourth- and eighth-graders in Maine have once again scored higher than the national average on the only reading and math tests that sample academic performance across the country.

Maine showed continuing improvement in math in both grades, while reading scores in both grades remained stable, according to results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress released Thursday.

Eight states had higher average scores than Maine at the two grade levels in math. In 4th-grade reading only Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire had higher average scores than Maine, and in 8th-grade reading, only Massachusetts had higher scores.

“This is terrific news for Maine teachers and students,” said Susan Gendron, commissioner of the Maine Department of Education.

The 2003 tests were administered to a representative sample of nearly 350,000 students nationwide, including about 11,300 in Maine. Considered the nation’s report card, the tests mark progress over time, with the 2003 scores showing math scores clearly moving in the right direction.

But while the nation’s fourth-graders and eighth-graders are getting better at math, more than two out of three students still don’t know as much as they should about math based on the government standards.

Just as with math, more than two-thirds of students tested in reading did not achieve at the level test organizers say is the goal – “proficient,” which means having a demonstrated ability to understand challenging subject matter and apply it to real-world situations.

In Maine, about two-thirds of students in both grades scored below the proficient level in math and reading.

Compared to their peers in 2000, when the math test was last given, fourth-graders and eighth-graders nationwide made sizable gains at every level, from the lowest performers to the top achievers. Black and Hispanic students reduced their performance gap with white students.

Nationwide, 77 percent of fourth-graders reached at least a basic level in math, meaning partial mastery of skills needed for solid academic work. That’s up from 65 percent three years ago. Among eighth-graders, 68 percent performed at basic or better, up from 63 percent.

“The achievement levels represent very challenging standards, so when you have these kinds of increases, they’re to be celebrated,” said Bella Rosenberg, an education policy specialist at the American Federation of Teachers. “It’s important for people to understand that ‘basic’ is a pretty high standard – and ‘proficient’ is a very high standard.”

In Maine, 34 percent of fourth-graders are deemed at or above proficiency in math, compared to 31 percent nationwide and 42 percent in Minnesota, the top performer in the country.

Results for eighth-grade math shows that 29 percent of Maine students were ranked at or above proficiency, compared to 27 percent nationwide, and 44 percent in Minnesota, again the top performer.

At the 4th-grade reading level, 36 percent of Maine students were ranked at or above proficient, compared to the nation at 30 percent. The highest-ranking state was Connecticut with 43 percent of students at or above proficient.

For eighth-grade reading, 37 percent of Maine students ranked at or above proficiency, compared to 30 percent for the nation and 43 percent for Massachusetts, the highest-performing state.

But the oft-quoted achievement levels are unrealistic and unfair, said Gerald Bracey, a George Mason University professor and prominent critic of the test’s scoring

Less than a third of students in both grades can do math at a proficient level based on the test, which is sanctioned by Congress and run by the Education Department.

Such results are increasingly significant because the national test is being used, more than ever, to check whether the states are challenging their students.

This round of scores marks the first time all 50 states were required to take part in the test as a condition of receiving federal money. Now, every two years, new national scores will come out in grades four and eight for reading and math. If students do well on state tests but not on the national assessment, states will probably face greater pressure to explain why.

That’s the kind of second opinion – some call it a shaming device – that federal officials want as they try to shake up public education. Under federal law, every student is to be “proficient” in math and reading by 2013-14, but the states define what that means.

The math test covered such areas as probability, algebra and mathematical reasoning. The reading test ranged from literary analysis to basic daily tasks, such as asking students to analyze characters, explain essay themes and understand train schedules.

Test results in Maine also indicated that while girls have closed the gender gap in math performance, boys still are behind girls when it comes to reading, according to John Kennedy, NAEP coordinator for the Maine Department of Education. Kennedy said the gender results came as no surprise and reflected a nationwide trend.

Reading scores in Maine are five points higher for girls than for the boys in fourth grade and 13 points higher in eighth grade. This represents a one-point reduction for the fourth-grade gender gap and a three-point increase for the eighth-grade gap since the reading test was last administered in Maine the spring of 2002.

NAEP results are reported in percentages of students at achievement levels of below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced and also in numerical scores ranging from 0 to 500.

In math, Maine’s average scores for 2003 were 238 for fourth grade, compared to 230 in 2000. In eighth grade math, Maine students scored 282, compared to 281 three years ago.

Among the five subjects in the math assessment, the greatest increase in scores in Maine was in algebra, with a 13-point rise in fourth grade and seven-point rise in eighth grade. The smallest increases were in the measurement category for fourth grade and in the number sense and operations categories for eighth grade.

Also, 10 percent more fourth-graders moved out of the below-basic level and another 10 percent moved into the proficient level in math, Kennedy said.

Reading scores show fourth-graders scoring 224 compared to 225 last year. Eighth-graders, meanwhile, scored 268 compared to 270.

Since the previous reading results were released just a year ago and it takes time to generate significant changes in scores, the latest numbers show no significant difference in average scores for Maine or the nation, Kennedy said.

In the last decade, Maine has consistently scored higher than the national average in both reading and math, according to Kennedy.

“The improvements in fourth-grade math suggest that the hard work Maine teachers have done to align instruction with the Learning Results, improve practice through professional development, and forge cooperative relationships to increase parental involvement are bearing fruit,” said Maine Education Commissioner Gendron.

“The cooperative work that the Maine Department of Education has engaged in with the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance has clearly been beneficial, and we’re grateful for the support that MMSA is giving to districts around the state,” she added.

Looking at the nationwide picture, Kennedy said every state is a long way from having their average NAEP scores at the proficient level. Even the highest scores are nowhere near the top in either grade or either subject, he said.

Kennedy said NAEP results are supposed to “parallel” those from the Maine Educational Assessment, the test Maine administers to measure progress students and schools are making in meeting Learning Results, the academic performance standards set by the state.

While meeting standards on the MEA isn’t exactly the same as meeting proficiency on the NAEP, “we do see similar patterns in that students are being able to do certain things in reading and math,” he said. “We’re getting the same information, but in different ways.”

While NAEP predicts performance based on a set of national standards which are goals to be reached, MEA measures classroom standards that are supposed to be observed now, Kennedy said.

Kennedy said Maine plans to consult states that have shown dramatic improvement on the NAEP tests.

For example, Massachusetts has seen a lot of progress lately in the reading performance of their boys. “We’d really like to know why and we’ve been looking into it,” he said.

The state also plans to touch base with officials in Minnesota where eighth-grade math scores soared, he said.