AUSTIN - A national study released today found that Texas was one of four states that narrowed the achievement gap in eighth-grade mathematics performance between 1990 and 2007.

Additionally, Texas was one of 15 states since 1992 to narrow the math achievement gap between these student groups at fourth grade, according to a report released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) improved for both African-American and white students in Texas during the time period studied, according to Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

“Not only is performance improving for both groups of students, but we are closing the achievement gap statewide. I am pleased with this positive trend. However, we will not be satisfied until the gap is eliminated,” said Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott.

He noted that Texas is one of only 13 states that saw an increase in NAEP reading scores for both black and white students at the fourth grade. However the achievement gap on the reading test did not significantly change for Texas students at either the fourth or eighth grade.

To download the full report and highlights, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/gaps/ .

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Page last modified on 4/25/2010.