By Rene Sanchez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 28, 1997; Page A02

The nation's latest report card in math is a promising one. From elementary grades to high school, student scores are steadily rising.

The Education Department reported yesterday that 64 percent of fourth-graders nationwide are demonstrating at least basic math skills on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test highly regarded for its rigor. In 1990, only half of students that age had mastered the basics. Eighth-graders and high school seniors have made similar strides in the last six years.

But even as they cheered the signs of progress, educators yesterday warned that the performance of the nation's students in math is still mediocre and often trails the work of students in Asian and European countries. A widely respected study last year showed that American eighth-graders rank below the international average in math. It faulted American math classes for not being as rigorous as those in other nations.

"Our national scores may be rising, but we still have a long way to go," said Education Secretary Richard W. Riley. "We are still far behind world-class standards, and certainly that is not good enough."

President Clinton also seized on the math results yesterday to promote his call for new national tests in reading and math, and for students to meet higher academic expectations. "The scores are getting better but they also show us why every child should be tested based on these standards," Clinton said.

Maryland was among a handful of states showing the most improvement on the math test. Its scores among eighth-graders increased by 9 percentage points. North Carolina led all states with a 17-point gain. Virginia's eighth-graders have gained 5 points since 1990. But neither Maryland nor Virginia ranks in the tier of states with the highest math averages. In the District, eighth-graders scored 1 point higher than they did in 1990.

The progress that students nationally are making in math stands in contrast to the stagnant, and often quite low, scores they have earned in recent years on the same assessment test in other vital subjects such as reading or history. Educators credit the rising math scores this decade to steps many schools have taken to toughen their curricula, including new requirements that algebra be taught before high school.

Most students, however, are still failing to earn high marks on the national assessment, which is given every few years to a representative sample of students from across the country. This year, 43 states and the District participated in the test, which emphasizes reasoning and problem-solving, not just knowledge of math formulas. The test has three categories of achievement: basic, proficient and advanced.

Despite the gains on the latest test, only 24 percent of American eighth-graders showed proficiency in math, meaning that they demonstrated relatively strong skills. Only 16 percent of high school seniors, and 21 percent of fourth-graders, were deemed proficient. There are other signs of lingering trouble: Nearly 40 percent of the eighth-graders did not even demonstrate what the test considers basic math skills.

Large gaps in achievement also persist between students of different races. Among fourth-graders nationwide who took the math test, 76 percent of white students demonstrated basic skills, but only 41 percent of Hispanic students and 32 percent of black students did.

Scores are rising, however, for black and Hispanic students in grades 4 and 12. The scores of both boys and girls also are improving. Their averages are roughly the same among eighth-graders and high school seniors.

Gail Burrill, the president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, said that while the overall test results are encouraging, "too many of our nation's students continue to demonstrate inadequate achievement."

Riley said that even with the abundant classroom reforms evident in math this decade, only 20 percent of American eighth-graders now take algebra. That percentage is much lower than schools in most other industrialized nations, he said. Math educators consider eighth grade a pivotal year for students to start making the transition from basic math concepts and arithmetic to more advanced subject matter.