RI students score higher on NECAP tests

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI_ - Test results are in, and they show more Rhode Island students are making the grade.

Last October, the state administered the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) for the fourth year in a row.

Officials released the results Tuesday, and they show that scores in math, reading and writing are all up.

In grades 3 through 8, 68 percent of students were proficient in reading, a jump of 3 percentage points from 2007. In writing, 53 percentage of students were proficient, up from 48 percent last year. Math results showed a similar improvement.

However, despite the upward trend, state education officials said they are still concerned about the difference in test scores between urban and suburban students.

According to its website, NECAP is a plan developed by the departments of education in three U.S. states (New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) in the New England area in response to the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

The program's primary goal is a standardized test based on uniform Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs) that will test all students in grades 3-8 and 11 in reading, writing, and mathematics. Students in grades 5, 8, and 11 will also be tested in writing.