Why the rise in pupils' test scores? The South.

The SREB launched sweeping reforms in 1988 to bring the region into the new economy. At its heart: a commitment to setting higher standards for all Southern students, black and white, and annual testing to ensure the standards were being met. "The citizens of any state are not likely to achieve more in education than they and their leaders expect and aim for," said the SREB mission statement.

The flood of new jobs and industries into the South seemed to confirm that the region was on the right track. The new NAEP scores provide more confirmation, experts say.

"Gains like this mean that things are going right in schools," says Daria Hall, a policy analyst with the Education Trust in Washington. When states have standards in place and hold schools accountable for results, "that is when we are seeing progress for students," she adds. "Since ... the South had these systems in place a decade earlier, it's not surprising that we're beginning to see the payoffs."

One key to progress was shifting the focus from the region's low rankings to its progress in closing the gap, several former governors say. "I always talked about improvement instead of ranking," says former Governor Riley, who was also Education Secretary in the Clinton administration. "Anyone who has studied the history of the South and really cared about it would have to realize that there has always been a kind of spirit here that we could do better. But it takes time, constant attention, and some measure of continuity. That's what the standards movement has given us."

Reporting test results by disaggregating data by income, race, and ethnicity - a practice begun in the South - allowed governors to focus on student improvement, rather than ranking.

"In North Carolina, we measured progress year by year, which is the only fair measure," says Hunt. If a school made a year's worth of progress, it got a bonus. If it made "extraordinary progress," it got another bonus. "It gave incentives to schools wherever they were: If you could bring students up, you were doing a good job," Hunt adds.

The disaggregation also revealed patterns of educational achievement that were not obvious by comparing high-performing states like Iowa or Connecticut with Southern states.

"What the NAEP results are telling us is that if you're white and not poor in America, you're doing pretty well. The results are amazingly similar across America," says former SREB president Musick. That makes the region's progress in raising student achievement levels all the more remarkable, he adds. "The South is now a leader in preschool education. That was unimaginable two decades ago."

Page: 1 | 2