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Oregon students aren't making headway in reading and math and the state's low-income students are farther behind then they used to be, a new report says. Below-average per-pupil spending could be a factor.

(Betsy Hammond / The Oregonian)

Oregon

, as measured largely by student reading and math scores on the only exam given to a representative sample of students in all states, Education Week reported today.

Washington, by contrast,

Its students' reading and math achievement have risen to among the best in the country.

In reality, Oregon may rank even worse than No. 40. That is because Education Week used an outdated measure of states' high school graduation rates that made Oregon look good.

In fact,

, including the lowest in the nation for white students.

This marks the 18th year that the impartial national education news site has graded states on their public education systems. This year

"to review its indicators and grading framework to ensure that the report continues to provide the most relevant information for educators and policymakers."

But it continued to issue grades on states' academic achievement, school finance systems and the "opportunities for success" they offer children and adults.

Oregon

in academic achievement.

Although Oregon students generally scored close to the national average in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math, the four area on which most of the grade was based, the state got dinged for two big exceptions: Oregon scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress have stagnated over the past decade while most other states have recorded a lot of progress; and Oregon's low-income students have been left far behind, with low-income fourth-graders trailing 11 percentage points further behind their non-low-income counterparts in reading proficiency in 2013 than in 2003.

Oregon's

with a grade of C, despite rating below the national average in nine of the 12 categories used to determine that grade. Only 41 percent of Oregon 3- and 4-year-olds attend preschool, for instance, compared with the national average of 48 percent.

And Oregon got a C-, ranking it No. 33 among states, for school finance. Oregon's method of funding schools, which is heavily controlled by the state rather than by local school boards, is considered very fair to students in diverse parts of the state. Only 24 percent of Oregon students, however, attended schools that were funded at or above the national average, the report said.

Neighboring Washington got a C in academic achievement,

and a C- in school finance. The relatively strong grade in offering residents a chance for success stemmed from two factors: The high share of Washington adults who are highly educated and earn good incomes, giving them a leg up as parents; and the high share of Washington students who are proficient in reading and math. In Washington, for example, 61 percent of children live in families earning at least 200 percent of the poverty level; in Oregon, just 53 percent do.

-- Betsy Hammond

betsyhammond@oregonian.com

@chalkup