A new study comparing reading skills of fourth- and eighth-grade children in 18 urban school systems once again places Milwaukee Public Schools near the bottom of the ladder, a pattern of underachievement that gave voice to worries Thursday about the future of Milwaukee's children and calls - yet again - for a greater sense of urgency to improve.

In a set of national reading tests, Milwaukee's fourth-graders outperformed only Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia, while its eighth-graders outperformed only Detroit, Fresno, Calif., and Washington, D.C., according to the results of the Trial Urban District Assessment, a special project of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is a periodic national assessment, often referred to as the Nation's Report Card, that allows for state-to-state comparisons in core academic subjects. The urban district study isolates scores among a number of the country's high-minority, high-poverty school systems to better compare how those students are doing.

All of the voluntary participants in the program are from cities with populations of at least 250,000, ranging from districts serving Fresno, Calif., and Louisville, Ky., to those in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.

This is the first time that Milwaukee Public Schools participated in the reading tests for the urban districts. Last year, results from the math tests also carried bad news for MPS, which did better than only Detroit at the eighth-grade level.

India McCanse, executive director of Literacy Services of Wisconsin, said the reading study results call into question the rigor of the curriculum and instruction in MPS. Superintendent William Andrekopoulos echoed those concerns in an interview.

"Many of these same students are going to end up here in five or 10 years," McCanse said. "If we can't get kids to read at a proficient level during their primary school years, we know from our work that it has a huge impact on individuals, families, communities and our economy."

Claudia Scholl, spokeswoman for Milwaukee Achiever Literacy Services, called the results discouraging.

"This (inability to read) plays out as these people become adults, and it leads to this cycle that seems unending," she said. "Something dramatic has to happen to get some sort of change."

The National Assessment of Educational Progress reading tests were administered to a sample that included almost one-quarter of MPS fourth-graders at 90 schools and almost one-fifth of eighth-graders at 60 schools in 2009. Only schools that are part of MPS, which includes charter schools authorized by the district, were included, said Deb Lindsey, the district's director of research and assessment.

Overall, only 12% of the MPS students tested at each grade scored at a level considered proficient or above on the NAEP reading test. On average in other large-city school systems, 23% of fourth-graders and 22% of eighth-graders scored proficient or advanced.

On the other end of the spectrum, 61% of fourth-graders and 49% of eighth-graders in MPS scored below the basic level on the reading test. Basic is defined as partial mastery of the knowledge and skills needed to become proficient for the grade level.

Poverty and race played a large role in student performance: Only 8% of MPS students from families whose low-income status qualified them for free and reduced-price lunches scored at a level considered proficient in either grade, and only 6% of black students were considered proficient at either grade.

In contrast, one-quarter of non-impoverished students and one-third of white students in MPS scored at a level considered proficient.

Statewide results released as part of the NAEP in March showed that 9% of black fourth-graders and 38% of white fourth-graders in Wisconsin scored proficient or above on the same reading test, while 9% of black eighth-graders and 39% of white eighth-graders in the state scored at least at a proficient level.

Signposts for change

The most promising news from the new study could be the evidence that change is indeed possible in districts such as Milwaukee.

Atlanta Public Schools was celebrated as the gold standard for progress during the official release of the study in Atlanta on Thursday. From 2002 to 2009, both fourth- and eighth-grade students in Atlanta increased their reading scores by 14 points.

Atlanta Superintendent Beverly L. Hall said the improved scores did not mean that the district was outperforming everyone else. It meant that they were making progress from where they started in 2002, when their first urban district assessment results were so dismal.

"Student scores are still below national and state averages, but our students are digging out of a deep hole, and they're doing so at a significantly fast rate," she said, adding that the gains were because of reforms in instruction, professional development and use of data.

The study also found that schools in Boston, Houston, Washington, D.C., and New York increased their scores in fourth-grade reading from 2007 to 2009. Atlanta, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., made progress over that same two-year span in eighth-grade reading.

Compared with other urban districts, MPS has a higher proportion of black students and fewer white and Hispanic students. It also has a slightly higher population of students who qualify for free- and reduced-price lunch - an indicator of family poverty - at 77%.

Other urban districts averaged 71% poverty at fourth grade and 65% poverty in eighth grade.

Lack of urgency in MPS

But Dave Gordon, superintendent of schools in Sacramento County, Calif., and a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, said it appeared Milwaukee's lack of achievement mostly stemmed from its lack of urgency for a consistent and coherent plan for reading.

"It's about having an overall plan so what you're doing in classroom A, B and C is not random," Gordon said, adding that teaching reading should not be based on the hunches of literacy coaches or reading specialists in individual schools.

MPS uses 17 reading programs, but it's in the process of moving to a single curriculum. Meanwhile, the district is waiting for its comprehensive literacy plan to be approved by the state.

An earlier submission of the plan was not deemed sufficient by the Department of Public Instruction.

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MPS schools

12% of students tested in 4th, 8th grade scored at a level considered proficient or above on the reading test

Other large-city schools

23% of fourth-graders scored proficient or advanced on average

22% of eighth-graders scored proficient or advanced on average