Administrators say the
uptick in math minutes has been motivated
in part by state exam
scores that are lower
in math than English and also an emphasis on the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and
math.
It is difficult to see any real growth across the board since 2011, with
math scores backsliding to 2009 levels, eighth - grade reading flat for four years, and a small
uptick in fourth - grade reading that is not a significant increase from 2013, which,
in turn, was not significantly different from 2011.