Poor Math Scores Posted on Unusual 3-State Exams

New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont education officials are seeking to mobilize to improve math instruction following surprisingly poor results on their jointly developed statewide assessments of 11th graders, on which fewer than a third of students scored proficient or higher in math.

The assessments, given last October, are part of the New England Common Assessment Program, an effort that began in 2005 with the development of reading and math assessments, known as NECAPs, for grades 3-8 and writing assessments for grades 5 and 8. Results from all three states were released within the past month, the most recent of them this week.

The math test, developed with input from teachers in the three states, is based on what students are expected to know at the...