Amidst all the debate about which annual standardized test to use in Massachusetts — and whether we are testing too much or attaching too many consequences to its outcomes — new results are out from the one test that allows for direct comparisons among all states.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, is often termed “the nation’s report card” because the test is given every two years to representative samples of 4th and 8th grade students across the country.

What do the results say about how Massachusetts is doing? By most any measure, students here do very well. Bay State students have been at or near the top among all states in 4th and 8th grade reading and math scores. This year, Massachusetts students scored tops in three of the four categories, but dropped one point behind New Hampshire in 8th grade reading.

Nationally, there was a drop in math scores for both 4th and 8th graders, the first such decline since 1990. Reading scores also dipped for 8th graders, while they were flat for 4th graders. “It’s obviously bad news,” Michael Petrilli, the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington education policy think tank, told the New York Times.

It’s very hard to identify any single factor behind test score changes.

The Times reports that education officials cite the recent adoption by more than 40 states of the new Common Core education standards as a possible explanation for the drop in math scores. The NAEP math test for 4th grade, for example, includes questions on topics that are included in the Common Core standards for that age and so students may well have not been taught the material needed to answer them.

The Times also points to another factor that might be at play: demographic changes taking place in which schools are educating more Hispanic and low-income students, groups that perform more poorly than their white and more affluent counterparts. About a quarter of all public school students in the country are now Hispanic, up dramatically from 10 percent in 1990. Children from low-income households also make-up an increasing share of the school population, reports the Times.

An important study released this week by the Urban Institute digs more deeply into this topic. The report, “Breaking the Curve,” looks at NAEP scores when taking account of demographic changes taking place and demographic differences among states. The study shows that overall NAEP scores from 2003 to 2013 increased more than would have been expected considering the increases states saw in historically lower-performing population groups. (The study did not have access to the just-released 2015 scores.)

It also showed that demographically similar students vary considerably in their performance from state to state. When adjusted for demographics, Texas and Florida students, who have overall average performance on NAEP, outperform their demographic peers enough to move to third and fourth place among all states.

Massachusetts and New Jersey, which ranked at the top in raw NAEP scores for 2013, maintained their positions even after adjusting for demographic factors, though the margins by which each state led were reduced.

The study suggests efforts in Massachusetts, ushered in by the 1993 Education Reform Act, to raise standards and implement a rigorous accountability system have driven big improvements in student achievement.

The Urban Institute study suggests that some portion of the top ranking Massachusetts has enjoyed in student performance can be explained by the state’s demographics — a lower than average minority student population and higher average family income. But even when those factors are accounted for, Massachusetts students scored at the top among all states, suggesting schools here are doing something right above and beyond any advantages students may arrive with.

–MICHAEL JONAS 

 

BEACON HILL

House Speaker Robert DeLeo made sworn statements about patronage hiring at the state probation department that were later contradicted by legislators and other state officials testifying in federal court, the Globe reports.

The House floats a bill to lift the solar net metering cap. (State House News)

State lawmakers hear from both sides on a doctor-assisted suicide bill. (WBUR) Dan Diaz, whose late wife Brittany Maynard created a wave of interest in the issue when she recorded a youtube video explaining when and why she wanted to die, talks about “death with dignity.” (Greater Boston)

At a hearing on establishing a carbon fee in Massachusetts, only one side — the supporters — shows up. (CommonWealth)

The unfunded liability in the MBTA pension system is growing at a time the cash-strapped authority has less capacity to contribute to it. (Boston Globe)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

A Boston Herald editorial laments the fact that the Inspector General found that taxpayers got fleeced on the deal the Boston Redevelopment Authority struck with the Red Sox to grant the team game day use of Yawkey Way and air rights use over Lansdowne Street — and there’s nothing that can be done about it. Tom Keane takes the opposite position. He says the deal may have been handled poorly but it was absolutely necessary to save Fenway Park. (WBUR)

A federal judge may have shot down Lowell’s ban on panhandling, but The Sun urges officials to try again to approve a measure that would pass legal muster.

Wareham Town Meeting voters rejected a proposal endorsed by selectmen that would have made the Town Clerk position appointed rather than elected. (Standard-Times)

Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty may bring a council pay raise measure to a vote today rather than allow the plan to automatically take effect without councilors having to take a stand. (Boston Globe)

CASINOS

Selectmen in Windsor Locks, Connecticut say no to a casino at Bradley International Airport. (MassLive)

Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby weighs in on all the hot button issues facing the panel, including the plummeting revenues at the Plainfield slots parlor, the scaled-back casino in Springfield, the Boston-Wynn tong war, and regulating fantasy sports. (Greater Boston)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

President Obama pushes for tougher gun laws in a speech to the nation’s police chiefs. (NPR)

A Newton-born retired elementary school teacher, who devoted himself to promoting cross-cultural understanding during the three decades after he moved to Israel, died two weeks after being shot and repeatedly stabbed as part of the wave of terror attacks that have hit Israel. (Boston Globe)

ELECTIONS

State Sen. Robert Hedlund is outspending Weymouth Mayor Sue Kay in his bid to win the office in next week’s mayoral election. (Patriot Ledger)

The Patriot Ledger fact-checks Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch and former mayor William Phelan‘s claims in their final debate that the other was responsible for the largest property tax hike and finds their records are similar, with both hiking taxes 29 percent.

Candidates for City Council and School Committee debate a residency requirement in Lowell, where less than half of public safety workers and teachers live in the city. (The Sun)

Annissa Essabai George stands out in the field of at-large Boston city council candidates: She’s the lone challenger running against four incumbents. (Boston Globe)

Howie Carr says tonight’s third GOP presidential debate is the clear TV viewing choice over the World Series, but by the time he’s done you’re not sure exactly why. (Boston Herald)

The National Review offers seven storylines for tonight’s viewing, including whether Carly Fiorina can regain her mojo and if this is the swan song for the four JV participants on the undercard.

Donald Trump begs voters in Iowa to “let me win” but says if he doesn’t, “I will never speak to you people again.” (New York Times)

Who knew: Ben Carson spent two years of his youth in Dorchester and Roxbury, a time he remembers not so fondly. (Boston Globe)

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Rapidly expanding Walgreens plans to buy Rite-Aid Corp. for $9.4 billion.

EDUCATION

A group of lawmakers is pushing for a moratorium on standardized tests. (State House News)

The Pioneer Institute once again pans PARCC. (CommonWealth)

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

Massachusetts officials made the second highest-number of seizures of fentanyl last year, adding to evidence that the powerful, fast-acting drug is a big factor in the state’s opioid crisis. (Boston Globe)

A Haverhill High School survey indicates 5 percent of students have tried heroin and 8 percent have used Oxycontin. (Eagle-Tribune)

TRANSPORTATION 

Who are the overlords of the MBTA, the five members of the Fiscal and Management Control Board? (CommonWealth) Meanwhile, the MBTA is ready for winter this year. (Boston Business Journal)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Mike Dukakis talks life and trash with Garrett Quinn of Boston magazine.

Charlie Harak of the National Consumer Law Center says the state should spend less supporting the development of solar power because the incentives fall most heavily on the poor. (CommonWealth)

A tag-team of unlikely bedfellows — the Conservation Law Foundation and owners of a huge natural gas terminal in Everett — are asking the Supreme Judicial Court to review a regulatory ruling that gave electric distribution companies the green light to invest in new natural gas pipelines and have ratepayers potentially on the hook to help foot the costs. (Boston Herald)

Researchers from the Cape’s three major scientific organizations  are travelling around the world to study the effects of climate change. (Cape Cod Times)

Animals species are disappearing and taking their poop with them, causing a global crisis in nutrient-rich fertilizer. (U.S. News & World Report)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

An Eagle-Tribune editorial urges federal prosecutors to keep the pressure on Catherine Greig to reveal who helped her boyfriend Whitey Bulger while he was on the lam.

A clerk magistrate ruled in favor of Fall River City Councilor Patricia Casey in a small claims suit brought by a man who claimed Casey stole two cars from his late mother by forging the titles and transferring ownership. Casey, who is still facing a criminal investigation by State Police, said the woman wanted her to have the vehicles after caring for her in the final months of her life. (Herald News)

A Chicago bee-keeping business provides a model for re-entry programs. (Christian Science Monitor)

MEDIA

The National Journal is shedding 25 percent of its staff in a shift to a subscription model. (Politico)

The Huffington Post may be backtracking a bit on its position that Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency would only be covered on its entertainment pages. (Hot Air)

Dan Kennedy ponders Twitter’s slide and troublesome newspaper apps. (Media Nation)