AUSTIN – Black students in Texas were among the best in the nation on a national math test this year, while the state as a whole ranked near the middle on the "Nation's Report Card" exam.

Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, released Wednesday, indicated that black eighth-graders in Texas tied Massachusetts for first place on the math test, while black fourth-graders from Texas earned the third-highest score among the states.

Overall, Texas ranked 27th on the fourth-grade exam and 18th on the eighth-grade exam. The state's ranking was primarily the result of its large proportion of minority students – who typically score lower than white students on standardized tests – compared with other states.

White fourth-graders in Texas tied for fifth place in their peer group, and Hispanic fourth-graders in Texas ranked eighth nationwide. White and Hispanic eighth-graders each ranked fourth within their peer groups.

The assessment test is closely monitored because it is the only one given to students in all states and is the basis for the Nation's Report Card, issued by the U.S. Department of Education. The test was given to a scientifically selected sample of nearly 330,000 fourth- and eighth-graders in all states earlier this year.

"Today's results describe the strong performance Texas students have consistently shown on the NAEP mathematics test," state Education Commissioner Robert Scott said. "Our rigorous state standards in math provide a solid academic base for our students."

Nationally, scores for fourth-graders showed no overall increase from the last exam two years ago, while scores for eighth-graders went up slightly. This year marked the first time there was no increase in fourth-grade scores dating back nearly two decades.

"With a lack of progress at fourth grade and large achievement gaps that are relatively unchanged, we need to re-examine our efforts to improve student achievement in math," said David Driscoll, chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the assessment.

The long-standing achievement gaps between white and minority students in Texas remain, although they have diminished somewhat since the assessment was first administered in 1990.

Education consultant Edward J. Fuller of the University Council for Education Administration at the University of Texas in Austin said that although minority students in Texas have done well compared with their peers in other states, it will take decades for them to draw even with white students on the assessment test at their current rate of improvement.

Fuller said it has taken nearly 15 years for black and Hispanic fourth-graders to reach the same level of achievement as white students in 1992, and it has taken nearly two decades for black and Hispanic eighth-graders to achieve the same level as white students in 1990.

Recent scores, he noted, also indicate that gaps between white and minority students in fourth grade are no longer closing, another major area of concern.