Alaska's youngest students are improving in math and reading. Older grades aren't.

Alaska's youngest students are getting better at math and reading. Its older ones aren't — and that split is the story in the state's latest test results, released Thursday.

Over the past four years, third through fifth graders posted steady gains: math proficiency rose from about 34 percent to 36 percent, and reading climbed from roughly 31 percent to nearly 34 percent. But in grades 6 through 9, the numbers barely moved — reading held flat near 32 percent, and math sat around 29 percent. Fifth graders were the bright spot across the board, topping every grade in reading and in science.

Even the gains come off a low floor. Most Alaska students still aren't testing proficient in math or reading, and in science — reported this year for the first time under the current test — fewer than four in ten met grade-level expectations.

"In general, we are not where we need to be with student learning," said Education Commissioner Deena Bishop, who pointed to the "clear upward trend in grades 3-5" while acknowledging that achievement in the higher grades "remains relatively flat."

That flatness is what has some lawmakers frustrated. At a spring hearing, Sen. Chuck Kopp said the state has "not really materially improved these outcomes" despite years of effort under the Alaska Education Challenge. "We have changed standards and tests, but not really the results," he said.

Bishop's bet is that the early gains will grow up with the kids. The improvement in the youngest grades tracks with the Alaska Reads Act, the state's push on early literacy — and separately reported figures show the share of K-3 students reading well below benchmark fell sharply last year, from 39 percent to 26 percent. Her expectation is that those students will carry the gains into the older grades that are stuck now. Whether that happens is the open question hanging over the numbers.