Those academics who scoff at standardized tests, and over instructors being forced to "teach to the test," should at least admit that standardized testing gives an indication where education dollars should be focused and where the problem areas reside.

The annual New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) test scores were released Tuesday, reflecting tests taken by Vermont third through eighth grade and 11th grade students.

What they seem to show -- as sweeping conclusions are always tricky based on one year's testing -- is that scores do improve when additional one-on-one instruction is provided to at-risk or failing students. The scores also show that a focus on writing has helped to improve those scores, and, perhaps the most glaring point: Math scores for 11th grade students remain abysmal statewide.

SVSU Superintendent Catherine McClure cited efforts to work one-on-one with students experiencing problems and in small groups for improving scores in several instances. Examples include higher scores at Bennington's three elementary schools. And writing by 11th graders became more of a focus last year and scores improved in general around the state.

The scores still do reflect, as might be predicted, the economic status of the majority of parents in a given school district, but that was not always the deciding factor. This shows even schools with more students from low-income families can improve, sometimes dramatically. The overriding lesson

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here might be that extra effort and personal attention can make a major difference.

What to do about the math scores for 11th graders, in which only 30 to 35 percent were judged proficient in many districts statewide and locally, defies an easy answer. Maybe we have to take a look at what juniors in high school are being asked to learn in math and whether it is reasonable for that age level for all but top students in the subject. And could there too wide a range of math requirements, which might prove confusing, if not daunting?

It might be better to ground high school students in more basic forms of math before pushing them into levels many obviously haven't mastered.

Those and other questions should be asked, because math is a weak link educationally in this state and around the country. It appears that students should just be asked to work harder, but the answer might not be that simple.

A lack of basic math skills in the U.S. has long been evident, in fact, in an era when millions can't understand basic household finances, never mind a mortgage or credit card agreement that might end with them filing for bankruptcy.