Could do better — that is the verdict of the latest Terra Nova results.

Students have made progress in language and reading but are failing in mathematics, and overall school results are lagging behind the US average. A Ministry of Education report states: "During the 2008 test administration, no group exceeds the US Median Percentile of 50."

Dr. Henry Johnson, Consultant Executive Officer for Bermuda's education reform process, said yesterday: "We're certainly not where we want to be.

"The Ministry and the (Interim Executive) Board have said we want education in Bermuda to be among the world's best, and looking at these scores that's not true. We expect that over time the aggregate scores for Bermuda's students will be above 50 percent, eg: above the average."

The Terra Nova tests are administered throughout the US, and are based on a student sample representative of that country's population.

In Bermuda, students in grades P3-S2 take the tests in reading, language and mathematics, with scores produced for each subject as well as a total overall score.

Results for 2008 reveal reading scores rose among five of the eight student grades, while in language, seven of the eight school years showed progress.

In mathematics however, there were only signs of improvement in three of the eight grades. M1-M2 students between 2007-8 proved an exception, with a 'positive significant rate of growth'.

Education Minister Randolph Horton yesterday said Government would devise a new maths programme, similar to the Literacy Collaborative, to be implemented during the course of the academic year.

Although he could not provide any specifics, Mr. Horton said: "Those in the Ministry are working now on the exact plan going forward, to find a way to improve maths."

Announcing the 2008 test scores, he said: "I am happy to say that language and reading results are beginning to show real progress, while mathematics scores reflect the need for more attention.

"While newly-implemented programmes and practices, such as the full implementation of the Literacy Collaborative last year, are seen to be associated with improvement in student performance in reading and language, a new mathematics programme, similar to the Literacy Collaborative is being planned for this year in order to address the mathematics challenges."

Commenting on the results, Mr. Horton added: "They are not where we would like them to be, but we are improving. In some of our schools we've seen some pretty tremendous improvement in some areas and we will look to those schools who have done well and introduce what they have done to other schools."

Meanwhile, Terra Nova will stay in the nation's schools to provide a benchmark as to how the education system and local students are performing.

Dr. Johnson said: "If you don't have an international benchmark you could deceive yourself into thinking things are wonderful when they may not be. Our plan is to continue Terra Nova for the foreseeable future but we will also explore PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and TIMMS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study)."

He said this was necessary in order to compare Bermuda's public school system to "the broader international community".

"If Bermuda wants to be among the best in the world we're going to have to participate," said Dr. Johnson.