Students in the Newburg School District failed to meet proficiency standards in both the communication arts and math sections of the Missouri Assessment Program for the second year in a row.

On a district-wide scale, 43 percent of the 500 students scored at a proficient or advanced level on the 2008 MAP test in communication arts. For a district to be cosidered proficient, 59.2 percent of students must score proficient or advanced.

For the math test, 33 percent of students scored proficient or advanced. The district’s proficient level for the math test was set at 54.1 percent of the students.

“The board has been concerned with our scores for the last three years,” said Ron Smith, the Board of Education president.

Proficiency rates in both areas for the district and the individual schools, however, are up from the previous year.

In communication arts, with the exception of last year, the district passed the state requirements. Math, however, has seen the district failed to reach state requirements for the past three years.