As the school year gets rolling in West Virginia, teachers and administrators throughout the state are once again tackling a persistent problem — the drop in math proficiency from elementary school to middle school to high school.

Once again, West Virginia Department of Education data show a consistent decline in math proficiency as students get older. It’s a problem the Northern Panhandle is not immune to.

Department of Education information shows:

• 58% of Hancock County fifth graders, 43% of eighth graders and 27% of 11th graders;

• 42% of Brooke County fifth graders, 35% of eighth graders and 23% of 11th graders;

• 58% of Ohio County fifth graders, 43% of eighth graders and 27% in 11th grade;

• 37% of fifth graders in Marshall County, with 36% in eighth grade and 21% in 11th.

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