Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs up to the steady, albeit slow, progress of student scores in the fourth year of the more demanding Smarter Balance test administered statewide to students in third through eighth grade. Results released Thursday by the state Department of Education show 55.3 percent of the students who took the test in the spring met or exceeded the proficiency benchmark in language arts, but only 46.7 percent did so in math. While most districts saw overall gains, gaps remain among certain subgroups; for example, the Hispanic students’ pass rate for math was only 25.2 percent, much lower than the average. A state Commissioners Council on Mathematics is working on recommendations to improve math learning for all students. A helpful feature of Smarter Balance is that it also measures individual student performance through the years.

Thumbs up to Connecticut’s budget tracking to finish the fiscal year in balance, as reported by state Comptroller Kevin Lembo last week. There’s still a stretch to go to reach the end of June, but the outlook is much better than the $717.5 million deficit projected in the spring. Revenue is higher than predicted thanks to more from the sales tax and increased income tax withholdings. Hold back on celebrating, though, because a $2 billion deficit remains in effect for the following fiscal year — and for the new governor and General Assembly to tackle.

Thumbs down to Metro-North’s dismal — and declining — on-time rates for train service, a review by Hearst Connecticut Media determined. Commuters on the Waterbury branch that goes to Bridgeport have only a 64 percent of getting there on time; the rates were better for the Danbury branch at 87 percent and the New Canaan branch at 78 percent. The New Haven Line, which runs to Grand Central Terminal, had a performance rate ranging from a high of 95 percent in April to a low of 82 percent in July. Metro-North considers a train on-time if it arrives up to nearly six minutes after scheduled. The state Department of Transportation and Metro-North blame ongoing upgrades and equipment upgrades. Lawmakers want improvement, however, and a dozen recently wrote to the DOT demanding action. Riders should be able to count on the railroad’s performance.

Thumbs up To local police and FBI officers who quickly jumped in to investigate a white powder incident that took place Friday at the Community Health Center at 263 Main St., Old Saybrook. The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Marshals Service, Connecticut State Police, Hartford and New Haven police departments, with other federal, state and local law enforcement and emergency services agencies, are investigating several incidents involving letters containing white powder that were mailed to government facilities and non-governmental organizations in Connecticut and elsewhere in the country, according to U.S. Attorney John H. Durham. Durham noted there have been no illness or injuries to date from seized and retrieved letters.