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Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration has pointed to improvements in previous state test results as a sign that its school reforms are working.

However, the most recent national math test for fourth and eighth graders indicate progress for students in city schools appears to have stalled since 2007, after showing gains in previous years.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is known as the nation's report card and the one true check on state test results. Unlike the state test, which every student takes, only a sample of students takes the NAEP, so while raw scores for city students went up slightly this year, the bumps were so small, they are not considered statistically significant.

The national test found that only 35 percent of city fourth graders and 26 percent of eighth graders are considered proficient in math. In comparison, state test results that show 84.9 percent of city fourth graders and 71.3 percent of eighth graders are proficient.

“Unfortunately, we have been relying very heavily on the state assessments as a way of benchmarking our progress and yet we now see that the NAEP scores are flat, suggesting that we have not observed growth in mathematics in New York City School children over the past couple of years,” said Aaron Pallas of Teachers College.

The city did improve more than the state as a whole, particularly in fourth grade. In 2003, city fourth graders lagged behind the rest of the state by 15 points, but now only five points stand between the city and state.

However, the national test also suggests the achievement gap between white students and black and Hispanic students in New York has not narrowed since 2003, even though it has been a particular focus of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.

State education leaders have made it clear that the New York State tests will be revised.

The Department of Education has been using state tests to grade schools, evaluate principals and, starting this year, determine teacher tenure. There is no word yet of what, if any, effect revisions of the state test will have on all that.