Oregonians shouldn’t be satisfied with how well their children are learning to read. Glancing over state test results, many parents may have been pleased to see that more and more Oregon students are reaching the state’s grade-level reading benchmarks. Bend students, for instance, are doing even better. Students in Bend schools are meeting state standards in reading better than other Oregon students at almost all grade levels, according to the latest state report card.

The trouble is, Oregon students are not stacking up well nationally, as The Oregonian reported on Thursday.

Oregon teachers have done a good job of getting more students who read below their grade level to read at their grade level. As they would likely tell you, they’d like their students to do even better.

Among tested fourth-graders in public schools, about 70 percent of students in Oregon read at levels below what is considered proficient, according to the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress. By the time Oregon students reach eighth grade, they do a bit better on average. But, once again, nearly 70 percent of them read at levels below what is considered proficient.

Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, isn’t satisfied with the nation’s performance on the NAEP in reading or math.

“Like the NAEP 2009 math scores released last fall, the reading scores demonstrate that students aren’t making the progress necessary to compete in the global economy,” he told The Associated Press.

Oregon’s Department of Education took the report as a call to action. They put together a new, optional reading instruction plan for school districts. It sounds good in some ways. It’s based on research of what works. The Springfield School District has had some success with many of its recommendations.

The NAEP reading tests are indeed just one test — just one measure of the performance of Oregon students. Oregon students on other national tests do well, such as the SAT and the ACT, but that’s been primarily for college-bound students.

Oregon’s achievements on the SAT and ACT are something to be proud of. And we’d think it’s evidence that Oregon’s teachers will be able to do better for other students on reading as well.