PROVIDENCE — The picture still isn’t good compared to the rest of Rhode Island, but the situation in school and at home is improving for children in Providence, according to the 2007 Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook, released yesterday.

In almost every indicator the group measured in 2006, Providence is doing slightly better than the year before, and its five-year trends are promising.

“Those numbers that are starting to move in the right direction in Providence are a very good sign, one that will help momentum build over the next few years,” said Elizabeth Burke Bryant, director of Rhode Island Kids Count.

The city’s percentage of fourth-graders reading at a proficient level jumped 8 percentage points to 39 percent, and their math scores rose 9 points to 34 percent. Eighth-graders rose 7 points in reading, to 32 percent proficient, and 5 points in math, to 25 percent. While these numbers are still far below the state averages, Kids Count saw them as a significant improvement for one year.

And the city’s health and poverty indicators for children are also improving. Teen pregnancy and infant mortality rates continue to fall in the capital city. And the percentage of Providence children with elevated levels of lead in their blood is bottoming out, falling to 11 percent, after being at 19 percent in 2002.

“That’s been absolutely a success story,” Burke Bryant said of reducing lead paint poisoning. “We’ve made major progress; it’s really time now to finish the job in Providence.”

At the same time, versus 2005, fewer Providence children are receiving food stamps (down 2 percent to 73 percent) and fewer are on welfare (down 4 percent to 19 percent).

These numbers mirror statewide trends and may be less reflective of improvements in the poverty rate, and more so of the continued effort to wean Rhode Island residents off the welfare rolls. Until complete and accurate census data on the poverty rate comes out in 2010, it will be difficult to measure whether poverty levels are improving. Providence, with 40 percent of its children living under the poverty line, had one of the worst rates in the nation in the 2000 census.

“That is something that hopefully we’ll be making progress on in the next census,” Burke Bryant said.

Also, the student mobility rate, which measures how many children have moved in and out of the city or changed schools within the past year, declined from 31 to 29 percent, which Kids Count analysts said is an underappreciated yet important factor. Children who are constantly in transition and lack stability often have a tough time focusing on school.

Providence’s results in most of the 62 categories measured put it squarely in the middle of the other five “core” communities it is often compared with: Central Falls, Woonsocket, Newport, West Warwick and Pawtucket. In most categories, it exceeded Central Falls and Woonsocket, but trailed West Warwick, Newport and Pawtucket.

But comparing these cities only to one another, and then blaming them for bringing down statewide test scores, can be dangerous said Kati Haycock, director of the Education Trust, a national organization that advocates for higher educational standards.

Nationally, Rhode Island trails its peers on many established benchmarks, she said, and even its poorer cities and non-English speakers trail those in other states with similar demographics. Rhode Island has to set higher goals and start asking more from its students and teachers, she said.

“We absolutely can get these kids to high levels of achievement … these kids, though poor, can, in fact, achieve if we teach them at high levels,” she said.

“Don’t get me wrong, poverty hurts,” she added, and the conditions surrounding it can inhibit learning. “They make it more difficult. But they don’t make it impossible.”

She said that plans like the one under consideration in Providence to dramatically revamp school facilities citywide do help, “But in truth, it’s less the building than what’s going on inside it. That’s what really matters.”

dbarbari@projo.com