Incoming first-time freshman last fall in the California State University system were no more proficient in math or English than the previous year's class, disappointing officials who had hoped high school graduates would have been better prepared for college.

All incoming CSU students must take an English and math placement test to see if they need remedial courses. In the fall of 2003, 63 percent of incoming first- time freshman were proficient in math unchanged from the prior year. The share proficient in English rose one percentage point, to 52 percent.

The numbers mean CSU is not on pace to meet its 2004 target of 78 percent proficient in English and 74 percent in math. Its ultimate goal is to have 90 percent proficient in both subjects by 2007.

"This presents the case that we need to do something exceptional,' David Spence, CSU executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer, told the Board of Trustees at a meeting Wednesday.

The students' reading skills continue to be weak, he said. Although math proficiency has grown since the testing program began in 1998, English proficiency has stayed flat.

"Our problem is reading,' he said. "It's not writing ... and that is a tougher nut to crack than either math or writing.'

The exam assesses the academic skills of students who already have been admitted to the university.

The CSU system this spring will begin offering all high school juniors the chance to take a short version of the CSU placement exam. That optional exam will consist of a set of 30 questions and an essay tacked onto the state-required California Standards Test now given to students.

Students who do well on the questions would be exempt from the CSU placement test. Those who fall short would be asked to seek additional help and course work during their senior year to prepare them for taking the CSU placement test upon admission to a campus.

The new test was piloted last year at 100 high schools, including five in the Long Beach school district.

CSU faculty will help school districts prepare lagging students by creating a new senior reading course, training teachers and setting up an online math tutorial. The CSU is spending $3.9 million on those efforts.

Cal State Long Beach's proficiency numbers have improved during the past 10 years, said its president Robert Maxson. About 68 percent of CSULB students last year were proficient in math, and 54 percent in English.

"It's good news because all of our trend lines are going in the right direction,' he said.

Maxson credited the rising numbers to the university's work with the Long Beach school district.

At Cal State Dominguez Hills last year, 25 percent of incoming freshman were proficient in math and 18 percent in English. The university's president, James E. Lyons Sr., says the college serves urban public school districts that face challenges.

"We continue to work with the high schools in the region to help better prepare the students for college work,' he said.

Lyons said CSU's outreach programs, which may see their state funding eliminated under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget, are key to helping high school kids prepare for college.

"They are critical,' Lyons said. "To have our faculty members in the schools ... is a must.'