The State Schools Superintendent was in Bend Friday with a message for students and parents: to stay competitive worldwide- the State is raising the math test standards.  Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo says the U.S. currently ranks 17th out of 65 industrialized countries; and Oregon's student achievement is consistently in the middle of the pack compared to other states. She says they are trying to address that issue by asking students earlier to improve their math skills more: “So when we see the test scores for this school year we may see the test scores take a dip.  So we want your listeners to know that when we see the math scores for this year. It’s not that kids aren't doing as well in math; we're raising the bar we're asking them to aim for a higher target.”  Friday she met with local community and education leaders to explain the higher standards.  Castillo says while times are very tough, and budgets are tight, we can't afford long term to stay in the same spot or lower the standards because money is tight.