Word: 8th
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...Overall, the news is better on math than on reading. Average math scores have been rising slowly and steadily since 1996. The latest scores continue the trend with small increases - two points on a 500-point scale - for both 4th graders and 8th graders...
...reading, 4th grade scores have been rising gradually since 1996 and were up two points on this year's test. But progress in 8th grade remains elusive: the average 8th grade score (263) was the same in 2007 as it was in 2003 and 1998. Only three states (Florida, Hawaii, and Maryland) along with Washington, D.C., actually saw gains in both 4th and 8th grade reading scores. Seven states lost ground in 8th grade reading, compared with 1998 results. And despite the gains in 4th grade scores, not one state - not even mighty Massachusetts - has even half...
...This kind of stagnation, along with the disappointing results in 8th grade overall, will further fuel the current debate among educators over how America teaches reading. It appears that the recent emphasis on phonics and reading mechanics, encouraged by the Bush Department of Education, is helping in early years, but something different is needed to take students beyond an elementary level. "Substantial improvement in reading achievement is still eluding us as a nation," said Amanda Avallone, a member of the NAEP governing board, at a press conference carried live on the Internet. Avallone teaches 8th grade English in Colorado...
...other end of the spectrum is Washington, D.C., which, despite some progress, remains the shame of the nation. A staggering 51% of its 4th grade kids and 66% of 8th graders perform below basic level in math and 61% of District 4th graders read below a basic level. Also in the reading hall of shame are Mississippi, with 49% of 4th graders reading below the basic level; Louisiana with 48% at the bottom; and California with 47% of its 4th graders reading below basic...
...find it, is typical of the fascinating, and slightly maddening, National Museum. There is an extraordinary range of artifacts, stretching down the milleniums. One enters the building's main entrance through two huge stucco pillars that have also been brought in from the desert, this time from the 8th century Umayyad palace al-Hayr al-Gharbi, near Palmyra. Examples of what is suspected to be the world's first alphabet, Ugarit, show evidence of agreements between ancient kings and merchants carved in clay; just a few rooms away can be seen beautiful Korans and other incredible works of medieval...