Report finds progress in narrowing achievement gap

"Some of the most significant improvements were seen in elementary black and Latino students: The percentage of fourth-grade Latino students scoring proficient in reading exams increased from 46 to 64 percent between 2002 and 2008, and from 36 to 53 percent for blacks. Similar jumps in proficiency were seen in fourth-grade math."

"Despite those improvements, however, the gap between white, black and Latino students remains significant: 81 percent of fourth-grade white students tested proficient in reading, compared to 53 percent of blacks and 64 percent of Latinos."

"That gap tends to widen as students enter middle and high school. Fifty percent of 10th-grade white students scored proficient in reading, compared to 17 percent of blacks and 30 percent of Latinos."