Last fall, fourth and eighth graders made gains on the state's standardized math test, but the scores still lagged behind over all.

President Bush wants to do so by requiring states to test third- to eighth-grade students each year and intervene if scores lag.

For the most part, students in affluent suburbs scored higher than those in poorer areas, and scores for black and Hispanic students lagged behind those of their white and Asian counterparts.

Although verbal scores lag somewhat due to the influx of new immigrants, combined SAT scores have also been higher than for most Americans.

The scores were an improvement over 1999, but still lagged behind the rest of the county.

Their verbal scores generally lag, but their combined scores are usually higher than those of white Americans.

Still Lagging Behind '91 On the latest test, administered in May, 48.6 percent of students in the second through 10th grades scored at or above the typical score for their grade.

And even where there were improvements, the scores lagged below the levels of two years before.

Their average score on the college admission test lags about 150 points behind the district average of 1130.

Eighth-grade scores have traditionally lagged behind fourth-grade scores, prompting debate over whether the eighth-grade tests have been written or scored to a higher standard.