The most unsettling results come later - with the eighth-grade scores, which show that early gains have not yet reached middle schools.

Elementary school students do well on standardized tests, and eighth-grade scores have been improving lately.

School officials across the region said they had taken similar steps to enhance eighth-grade scores.

Nationally, the eighth-grade average score was up a point.

The eighth-grade scores defied an upward trend in other grades.

The scores of Connecticut students exceeded the national average, although its eighth-grade scores dropped slightly.

Nassau also led the state this year for eighth-grade scores, with 65.1 percent of students performing at grade level, up from 63.5 percent.

After declining through 1990, eighth-grade scores rose through 1994.

What most test makers do is plot some eighth-grade scores on the y-axis of a graph and extend the line out in both directions.

The discussion of eighth-grade scores followed during a question-and-answer session.