Alabama students showed improvement on standardized test scores, but also show more than half aren't meeting reading standards.
The Alabama Department of Education on Thursday released scores from the ACT Aspire test taken last spring by public school students.
Thirty-seven percent of third-graders statewide scored ready or exceeding reading standards. Forty-five percent of eighth graders were at that level in reading.
Test scores also show a downward decline in math skills as students get older.
While 59 percent of third-graders were rated ready or exceeding in math, the number dropped to 31 percent by eighth grade and 18 percent in tenth grade.
The good news, state education officials say, is there has been a steady rise in scores in almost every grade and subject over the last three years.