The reading test scores for the federal National Assessment of Educational Progress have been released.

In North Carolina:

The 2009 score for fourth graders (219) was not significantly different from the national average (220) or the 2007 score (218). The 2009 score is significantly higher than the 1998 score but has remained unchanged since 2002.

The 2009 score for eighth graders (260) was lower than the national average (262) and not significantly different from the 2007 score (259). The performance of eighth grade students has been unchanged since 1998, although the state average score spiked in 2002.

The bottom line is that North Carolina’s public schools continue to struggle with middle school reading instruction.