NEW ORLEANS- Results from exams given to a cross section of fourth-and eighth-graders nationally showed Louisiana lagging the nation in terms of proficiency in subject matter - with improvements in some areas and declines in others.
    
The Nation's Report Card figures released Wednesday show that, while Louisiana fourth-graders' performance improved, only 29 percent of the Louisiana fourth-graders were deemed proficient in reading - 6 percentage points lower than the national score.
    
The percentage of eighth-graders considered proficient at reading was 23 percent, 10 percentage points lower than the nation.
    
Thirty percent of fourth-graders were considered proficient at math, compared to 39 percent of students nationally; Only 18 percent of eighth-graders achieved proficiency in math - 14 percentage points below the national figure.