Washington students above average

SEATTLE – Washington eighth-graders do better than the national average on a science test that is given to kids across the country. But two-thirds of the middle school students given the national science assessment still aren’t proficient in the subject.

That’s better than the national average, with seven out of 10 kids not scoring at the proficient level.

The results of the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress, also called the Nation’s Report Card,were released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education.

The average score in Washington was 156; the national average was 152. Washington did better than 26 other states and jurisdictions and had scores similar to 11.