Fourth-graders' reading skills improve

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A study comparing student achievement says American fourth-graders are reading at a higher level than in the past, and higher than the average for the world.

Findings of the Progress in International Reading Literary Study, released Tuesday by the National Center for Educational Statistics agency of the U.S. Department of Education, indicate the American students' rating for reading was 556. That's higher than the international average of 500, and higher than their 540 rating in 2006 and 542 in 2011.

The report compared reading levels of fourth-graders in 53 educational systems around the world, and noted Florida participated as a separate system, although its statistics were included in those of the United States.

The five educational systems with average scores above the U.S. average were, in order, those of Hong Kong, Florida as a separate entity, Russia, Finland and Singapore.