Low-Income Students Make Gains Since 2000

• Both fourth-graders who were eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch and those who were not eligible scored higher, on average, and had higher percentages of students performing at or above Basic in 2005 than in previous assessment years.
• Eighth-graders eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch had higher average science scores and a higher percentage of students performing at or above Basic in 2005 than in 2000. Eighth-grade students who were not eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch had higher average science scores in 2005 than in 1996.