Among the high points: 83-percent of third-graders performed better than the
TAKS standard for reading last year; 9th grade math students posted a 10-point gain;
and there were specific gains for racial and ethnic groups.

"In Houston, it's very clear that African-American students and Hispanic students are outscoring their counterparts nationally, so that school district is not only improving across the board, it's bringing up the various racial sub-groups in the city," said Michael Casserly with the Council of Great City Schools.

Many Houston students made similar gains when they took other national tests too.