Here are the first few paragraphs of this article:
Baltimore's poor African-American students are reading on average as well as their peers, whether they are in a small town in North Carolina or a city such as Chicago, according to the results of a national test released Thursday.
The results of the most rigorous and reliable assessment of reading given across the nation show that the city still faces challenges in improving its schools. The majority of fourth- and eighth-graders didn't pass the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which doesn't test just whether they can read, but whether they can comprehend a long passage and write a short response.
"We are primed to take the next leap into a story which is increasingly about excellence rather than a story about chasing 'good enough,' " said city schools CEO Andres Alonso.
Results of the test showed that 42 percent of the city's fourth-graders are reading at a basic, proficient or advanced level, compared with 65 percent across the nation. In eighth grade, 54 percent of students were at basic or above, compared with 73 percent in the nation.
Only 2 percent of the city's fourth-graders were considered advanced readers and none of its eighth-graders were.
Baltimore scored below the average for cities, but still beat out a number of cities with large poor and minority populations. Washington, which made some of the largest gains over 2007 and has a schools leader who has pushed cutting-edge changes, still had lower scores than Baltimore for eighth-grade reading.
After reading that, would you think this would be the title?
I mean, what the hell?!!?!?!?!?!?!
Tell the damn truth! The kids in Baltimore City Public Schools performed HORRIBLY on the tests!
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