Reading test scores for Wisconsin third-graders are down slightly this year.
The percentage of students statewide scoring proficient or better decreased to 74 percent this year -- down about two and a-half percent.
Although the results are down slightly this year, a gain of about nine percent was made between 1998 and 2000.
Fifty-seven percent of students from poor families scored proficient or advanced on the test, compared with 82 percent of students from wealthier families.
The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families says low-income families have fewer resources to help their children prepare for school.
