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• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota eighth-grade students are staying ahead of their peers when it comes to the latest science scores.
• South Dakota Secretary of Education Melody Schopp says the scores as measured by the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress are good, but virtually unchanged since 2009.
• Just one state -- North Dakota -- scored statistically higher than South Dakota's average scale score of 162. Eight states scored statistically the same as South Dakota.
• The national average is 151, a slight improvement from 149 in 2009. Scores are

based on a 300-point scale.
• Schopp says the students continue to perform well, but the state can't get complacent and rest on its laurels.
• The gender gap both nationally and in South Dakota remains, with boys continuing to outperform their female counterparts in science.
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