Massachusetts 8th Graders Shine In Math And Science

Massachusetts eighth-graders are among the smartest in the world when it comes to math and science, according to a new study of academic performance.

The Trends in Mathematics and Science Study's latest assessment ranked Bay State students tied for second in the world behind only Singapore on the science portion.

When it comes to math, Massachusetts eighth-graders tied for sixth behind South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan.

Massachusetts students made a 14-point gain in mathematics and an 11-point gain in science since the last time the test was administered in 2007.

Massachusetts students performed the best among several states that participated as individual entities. The U.S. as a whole was ninth overall in math and 10th overall in science.

State education commissioner Mitchell Chester called the results ``remarkable.''  (Associated Press)