The paper summarizes a National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report, "Reading, Science and Mathematic Trends: A Closer Look," in which achievement trends are compared in several subjects for 4th, 8th, and 11th grade black students, white students, low achievers, and high achievers. Findings indicate that while overall performance in mathematics and science declined, reading performance remained stable. Students in the lowest performance quartiles realized greater gains than did those in the highest quartiles. Although black students in both the lowest and highest quartiles showed more improvement in reading and mathematics than their white counterparts, all highest quartile 17-year-olds suffered substantial losses in mathematics and science. State boards of education and teacher training institutions might ensure higher achievement levels in science and mathematics by: (1) reviewing the relationship between teacher training and curricular needs in mathematics and science; (2) reconsidering current retention and remediation policies that separate students from their age/grade group for remediation; and (3) ensuring that the curriculum covers both low level and high level skills. (LH)