Eighth-grade students in Latvia's native-language schools performed about as well as American students in a recent study of mathematics and science achievement.

The U.S. government-sponsored Third International Mathematics and Science Study last year tested the achievement levels of students in 38 countries as a way to gauge how American schools are performing, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. In Latvia, the study covered only native-language schools. Overall, more than 2,800 students in 145 schools were sampled in Latvia. Asian countries generally topped the list. In mathematics achievement, eighth-graders in Singapore had the highest national average score, 604. Latvia's average score was 505, while the United States had an average score of 502. In science achievement, Taiwan had the highest average score, 569, but Singapore was close behind with 568. The United States reported 515 and Latvia had 503. The lowest scores in both categories were recorded in South Africa. One finding of the study is that Latvian students' achievement in both math and science has "signficantly" increased from the last time the test was given in 1995.