Washington ? Reading scores for fourth and eighth grade students held mostly steady last year, continuing a stubborn trend of minimal improvement across most racial, economic and geographic groups.

Scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a series of federally funded achievement tests, rose in two states and the District of Columbia in grade four and in nine states for grade eight in 2009. Overall, the fourth-grade average remained unchanged while eighth-graders rose one point.

The average score for both grades was only four points higher than it was in 1992.

“Today’s results once again show that the achievement of American students isn’t growing fast enough,” Education Sec. Arne Duncan said in a statement. “Like the NAEP 2009 math scores released last fall, the reading scores demonstrate that students aren’t making the progress necessary to compete in the global economy.”