by Krystal Paco

Guam - Guam student SAT-10 scores are showing improvement, but not enough to compete with national standards.

The figures which were released today, are consistent with prior years that show Guam students start strong in elementary but over time, decline.

Despite a strong 48% proficiency in reading in elementary years, by the time students get to senior year, only 14% score proficient.

Also consistent with prior years, DOE deputy superintendent Joe Sanchez says math continues to trouble not only Guam students but our national counterparts too.

"Math is where it's most profound. We actually see the students starting off relatively well 33% doing well in first grade, but that progressively goes down as we get to the higher grade levels," he said.

Only 1% of Guam students graduate proficient in math compared to national standards at 5%.