Public schools in New York city outperformed their urban peers in key areas and made striking progress narrowing the achievement gap for minority and low-income students, local media reported Friday.

Fourth graders in city schools scored higher than average in reading and math, compared to large urban school districts such as those in Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington D.C., according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly considered the nation's report card on education.

Among students eligible for federal free or reduced-cost school lunch programs, the city's fourth graders achieved the highest average reading scores in the nation.

City schools also had more success than their urban counterparts in narrowing the gap in average reading and math scores between black or Hispanic students and white students.

Between 2003 and 2005, the gap in average reading scores between white and black fourth graders in the city fell by one- third, while the national average difference was unchanged. The gap between average reading scores for white and Hispanic fourth graders in the five boroughs was also reduced by one-third.

Like the other large urban districts tested, New York City's scores lagged behind the national average overall, but the study showed fourth grade test scores in the city improved between 2002 and 2005.

The study also showed that eighth graders in city schools performed on par with other large urban districts.

Source: Xinhua