NASHVILLE (AP) — The Nation's Report Card shows Tennessee students making slight gains in science.

State education officials say the latest results from the National Assessment of Education Progress shows eighth-graders scoring higher in science than they did two years prior.

Nearly 31 percent of students scored at or above average in science when the kids were tested in 2011, compared with 28 percent in 2009. Tennessee ranks 32 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in NAEP science results.

Economically disadvantaged students also made gains in science.

State Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman said in a statement that he was pleased by the upward trend because Tennessee's new accountability model now measures science, instead of math and reading only.