The State Department of Education released data Monday September 13 showing that Monterey County students made significant gains on standardized tests this year.

The County Office of Education reports that for the first time in three years, local schools did better than those in the state as a whole in meeting state targets.

The percentage of Monterey County elementary schools that met federal standards for improvement on test scores was greater than the California average, but Monterey County middle schools did slightly worse than their counterparts around the state by the federal measure. The jury is still out on high schools because state officials have not yet determined graduation rates, which are a factor in the federal rankings.

Results for individual schools and school districts are available at cde.ca.gov,  the California Department of Education website.