RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The results of a national exam show student reading scores have dropped despite a $150 million investment into a North Carolina literacy program.

News outlets report that scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as The Nation’s Report Card , were released Wednesday. The test is given to fourth and eighth graders every two years to study math and reading performance.

Basic reading skills for both grades dropped between 2017 and 2019.

State lawmakers created the “Read to Achieve” program in 2012 to get students reading on grade level by the end of third grade.

A 2018 North Carolina State University study found no benefit on reading scores from the program that received over $150 million. Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed a bill designed to retool the program.

Copyright 2019, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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