California students’ standardized test scores inched up this year, though gains among younger students were nearly canceled out by a drop at the high school level.

More than 3 million students in third through eighth grade and 11th grade took the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress in the spring. The pace of improvement was a little better than last year, but the results were hardly cause for celebration. Just under half the students met standards in English and fewer than 4 in 10 in math.