NEW YORK — When the Education Department releases its biennial scorecard of reading and math scores for all 50 states this week, Florida and Texas are likely to look pretty mediocre. In truth, schools in both states appear to be well above average at teaching their students math and reading.

In 2013, the last time scores were released, Florida ranked 30th on the tests, which are given to fourth- and eighth-graders, and Texas ranked 32d. But these raw scores, which receive widespread attention, almost certainly present a misleading picture — and one that gives short shrift to both Florida and Texas.

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