And Robin van Persie was likely learning basic arithmetic in about second grade.

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The average scores were categorized at each grade level into four groups: below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced.

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As a result, the percentage of people with 9th grade education (i.e. basic education) rose from just 9% in 1970 to 41.4% in 1998.

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But pi is a celebrity numerical phenomena it is simple and basic enough to be a part of the standard sixth-grade math curriculum, and yet so mysteriously complex that all the supercomputers in the world will never find its last digit.

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In 1998, the percent of fourth-grade students in the highest-poverty public schools who met or exceeded the NAEP Basic level in reading was about half the national rate, and progress in reading overall is only back to 1998 and 1990 levels.

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