According to a survey published Tuesday, American children have gotten better at Math, doing much better last year than in 2003, and they have a better ranking in global comparisons as well.

The survey, Trends in International Mathematics and Science (TIMSS), was conducted by the International Study Center at Boston College, revealed that fourth and eight-graders had higher test scores compared to previous years. When compared to students in other countries, American students scored better than average.

The math test compared fourth-grade students in 36 countries and eight-graders in 48 countries.

United States fourth-graders ranked ninth, scoring an average of 529 on math tests, where the global TIMSS average is of 500. They outranked students from 24 other countries and equaled students from four others. Countries that outranked the U.S. were mostly from Asia, with some from Europe, most notably the Russian Federation and England.

In the eight-grade tests, Americans ranked sixth, scoring 508 on average, compared to the TIMSS scale average of 500. Eighth-graders in the U.S. scored better than students from 37 countries and equaled peers in five other countries.

American students did fare well overall, however the percentage U.S. students who marked high results in Math was eclipsed by the percentage of the top-performing countries.

Some ten percent of American fourth-grade students scored average or above on international math benchmarks, compared to the international median for achieving the same, which was 5%. Only seven countries outnumbered the U.S. in the number of students hitting that mark, but those that did, were far and away; for instance Singapore, who ranked first of the seven countries had 41% of its students at or above advanced levels.

Six percent of U.S. eight-graders performed above or at advanced level, while the international median is 2%. The same seven countries outranked the U.S. in the number of eight-graders reaching the mark. Taiwan lead them, with 45% of students performing at or above the advanced benchmark.