AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine's Education Department says New England Common Assessment Program test scores show writing improved for fifth through eighth grades while reading and math scores were flat.

Dan Hupp, director of standards and assessment, says officials are hopeful of a positive trend in writing but that it's too early to tell. In writing, 51 percent of students were deemed proficient last fall, compared to 46 percent in fall 2011 and 48 percent in fall 2010.

He says test scores for math and reading from grades 3 through 8 indicate "multi-year flat lining."

The New England Common Assessment Program, which is being retired after 2013 in Maine, is one of several measures of performance. In its place, Maine will administer a new, more sophisticated assessment system starting in the 2014-15 school year.