Miami-Dade may be the nation’s fourth-largest school district, but when stacked against its larger counterparts — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — the district tops the list in national reading and math scores, according to testing data released Wednesday.

The results of the 2011 National Assessment in Education Progress, dubbed the “nation’s report card,” show that Miami-Dade has largely been able to score higher than other large urban school districts and remain on par with its peers nationwide.

Held as the gold standard for comparison between districts, the NAEP exams are given every two years to a sample of fourth- and eighth- grade students throughout the nation to compare student achievement from state-to-state.

The U.S. Department of Education also pulls data from 21 urban school districts, including Miami-Dade, where the majority of students are minorities or classified as poor, to determine how those students measure up against their peers nationwide.

In 2009, Miami-Dade’s first time participating in the sample, the district received national praise for its scores among Hispanic and black students. The district managed to keep those scores steady, only dropping by 1 or 2 percent in most categories.

“Recognizing a number of factors, including growing poverty in our community, the fact that we were able to hold the ground from our 2009 scores, that we remain a national leader in the student achievement, I was fairly gratified,” Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.

Fourth-grade reading scores show that 67 percent of test takers scored at or above grade reading level, which is just above the national average of 66 percent, but one point below the district’s score in 2009.

Math scores for fourth-graders show that 79 percent of students had basic to advanced skills, one point below the district’s number in 2009 and just two points below the national average of 81 percent.

Nearly 70 percent of Miami-Dade’s eighth-graders scored at or above grade reading level, two points below the district’s score in 2009, and five points below the national average

Eighth-grade math scores indicate that 62 percent of students scored basic or higher on their exams, some 11 points below the national average.

“It speaks well for South Florida, particularly for Miami-Dade, that a diverse urban district can perform to the national level and in many cases out perform other large urban school districts,” Carvalho said.

Though Broward is the nation’s sixth-largest district, it is not included in the urban measure, because not enough students meet the poverty criteria.

Miami- Dade was initially the only Florida district included in the urban sample, but this year Hillsborough County was added. The Tampa-area district posted scores that were on average slightly higher than Miami-Dade’s

Both districts and their superintendents were heralded by Florida Education Commissioner Gerald Robinson.

“The commitment and leadership in these districts represent Florida’s focused mission to reduce the academic achievement gap while supporting our students in their pursuit of excellence,” Robinson said in a prepared statement.

Overall, test administrators say urban school districts have steadily increased their scores since 2003, closing the gap between large city districts and smaller suburban districts.

“We know that we’re still behind, but we seem to be narrowing the gaps,” said Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools.

Miami-Dade’s scores come amid a challenging two years of declining tax rolls and cuts to education funding.

Carvalho said he hopes the scores will remind state legislators that South Florida students are a worthy investment. On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott is scheduled to release his budget proposal for next year that will include an additional $1 billion in education funding.

“These milestones, that Miami-Dade students are making should be an inspiration to those who control the purse strings,” Carvalho said. “These are children worth investing in. They are providing the best return for their investment.”