High school students improved in math and writing but did worse in reading and science in the third year of

Michigan's revamped standardized testing program.

The state said Tuesday that 49 percent of public school students were proficient or advanced in math, up from 46 percent in 2008.

Eleventh-graders who took the Michigan Merit Exam in the spring would be eligible for the $4,000 Michigan Promise scholarship.

Students must score at the proficient or advanced level to get half of the cash up front.

Otherwise they wouldn't get the scholarship until finishing two years of college.

But the scholarship money is in danger of being cut because of Michigan's budget deficit.

The merit exam is the ACT college entrance exam plus a writing portion.