A new report paints a rosier picture when it comes to the math and science scores of American students.

The study finds that American kids score above average on international fourth- and eight-grade math tests -- a significant improvement since 1995. But researchers also warn that the U.S remains well behind Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Korea, which reported dramatically higher math scores.

When it came to science, the study found that American scores were slightly better than in math, but that the scores have stagnated since 1995, and that Singapore and Hong Kong students now rate ahead of their U.S. counterparts.

The findings are latest by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.

Among its other results:

Girls are closing the gender gap, with half the countries showing no difference in test scores between boys and girls. In the other half, girls did better in a quarter of the countries, and boys did better in the other quarter.