A national measure of writing skills reveals that only about one-third of America’s eighth-grade students are proficient writers, reports The New York Times . The percentage drops to one-quarter among high school seniors.

I suppose it’s a matter of opinion as to whether you believe there has been significant improvement, as determined in The Nation’s Report Card: Writing 2007 . But as someone working in the financial industry at the moment, I would hate to invest money on a contract that offers a 30 percent odds of success.

(After the jump are charts showing how your state fared.)