This is a comparatively small development compared with those achieved in many OECD countries in recent years.
Children from disadvantaged homes start school 19 months behind in their development compared with their peers.
And in arithmetic, 73.6% of boys reached at least the expected level of development, compared with 81.4% of girls.
Tony Bernazard, the Mets' vice president for development, compared Niese's growth as a pitcher this season to that of Daniel Murphy, a left fielder hitting.333.333
"[We have] an unmatched track record of player development compared with any other team, in particular in England," he said.
Ofsted also expressed concern about early years education in the region, naming Leicester as the poorest performing local authority in the country at foundation stage with only 51% of children achieving good development, compared with 66% nationally.
The gender gap among the youngest schoolchildren has narrowed marginally, but girls continue to lead the way in all early learning goals, with 74.3% achieving the expected level of development compared with 58.6% of boys.
In telephone interviews today, leaders of environmental organizations expressed exasperation at the Bush administration's proposed course, saying it was impossible to say, at least for now, just how much land might be reopened to development, compared with the Clinton approach.
Brazil spends a paltry 1.1% of its GDP on research and development compared with 1.4% in China and 3.4% in Japan.
Paul DePodesta, who leads the Mets' department of amateur scouting and player development, compared baseball to golf, saying both sports often require refined skill rather than raw athleticism.
Latin American firms invest only 0.5% of gross revenues in research and development, compared with the 2% spent by companies in the rich world.
