More and more primary schools in England are upping their performance in meeting government academic targets. The latest data shows that in 2012 some 521 schools fell below the expectation for maths and English, compared with 1,310 last year. Of those educational institutions identified as underperforming, 47 had now closed, while 37 had become academies, a government spokesman said. He added that: “Schools have responded to the challenge. The floor standards we introduced were tougher and have improved performance.”