From mid-August to early September, my head is spinning with numbers and percentages from student-achievement results released by the state Department of Education.

During that span, the department sends out the latest reports on STAR, API/AYP/PI and CAHSEE, that is, state test scores, academic-performance yardsticks and the high-school exit exam.

The last was the exit exam a week ago, and I’m still recovering today.

Analyzing these reports has gotten a little easier just by the fact that I’ve done stories on them over the years and kind of know what to look for.

Still, these reports spit out a lot of data, and spotting interesting details and trends out of nearly 200 public schools in San Mateo County is always a challenge.

But for the most part, the reports tell the same story each year but with different numbers:

The county’s students perform better than their peers statewide, but like those across the rest of the state and country, schools here are struggling to close the achievement gap, which shows that Latinos and African Americans, in particular, continue to lag far behind their white and Asian counterparts.