An Agriculture Department report says schools are generally doing a better job of identifying students who are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches.

But the report also notes there's a wide difference among the states.

The report to Congress says that in 2008-2009, 78 percent of schools identified eligible students by using government records of households already getting aid. Use of the so-called direct certification method was up 11 percentage points from the previous year. Direct certification helps eliminate lengthy applications.

The report obtained by The Associated Press says the top four states - Alaska, Delaware, New York and Tennessee - directly enrolled more than 90 percent of eligible students.

But the bottom four - the District of Columbia, Idaho, Missouri and New Hampshire - directly enrolled only 50 percent or fewer.

The Dakotas were near the bottom. North Dakota was at 55 percent and South Dakota at 52 percent.