Archived: U.S. STUDENTS SCORING HIGHER ON NATIONAL READING ASSESSMENT

A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE:
February 10, 1999

Contact: David Thomas
(202) 401-1579

U.S. STUDENTS SCORING HIGHER ON NATIONAL READING ASSESSMENT

Reading scores have improved significantly at all three grades tested in a national reading assessment, marking a "first" for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

According to the 1998 NAEP reading "report card," average scores increased since 1994 for students in grades 4, 8 and 12 -- lower performing 4th-graders and most middle school students made especially significant progress.

"These results are encouraging and show that we are beginning to move in the right direction," said Vice President Al Gore. "But it remains clear that we must work faster because there is much more room for improvement. Reading is the most basic of all basics and we must all work together to improve this critical skill for all of our nation's children."

Fourth-graders increased their average reading score to 217 in 1998 from 214 in 1994. Eighth-graders increased their average score to 264 in 1998 from 260 in 1994 -- this growth was concentrated within lower and middle-level students. Twelfth-graders increased their average score to 291 in 1998 from 287 in 1994 -- this growth was greater among middle and upper performing students. NAEP scales range from 0-500.

NAEP also reports on designated achievement levels.

According to the report, a greater percentage of 12th-graders performed at or above the "proficient" and "advanced" levels of achievement in 1998 than in 1994, while more 8th-graders performed at or above the basic and proficient levels in 1998 than 1994 and 1992. Fourth-graders showed no significant changes in achievement levels since 1992 or 1994, although average performance improved between 1998 and 1994.

The achievement levels are set by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). "Proficient" represents solid academic performance, "advanced" shows superior performance, while "basic" reflects partial mastery of reading material.

"When we don't teach our children to read well by the end of the third grade, they are often condemned to fall behind," Riley said. "We must encourage more parents to get involved, schools to strengthen their instruction on reading, and many more members of the community to volunteer as reading tutors."

The 1998 Reading Report Card for the Nation, released today by the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics, highlights what students know and can do in reading in the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades nationally. In addition, performance trends since 1992 are reported. State-level results will be presented next month.

The framework on which the test was based was developed by NAGB through a national consensus process. It measures students' performance in situations that involve reading different kinds of materials for different purposes. The framework was designed to measure: reading for literary experience (e.g. What is the plot? Describe the main character.); reading to gain information (e.g. What does this article tell you about? What could be added to improve the author's argument?); and, at the 8th and 12th grades, reading to perform a task (e.g. What is this supposed to help you do? What should you do next?)

The report reinforces the common perception that less TV plus more reading equals more competent readers. At all three grade levels in 1998, students who reported watching three or fewer hours of TV each day had higher average reading scores than students who reported watching more TV.

Among other findings:

across all three grade levels students who wrote long answers to questions involving reading at least once a week had higher average scores than students who did so only once or twice a year, or hardly ever;

4th- and 8th-graders in the Northeast and Central regions outperformed their counterparts in the Southeast and West; among 12th graders, students in the Southeast had lower average scores than those in the other three regions;

across all three grade levels, females had higher reading scores than males;

at grades 8 and 12, there was an increase between 1994 and 1998 in the average reading score of students attending public schools. For 8th-grade public school students, the 1998 average was also higher than the 1992 average; and,

the percentages of students who reported watching the most television -- 6 or more hours on a daily basis -- decreased since 1994 at all three grades assessed.

Known as the Nation's Report Card, NAEP has monitored trends in academic achievement since the 1970s and is the only continuing, nationally representative assessment of academic performance. The reading assessment marks the third time the subject has been assessed since the framework was updated in 1992.

Single copies of the report are available by calling 1-877-4ED-PUBS (1-877-433-7827). The report also will be available on the Internet at http://nces.ed.gov/.

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