Question:
How are American students performing in reading?
Response:
The main National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports current reading assessment information for the nation and specific geographic regions of the country. The assessment program includes students drawn from both public and nonpublic schools and reports results for student achievement at grades 4, 8, and 12.
The main NAEP assessment data were first collected in 1992 and are reported on a scale of 0 to 500. From 2007 to 2009, there were no measurable changes in average reading scores for 4th-grade males and females or for 4th-grade students from any of the five racial/ethnic groups. From 1992 to 2009, male 4th-graders’ average reading scores increased from 213 to 218 and female 4th-graders’ scores increased from 221 to 224. At grade 4, the average reading scores in 2009 for White, Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native students were not measurably different from their scores in 2007. The 2009 reading scores for White, Black, and Hispanic students did, however, remain higher than scores from assessment years prior to 2007. The 2009 average NAEP reading scale score for 8th-graders was 1 point higher than the 2007 score and 4 points higher than the 1992 score, but the 2009 score was not always measurably different from the scores on the assessments given between 1994 and 2005. For 12th-graders, the 2009 average reading score was 4 points lower than the score in 1992 but 2 points higher than the score in 2005 (12th-graders were not assessed in 2007).
Average reading scale score of 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-graders, by sex and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1992 through 2009 | Selected student characteristic | 19921 | 19941 | 1998 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 |
4th-graders, all students | |||||||||
Total | 217 | 214 | 215 | 213 | 219 | 218 | 219 | 221 | 221 |
Sex | |||||||||
Male | 213 | 209 | 212 | 208 | 215 | 215 | 216 | 218 | 218 |
Female | 221 | 220 | 217 | 219 | 222 | 222 | 222 | 224 | 224 |
Race/ethnicity | |||||||||
White | 224 | 224 | 225 | 224 | 229 | 229 | 229 | 231 | 230 |
Black | 192 | 185 | 193 | 190 | 199 | 198 | 200 | 203 | 205 |
Hispanic | 197 | 188 | 193 | 190 | 201 | 200 | 203 | 205 | 205 |
Asian/Pacific Islander | 216 | 220 | 215 | 225 | 224 | 226 | 229 | 232 | 235 |
American Indian/Alaska Native | ‡ | 211 | ‡ | 214 | 207 | 202 | 204 | 203 | 204 |
8th-graders, all students | |||||||||
Total | 260 | 260 | 263 | — | 264 | 263 | 262 | 263 | 264 |
Sex | Male | 254 | 252 | 256 | — | 260 | 258 | 257 | 258 | 259 |
Female | 267 | 267 | 270 | — | 269 | 269 | 267 | 268 | 269 |
Race/ethnicity | |||||||||
White | 267 | 267 | 270 | — | 272 | 272 | 271 | 272 | 273 |
Black | 237 | 236 | 244 | — | 245 | 244 | 243 | 245 | 246 |
Hispanic | 241 | 243 | 243 | — | 247 | 245 | 246 | 247 | 249 |
Asian/Pacific Islander | 268 | 265 | 264 | — | 267 | 270 | 271 | 271 | 274 |
American Indian/Alaska Native | ‡ | 248 | ‡ | — | 250 | 246 | 249 | 247 | 251 |
12th-graders, all students | |||||||||
Total | 292 | 287 | 290 | — | 287 | — | 286 | — | 288 |
Sex | Male | 287 | 280 | 282 | — | 279 | — | 279 | — | 282 |
Female | 297 | 294 | 298 | — | 295 | — | 292 | — | 294 |
Race/ethnicity | |||||||||
White | 297 | 293 | 297 | — | 292 | — | 293 | — | 296 |
Black | 273 | 265 | 269 | — | 267 | — | 267 | — | 269 |
Hispanic | 279 | 270 | 275 | — | 273 | — | 272 | — | 274 |
Asian/Pacific Islander | 290 | 278 | 287 | — | 286 | — | 287 | — | 298 |
American Indian/Alaska Native | ‡ | 274 | ‡ | — | ‡ | — | 279 | — | 283 |
‡ Reporting standards not met.
1 Accommodations were not permitted for this assessment.
NOTE: Scale ranges from 0 to 500. Includes public and private schools. Excludes persons not enrolled in school and those who were unable to be tested due to limited proficiency in English or due to a disability. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). Digest of Education Statistics, 2010 (NCES 2011-015), Table 125 and Table 126 .
Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)
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