Distribution of Reading Questions: 2019 and 2022

The NAEP reading framework specifies the particular dimensions of reading literacy to be measured, as well as the percentage of assessment questions that should be devoted to each. The target percentage distribution for the two types of reading texts—literary and informational—and the cognitive targets in the assessment are presented in the tables below.

Target and actual percentage distribution of passages in NAEP reading, by grade and text type: 2022
Text Type	Target	Actual	Target	Actual
	Grade 4		Grade 8
Literary text	50	56	45	51
Informational text	50	44	55	49
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2022 Reading Assessment.

Target and actual percentage distribution of passages in NAEP reading at grade 12, by text type: 2019
Text Type	Target	Actual
Literary text	30	33
Informational text	70	67
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Reading Assessment.

The proportion of items related to each cognitive target changes from grade to grade to reflect the changing demands made of students as they mature.

Target and actual percentage distribution of questions in NAEP reading, by grade and cognitive target: 2022
Cognitive Target	Target	Actual	Target	Actual
	Grade 4		Grade 8
Locate/Recall	30	21	20	18
Integrate/Interpret	50	62	50	61
Critique/Evaluate	20	17	30	21
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2022 Reading Assessment.

Target and actual percentage distribution of questions in NAEP reading at grade 12, by cognitive target: 2019
Cognitive Target	Target	Actual
Locate/Recall	20	15
Integrate/Interpret	45	60
Critique/Evaluate	35	25
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Reading Assessment.

Last updated 17 October 2022 (FW)