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Percentage of students, by reading achievement level, grade 4: 1992–2003

			Below Basic		At Basic		At Proficient		At Advanced		At or above Basic		At or above Proficient
Grade 4
Accommodations not permitted	1992		38		34		22		6		62		29	*
	1994		40	*	31		22		7		60	*	30
	1998		38		32		24		7		62		31
	2000		37		31		24		8		63		32
Accommodations permitted	1998		40	*	30		22		7		60	*	29	*
	2000		41	*	30		23		7		59	*	29
	2002		36		32		24		7	*	64		31
	2003		37		32		24		8		63		31

* Significantly different from 2003.
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
In addition to allowing for accommodations, the accommodations-permitted results at grade 4 (1998–2003) differ slightly from previous years' results, and from previously reported results for 1998 and 2000, due to changes in sample weighting procedures.
Significance tests were performed using unrounded numbers. NAEP sample sizes have increased since 2002 compared to previous years, resulting in smaller detectable differences than in previous assessments.
See more information about the reading achievement levels.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1992, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2003 Reading Assessments.

Major Findings

• The percentage of fourth-graders performing at or above Proficient was higher in 2003 than in 1992.
• No significant change was detected in the percentage of students at or above Proficient between 2002 and 2003.
• The percentage of fourth-graders at or above Basic in 2003 was not found to differ significantly from that in 1992.

See national achievement-level results in reading for grade 8.

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Last updated 8 March 2004 (JM)