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Percentage of students, by reading achievement level, grade 8: 1992–2003

			Below Basic		At Basic		At Proficient		At Advanced		At or above Basic		At or above Proficient
Grade 8
Accommodations not permitted	1992		31	*	40		26	*	3		69	*	29	*
	1994		30	*	40	*	27	*	3		70	*	30	*
	1998		26		41		31		3		74		33
Accommodations permitted	1998		27		41		30		3		73		32
	2002		25	*	43	*	30		3		75	*	33
	2003		26		42		29		3		74		32

* Significantly different from 2003.  
NOTE: Data were not collected at grade 8 in 2000. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.  
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, 2002, and 2003 Reading Assessments.  

Major Findings

• The percentage of eighth-grade students performing at or above Proficient was higher in 2003 than in 1992.
• The percentage of eighth-grade students performing at or above Basic decreased by one point between 2002 and 2003; the percentage was higher in 2003 than in 1992.

See national achievement-level results in reading for grade 4.

Return to main results.

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Last updated 8 March 2004 (JM)