Percentage of students, by writing achievement level and school reported race/ethnicity, grade 8: 1998 and 2002

		Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced	At or above Basic	At or above Proficient
Grade 8
White	1998	11	57 *	31 *	1 *	89	33 *
	2002	10	52	35	3	90	38
Black	1998	29	63	8 *	#	71	8 *
	2002	26	61	13	#	74	13
Hispanic	1998	30	60	10 *	#	70	10 *
	2002	27	57	16	1	73	16
Asian/Pacific Islander	1998	15	54	30	2	85	32
	2002	12	48	37	4	88	40
American Indian/Alaska Native	1998	32	57	11	#	68	11
	2002	27	57	15	1	73	16
Other	1998	14	57	28	1	86	29
	2002	15	54	30	2	85	31

# Percentage rounds to zero.
* Significantly different from 2002.
NOTE: NAEP reports assessment results in terms of student performance standards called "achievement levels," which are set by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). The three levels for each grade are Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. See more information about the writing achievement levels.
Percentages within each writing achievement level range may not add to 100, or to the exact percentages at or above achievement levels, due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998 and 2002 Writing Assessments.

Major Findings

• The percentages of White, Black, and Hispanic eighth-graders at or above Proficient were higher in 2002 than in 1998.

See the national writing achievement level results by race/ethnicity for grade 4 and grade 12.

Return to national subgroup results page.

Return to main results.

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Last updated 10 July 2003 (JBJ)