Average reading scale score and change in score since 1992 and 1998 for public school 4th- and 8th-graders, by state and jurisdiction: 2003

Reading Performance of Students in Grades 4 and 8

Table 9-3. Average reading scale score and change in score since 1992 and 1998 for public school 4th- and 8th-graders, by state and jurisdiction: 2003

	Grade 4		Grade 8
State or jurisdiction	Average scale score in 2003	Change from 1992¹ average scale score	Average scale score in 2003	Change from 1998 average scale score

Nation²	216	2	261*	1
Alabama	207*	#	253*	-2
Alaska	212*	—	256*	—
Arizona	209*	-1	255*	-5**
Arkansas	214*	3	258*	2
California	206*	3	251*	-1
Colorado	224*	7**	268*	4**
Connecticut	228*	7**	267*	-3**
Delaware	224*	11**	265*	11**
Florida	218	10**	257*	3
Georgia	214*	1	258*	#
Hawaii	208*	5**	251*	2
Idaho	218	-1	264*	—
Illinois	216	—	266*	—
Indiana	220*	-1	265*	—
Iowa	223*	-2	268*	—
Kansas	220*	—	266*	-2
Kentucky	219	7**	266*	4**
Louisiana	205*	1	253*	2
Maine	224*	-3**	268*	-3**
Maryland	219	8**	262	1
Massachusetts	228*	2	273*	4**
Michigan	219	3	264	—
Minnesota	223*	2	268*	3
Mississippi	205*	6**	255*	4
Missouri	222*	2	267*	5**
Montana	223*	—	270*	-1
Nebraska	221*	-1	266*	—
Nevada	207*	—	252*	-5**
New Hampshire	228*	#	271*	—
New Jersey	225*	2	268*	—
New Mexico	203*	-8**	252*	-6**
New York	222*	8**	265*	1
North Carolina	221*	10**	262	-1
North Dakota	222*	-4**	270*	—
Ohio	222*	4**	267*	—
Oklahoma	214*	-7**	262	-4**
Oregon	218	—	264*	-2
Pennsylvania	219	-2	264*	—
Rhode Island	216	#	261	-4**
South Carolina	215	5**	258*	3**
South Dakota	222*	—	270*	—
Tennessee	212*	#	258*	#
Texas	215	2	259*	-2
Utah	219*	-1	264*	1
Vermont	226*	—	271*	—
Virginia	223*	3	268*	2
Washington	221*	—	264*	1
West Virginia	219*	4**	260	-2
Wisconsin	221*	-3**	266*	1
Wyoming	222*	-1	267*	4**

Other jurisdictions
District of Columbia	188*	#	239*	3
DDESS³	223*	—	269*	1
DoDDS⁴	225*	—	273*	4**

—Not available.
#Rounds to zero.
*Significantly different from national average in 2003.
**Change in score is statistically significant.
¹Testing accommodations (e.g., extended time, small group testing) for children with disabilities and limited-English-proficient students were not permitted on the 1992 reading assessment.
²National results for assessments before 2003 are based on the national sample, not on aggregated state samples.
³Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools.
⁴Department of Defense Dependent Schools (overseas).
NOTE: At the state level, the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) includes only students in public schools while other reported national results in this indicator include both public and private school students. Variations or changes in exclusion rates for students with disabilities and limited-English-proficient students in the NAEP samples may affect comparative performance results. Beginning in 2002, the NAEP national sample was obtained by aggregating the samples from each state, rather than by obtaining an independently selected national sample. As a consequence, the size of the national sample increased, and smaller differences between years or between types of students were found to be statistically significant than would have been detected in previous assessments. See supplemental note 4 for more information on NAEP.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (2003). The Nation’s Report Card: Reading Highlights 2003 (NCES 2004–452), tables 1 and 2 and figures 1 and 2, NAEP web data tool (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/), and previously unpublished tabulation (November 2003). Data from U.S. Department of Education, NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP),1992, 1998, and 2003 Reading Assessments.

NCES Headlines