Elementary and Secondary Education

Assessments

Table A-23-1. Average reading scale scores, selected percentile scores, and percentage of students at each achievement level, by grade: Selected years, 1992–2011

Grade, scale score, percentile, and percentage at achievement level	1992¹	1994¹	1998¹	1998	2002	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011
Grade 4
Average scale score	217	214	217	215	219	218	219	221	221	221
Percentile
10th	170	159	167	163	170	169	171	174	175	174
25th	194	189	193	191	196	195	196	199	199	200
50th	219	219	220	217	221	221	221	224	223	224
75th	242	243	244	242	244	244	244	246	245	246
90th	261	263	263	262	263	264	263	264	264	264
Percentage at each achievement level
Below Basic	38	40	38	40	36	37	36	33	33	33
At or above Basic	62	60	62	60	64	63	64	67	67	67
At or above Proficient	29	30	31	29	31	31	31	33	33	34
At Advanced	6	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8
Grade 8
Average scale score	260	260	264	263	264	263	262	263	264	265
Percentile
10th	213	211	217	216	220	217	216	217	219	221
25th	237	236	242	241	244	242	240	242	243	244
50th	262	262	267	266	267	266	265	265	267	267
75th	285	286	288	288	288	288	286	287	288	289
90th	305	305	305	306	305	306	305	305	305	307
Percentage at each achievement level
Below Basic	31	30	26	27	25	26	27	26	25	24
At or above Basic	69	70	74	73	75	74	73	74	75	76
At or above Proficient	29	30	33	32	33	32	31	31	32	34
At Advanced	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Grade 12
Average scale score	292	287	291	290	287	—	286	—	288	—
Percentile
10th	249	239	242	240	237	—	235	—	238	—
25th	271	264	268	267	263	—	262	—	264	—
50th	294	290	293	293	289	—	288	—	291	—
75th	315	313	317	317	312	—	313	—	315	—
90th	333	332	337	336	332	—	333	—	335	—
Percentage at each achievement level
Below Basic	20	25	23	24	26	—	27	—	26	—
At or above Basic	80	75	77	76	74	—	73	—	74	—
At or above Proficient	40	36	40	40	36	—	35	—	38	—
At Advanced	4	4	6	6	5	—	5	—	5	—

— Not available.
¹Accommodations during testing (e.g., extended time, small group testing) for children with disabilities and English language learners were not permitted during these assessments. Students were tested with and without accommodations in 1998.
NOTE: Average reading scale scores include public and private school students. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scale ranges from 0 to 500. Achievement levels define what students should know and be able to do: Basic indicates partial mastery of fundamental skills, Proficient indicates demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, and Advanced indicates superior performance. The 12th-grade NAEP reading assessment was not administered in 2003, 2007, or 2011. For more information on NAEP, see Appendix B – Guide to Sources.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), selected years, 1992–2011 Reading Assessments, NAEP Data Explorer.

Would you like to help us improve our products and website by taking a short survey?

YES, I would like to take the survey

or

No Thanks

The survey consists of a few short questions and takes less than one minute to complete.