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Digest of Education Statistics
2006 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 117. Percentage of students at or above selected writing proficiency levels, by grade level and selected student characteristics: 2002 
Selected student characteristic Percentage of 4th-graders Percentage of 8th-graders Percentage of 12th-graders
Below basic At or above basic At or above proficient At advanced Below basic At or above basic At or above proficient At advanced Below basic At or above basic At or above proficient At advanced
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
All students 14 (0.4) 86 (0.4) 28 (0.4) 2 (0.1) 15 (0.4) 85 (0.4) 31 (0.6) 2 (0.1) 26 (0.7) 74 (0.7) 24 (0.8) 2 (0.2)
Sex                                                
Male 19 (0.5) 81 (0.5) 20 (0.5) 1 (0.1) 21 (0.6) 79 (0.6) 21 (0.6) 1 (0.1) 37 (1.0) 63 (1.0) 14 (0.8) 1 (0.1)
Female 9 (0.3) 91 (0.3) 36 (0.6) 3 (0.2) 9 (0.3) 91 (0.3) 42 (0.8) 3 (0.2) 15 (0.7) 85 (0.7) 33 (1.0) 3 (0.3)
                                                 
Race/ethnicity                                                
White 9 (0.2) 91 (0.2) 35 (0.4) 3 (0.2) 9 (0.4) 91 (0.4) 39 (0.6) 3 (0.2) 20 (0.7) 80 (0.7) 28 (0.9) 2 (0.3)
Black 21 (0.6) 79 (0.6) 15 (0.7) 1 (0.2) 25 (1.0) 75 (1.0) 13 (0.6) # (†) 41 (1.8) 59 (1.8) 9 (1.0) # (†)
Hispanic 22 (1.1) 78 (1.1) 18 (0.7) 1 (0.2) 27 (0.8) 73 (0.8) 17 (0.9) 1 (0.2) 38 (1.5) 62 (1.5) 13 (1.2) # (†)
Asian/Pacific Islander 7 (0.8) 93 (0.8) 42 (2.0) 4 (0.7) 10 (1.0) 90 (1.0) 42 (2.3) 3 (0.6) 24 (2.5) 76 (2.5) 26 (3.2) 3 (1.0)
American Indian/Alaska Native 20 (1.2) 80 (1.2) 16 (1.0) 1 (0.3) 23 (2.5) 77 (2.5) 18 (2.9) 1 (#) (†) (†) (†) (†)
                                                 
Parents' highest level of education                                                
Not high school graduate (†) (†) (†) (†) 26 (1.3) 74 (1.3) 14 (1.0) # (†) 43 (2.1) 57 (2.1) 8 (1.4) # (†)
Graduated high school (†) (†) (†) (†) 19 (0.7) 81 (0.7) 20 (0.6) 1 (0.2) 32 (1.2) 68 (1.2) 14 (1.1) 1 (0.2)
Some college (†) (†) (†) (†) 11 (0.6) 89 (0.6) 31 (0.8) 1 (0.2) 23 (1.0) 77 (1.0) 22 (1.3) 1 (0.2)
Graduated college (†) (†) (†) (†) 9 (0.4) 91 (0.4) 43 (0.8) 4 (0.2) 18 (0.9) 82 (0.9) 32 (1.0) 3 (0.4)
                                                 
Free/reduced-price lunch eligibility                                                
Eligible 22 (0.8) 78 (0.8) 15 (0.5) 1 (0.1) 26 (0.6) 74 (0.6) 16 (0.6) 1 (0.1) 40 (1.5) 60 (1.5) 11 (1.0) 1 (0.2)
Not eligible 8 (0.3) 92 (0.3) 36 (0.6) 3 (0.2) 9 (0.4) 91 (0.4) 39 (0.8) 3 (0.2) 23 (0.8) 77 (0.8) 26 (1.0) 2 (0.3)
Information not available 10 (1.1) 90 (1.1) 34 (1.6) 3 (0.3) 11 (0.7) 89 (0.7) 39 (1.7) 4 (0.6) 19 (1.3) 81 (1.3) 29 (1.6) 2 (0.4)
—Not available.
† Not applicable.
# Rounds to zero.
NOTE: Includes public and private schools. Excludes persons unable to be tested due to limited proficiency in English or due to a disability (and the accommodations provided were not sufficient to enable the test to properly reflect the students' writing profi­ciency). In 2002, the NAEP national samples of 4th- and 8th-graders were obtained by aggregating the samples from each state, rather than by independently selecting national samples for grades 4 and 8. As a consequence, the size of the national samples increased for these grade levels, and smaller differences were found to be statistically significant than would have been detected in previous assessments. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic origin. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2002 Writing Assessment; and unpublished tabulations, NAEP Data Explorer (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/), retrieved August 2003. (This table was prepared August 2003.)

2006 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest