The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released two reports based on the 2018 NAEP Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) study: a brief highlights report and a longer statistical analysis report. This statistical report presents detailed information about the 2018 NAEP ORF study, the first such NAEP study since 2002. The study was administered to a nationally representative sample of over 1,800 fourth-graders from 180 public schools. Students who participated in the study first completed the NAEP fourth-grade reading assessment. Then they read four short passages out loud to assess their oral reading fluency (i.e., the ability to read text aloud with speed, accuracy, and proper expression) as well as two kinds of word lists to assess their foundational skills (i.e., word reading and phonological decoding). Both the NAEP reading tasks and oral reading tasks were administered to students digitally, with student responses recorded on tablets.

The results indicate that for an estimated 1.3 million public school fourth-graders (36 percent) who performed below the NAEP Basic achievement level in reading in 2018, and in particular for an estimated 420,000 fourth-graders whose performance placed them in the lowest third of the below NAEP Basic level, fluent reading of connected text, such as paragraphs, is a major challenge. The challenge with fluency and foundational skills is particularly pronounced among Black and Hispanic students. These students read a passage at half the rate of a NAEP Proficient fourth-grader; misread 1 out of every 6 words, which are more likely to be content words that are important for comprehension, not function words (e.g., the, and, on); focus on individual words or phrases instead of the meanings of sentences and passages; read in a monotone voice, indicating lack of text comprehension; and show little knowledge of spelling-sound correspondence.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released two reports based on the 2018 NAEP Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) study: a brief highlights report and a longer statistical analysis report. This highlights report presents the key concepts and findings of the 2018 NAEP ORF study, the first such NAEP study since 2002. The study was administered to a nationally representative sample of over 1,800 fourth-graders from 180 public schools. Students who participated in the study first completed the NAEP fourth-grade reading assessment. Then they read four short passages out loud to assess their oral reading fluency (i.e., the ability to read text aloud with speed, accuracy, and proper expression) as well as two kinds of word lists to assess their foundational skills (i.e., word reading and phonological decoding). Both the NAEP reading tasks and oral reading tasks were administered to students digitally, with student responses recorded on tablets.

The results indicate that for an estimated 1.3 million public school fourth-graders (36 percent) who performed below the NAEP Basic achievement level in reading in 2018, and in particular for an estimated 420,000 fourth-graders whose performance placed them in the lowest third of the below NAEP Basic level, fluent reading of connected text, such as paragraphs, is a major challenge. The challenge with fluency and foundational skills is particularly pronounced among Black and Hispanic students. These students read a passage at half the rate of a NAEP Proficient fourth-grader; misread 1 out of every 6 words, which are more likely to be content words that are important for comprehension, not function words (e.g., the, and, on); focus on individual words or phrases instead of the meanings of sentences and passages; read in a monotone voice, indicating lack of text comprehension; and show little knowledge of spelling-sound correspondence.

These online Highlights reports present an overview of results from the NAEP 2018 civics, geography, and U.S. history reports. The reports include national results on the performance of eighth-grade students. Results are presented in terms of average scale scores and as percentages of students performing at or above the three NAEP achievement levels: NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, and NAEP Advanced. In addition to overall scores, results are reported by racial/ethnic groups, gender, type of school, and other demographic groups.

There was no significant change in the 2018 average civics score for eighth-grade students compared to the score in 2014. Reflecting the relatively stable overall average score since 2014, there were no significant changes in the scores of students at any of the selected percentile levels or for any of the major student groups that NAEP reports on. The 2018 average civics score was higher than the score in 1998. In addition, the scores of lower-performing students (those at the 10th and 25th percentiles) in 2018 were also higher than in 1998.

The 2018 average geography score for eighth-grade students was lower than in 2014. In 2018, scores for lower-performing students at the 10th and 25th percentiles decreased compared to scores in 2014, while the scores for middle- and higher-performing students remained relatively stable. There was no significant change in the 2018 score compared to the score from the first assessment in 1994; however, scores for higher-performing students (those at the 75th and 90th percentiles) were lower than in 1994.

In 2018, the average U.S. history score for eighth-grade students was lower than in 2014. Students at all selected percentile levels other than those at the highest level (those at the 90th percentile) saw a decrease in their scores. Compared to the score in the first assessment year in 1994, the 2018 average U.S. history score was 4 points higher. Students across performance levels made gains compared to 1994 except those at the 90th percentile, where there was no significant change in the score for these highest-performing students.

Highlighted results include responses of students and teachers to survey questionnaires designed to collect information about students’ educational experiences and opportunities to learn both in and outside of the classroom. In addition, the report includes sample questions from the assessments to help illustrate the types of knowledge and skills measured in civics, geography, and U.S. history.