Digest of Education Statistics
2001 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

Table 116. Average proficiency in reading for 4th-graders in public schools, by selected characteristics, and state: 1994 and 1998

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                     |           1994              |                       1998
                     |_____________________________|_______________________________________________________________________________________
                     |         |       Sex         |         |        Sex        |          Race/ethnicity
        State        |         |___________________|         |___________________|_________________________________________________________
                     | Average |         |         | Average |         |         |          |           |         |            |American
                     |         |  Male   |  Female |         |  Male   |  Female |  White   |   Black   | Hispanic|Asian/      |Indian/
                     |         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |Pacific     |Alaskan
                     |         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |Islander    |Native
_____________________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|__________|___________|_________|____________|___________
          1          |    2    |    3    |    4    |    5    |    6    |    7    |    8     |     9     |   10    |    11      |   12
_____________________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|__________|___________|_________|____________|___________
  United States\1\ ..|212 (1.1)|207 (1.3)|218 (1.2)|215 (0.8)|212 (1.2)|218 (0.8)| 225 (0.9)|  193 (1.8)|195 (1.9)|  222  (2.8)|  200 (3.2)
                     |_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|__________|___________|_________|____________|___________
Alabama .............|208 (1.5)|203 (1.9)|213 (1.6)|211 (1.8)|208 (1.8)|214 (2.1)| 222 (2.0)|  193 (2.0)|190 (4.5)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Arizona  ............|206 (1.9)|201 (2.2)|211 (2.1)|207 (2.0)|201 (2.2)|212 (2.3)| 220 (1.4)|  190 (3.8)|186 (3.7)|(\2\) (\2\) |  202 (4.3)
Arkansas ............|209 (1.7)|204 (1.9)|213 (1.8)|209 (1.5)|206 (1.8)|212 (1.7)| 218 (1.3)|  186 (2.4)|187 (5.3)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
California\3\ .......|197 (1.8)|194 (1.9)|200 (2.2)|202 (3.2)|198 (3.6)|206 (3.3)| 217 (2.6)|  189 (4.6)|181 (5.2)|  215  (5.1)|(\2\) (\2\)
Colorado ............|213 (1.3)|209 (1.8)|218 (1.5)|222 (1.3)|218 (1.7)|225 (1.5)| 229 (1.3)|  202 (4.4)|202 (2.1)|  228  (6.8)|(\2\) (\2\)
                     |         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |            |
Connecticut .........|222 (1.6)|218 (1.8)|226 (2.0)|232 (1.9)|229 (2.0)|234 (2.0)| 240 (1.7)|  205 (3.1)|205 (3.9)|  244  (4.3)|(\2\) (\2\)
Delaware ............|206 (1.1)|200 (2.1)|212 (1.5)|212 (1.3)|208 (1.5)|216 (1.9)| 220 (1.5)|  199 (1.9)|193 (3.8)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
District of Columbia |---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |182 (1.4)|177 (1.8)|186 (2.1)| 231 (5.9)|  180 (1.6)|168 (4.3)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Florida .............|205 (1.7)|199 (2.1)|210 (1.8)|207 (1.5)|203 (1.9)|212 (1.7)| 219 (1.8)|  189 (2.2)|200 (3.0)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Georgia .............|207 (2.4)|201 (3.0)|212 (2.2)|210 (1.6)|206 (1.9)|213 (1.7)| 225 (2.0)|  193 (2.0)|193 (4.2)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Hawaii ..............|201 (1.7)|194 (2.1)|208 (1.7)|200 (1.8)|194 (2.5)|205 (1.8)| 211 (2.3)|  195 (4.6)|183 (3.5)|  201  (2.3)|  183 (5.6)
                     |         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |            |
Indiana .............|220 (1.3)|216 (1.5)|223 (1.5)|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- | ---  --- |  ---  --- |---  --- |  ---   --- |  ---  ---
Iowa\3\ .............|223 (1.3)|219 (1.6)|227 (1.5)|223 (1.2)|218 (1.5)|228 (1.4)| 226 (1.2)|  192 (4.1)|210 (2.7)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Kansas\3\ ...........|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |222 (1.5)|219 (1.6)|226 (1.6)| 228 (1.5)|  198 (3.7)|207 (3.7)|(\2\) (\2\) |  214 (5.3)
Kentucky ............|212 (1.6)|206 (1.8)|217 (2.0)|218 (1.5)|216 (1.8)|220 (1.6)| 221 (1.5)|  196 (3.0)|195 (5.1)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Louisiana ...........|197 (1.3)|193 (1.6)|200 (1.7)|204 (1.5)|199 (1.8)|209 (1.6)| 222 (1.3)|  186 (2.0)|184 (4.1)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
                     |         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |            |
Maine ...............|228 (1.3)|225 (1.6)|231 (1.6)|225 (1.2)|222 (1.4)|229 (1.5)| 227 (1.2)|(\2\) (\2\)|208 (6.2)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Maryland ............|210 (1.5)|205 (1.8)|214 (1.8)|215 (1.6)|209 (2.0)|221 (1.6)| 229 (1.7)|  195 (2.4)|200 (4.1)|  230  (5.4)|(\2\) (\2\)
Massachusetts\3\ ....|223 (1.3)|221 (1.5)|226 (1.5)|225 (1.4)|221 (1.6)|229 (1.7)| 231 (1.3)|  202 (3.2)|200 (3.3)|  216  (5.5)|(\2\) (\2\)
Michigan ............|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |217 (1.7)|212 (1.9)|221 (1.8)| 225 (1.3)|  191 (3.9)|193 (4.8)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Minnesota\3\ ........|218 (1.4)|214 (1.5)|223 (1.9)|222 (1.5)|218 (1.9)|226 (1.5)| 226 (1.5)|  190 (4.7)|203 (5.6)|  216 (10.1)|(\2\) (\2\)
                     |         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |            |
Mississippi .........|202 (1.6)|196 (1.6)|207 (1.9)|204 (1.5)|201 (1.8)|208 (1.5)| 217 (1.8)|  192 (1.9)|183 (3.4)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Missouri ............|217 (1.5)|213 (1.9)|221 (1.8)|216 (1.7)|211 (2.0)|222 (1.6)| 223 (1.4)|  190 (3.6)|196 (4.5)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Montana\3\ ..........|222 (1.4)|218 (1.6)|227 (1.7)|226 (1.7)|221 (2.0)|231 (2.7)| 230 (1.6)|(\2\) (\2\)|207 (6.2)|(\2\) (\2\) |  209 (3.9)
Nebraska\4\ .........|220 (1.5)|216 (1.5)|224 (1.9)|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- | ---  --- |  ---  --- |---  --- |  ---   --- |  ---  ---
Nevada ..............|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |208 (1.4)|204 (1.6)|211 (1.9)| 215 (1.4)|  189 (3.1)|195 (2.0)|  216  (3.6)|  199 (5.8)
                     |         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |            |
New Hampshire\3\ ....|223 (1.5)|218 (1.6)|229 (1.8)|226 (1.3)|222 (1.8)|229 (1.5)| 227 (1.3)|(\2\) (\2\)|201 (5.2)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
New Jersey ..........|219 (1.2)|216 (1.5)|222 (1.3)|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- | ---  --- |  ---  --- |---  --- |  ---   --- |  ---  ---
New Mexico ..........|205 (1.7)|201 (2.1)|208 (1.8)|206 (2.0)|202 (2.0)|209 (2.6)| 222 (1.8)|  183 (7.1)|199 (1.7)|(\2\) (\2\) |  181 (8.6)
New York\3\ .........|212 (1.4)|207 (1.8)|216 (1.6)|216 (1.6)|214 (1.7)|218 (2.0)| 227 (1.2)|  193 (2.8)|194 (2.8)|  234  (5.2)|(\2\) (\2\)
North Carolina ......|214 (1.5)|209 (1.7)|220 (1.8)|217 (1.3)|213 (1.7)|220 (1.7)| 227 (1.4)|  200 (2.0)|196 (3.2)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
                     |         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |            |
North Dakota ........|225 (1.2)|221 (1.5)|230 (1.5)|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- | ---  --- |  ---  --- |---  --- |  ---   --- |  ---  ---
Oklahoma ............|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |220 (1.1)|219 (1.2)|220 (1.5)| 225 (1.1)|  192 (5.0)|207 (2.5)|(\2\) (\2\) |  214 (2.4)
Oregon ..............|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |214 (1.6)|210 (1.8)|218 (1.9)| 220 (1.6)|  202 (5.2)|191 (3.4)|  215  (5.3)|  197 (4.1)
Pennsylvania\4\ .....|215 (1.6)|211 (1.8)|220 (1.9)|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- | ---  --- |  ---  --- |---  --- |  ---   --- |  ---  ---
Rhode Island\4\ .....|220 (1.3)|215 (1.5)|225 (1.5)|218 (1.7)|217 (2.3)|220 (2.3)| 227 (1.4)|  197 (3.6)|185 (5.1)|  211  (6.4)|(\2\) (\2\)
                     |         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |            |
South Carolina ......|203 (1.4)|199 (1.7)|208 (1.6)|210 (1.3)|207 (1.5)|214 (1.6)| 223 (1.5)|  197 (1.7)|189 (3.9)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Tennessee\4\ ........|213 (1.7)|208 (2.1)|217 (1.9)|212 (1.5)|209 (1.7)|216 (1.8)| 220 (1.6)|  193 (2.4)|193 (6.1)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Texas ...............|212 (1.9)|210 (2.0)|214 (2.1)|217 (2.1)|213 (2.3)|221 (2.1)| 232 (1.9)|  197 (3.5)|204 (2.7)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Utah ................|217 (1.3)|213 (1.7)|222 (1.3)|215 (1.3)|212 (1.8)|219 (1.5)| 222 (1.2)|(\2\) (\2\)|189 (3.0)|  208  (6.5)|  190 (7.2)
Virginia ............|213 (1.5)|208 (1.8)|219 (1.5)|218 (1.3)|214 (1.8)|223 (1.4)| 226 (1.5)|  203 (1.8)|198 (4.2)|  230  (4.3)|(\2\) (\2\)
                     |         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |            |
Washington  .........|213 (1.5)|209 (1.8)|217 (1.7)|217 (1.3)|212 (1.5)|222 (1.6)| 221 (1.4)|  198 (4.4)|195 (3.4)|  220  (3.2)|  208 (4.5)
West Virginia .......|213 (1.1)|208 (1.4)|218 (1.4)|216 (1.5)|213 (1.8)|219 (1.8)| 219 (1.4)|  192 (3.0)|196 (5.1)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Wisconsin\3\\4\ .....|224 (1.1)|221 (1.2)|227 (1.5)|224 (1.2)|222 (1.8)|226 (1.3)| 230 (1.1)|  193 (2.5)|208 (2.7)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
Wyoming .............|221 (1.2)|218 (1.3)|224 (1.6)|219 (1.6)|216 (2.0)|223 (1.8)| 222 (1.9)|(\2\) (\2\)|207 (3.2)|(\2\) (\2\) |  205 (6.9)
                     |=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|==========|===========|=========|============|===========
                     |         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |            |
Department of Defense|         |         |         |         |         |         |          |           |         |            |
  overseas schools  .|218 (0.9)|213 (1.3)|223 (1.0)|223 (1.1)|219 (1.4)|228 (1.3)| 229 (1.5)|  212 (3.6)|216 (4.2)|  227  (2.8)|  219 (3.9)
Guam ................|181 (1.2)|172 (1.4)|190 (1.7)|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- | ---  --- |  ---  --- |---  --- |  ---   --- |  ---  ---
Virgin Islands ......|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |178 (1.9)|169 (5.0)|186 (2.1)|(\2\)(\2\)|  181 (2.0)|168 (4.1)|(\2\) (\2\) |(\2\) (\2\)
_____________________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|__________|___________|_________|____________|___________

---Not available.
\1\As measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Forty-one states and Guam participated in the test in 1994, and forty-four jurisdictions (state, territory, Dept. of Defense overseas schools) participated in 1998. Due to sample size and school participation guidelines, some states are not shown.
\2\Sample size is insufficient to permit a reliable estimate.
\3\Did not satisfy one or more of the guidelines for school sample participation rates in 1998. Data are subject to appreciable nonresponse bias.
\4\Did not satisfy one or more of the guidelines for school sample participation rates in 1994. Data are subject to appreciable nonresponse bias.

NOTE: These test scores are from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP scores have been evaluated at certain performance levels. A score of 300 implies an ability to find, understand, summarize, and explain relatively complicated literary and informational material. A score of 250 implies an ability to search for specific information, interrelate ideas, and make generalizations about literature, science, and social studies materials. A score of 200 implies an ability to understand, combine ideas, and make inferences based on short uncomplicated passages about specific or sequentially related information. A score of 150 implies an ability to follow brief written directions and carry out simple, discrete reading tasks. Scale ranges from 0 to 500. Excludes states not participating in the survey. Standard errors appear in parentheses.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress, NAEP 1998 Reading Report Card for the Nation and the States, prepared by Educational Testing Service. (This table was prepared June 2000.)


2001 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest