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Digest of Education Statistics
2008 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 121. Average reading scale score and percentage of 4th-graders in public schools attaining reading achievement levels, by race/ethnicity and state or jurisdiction: Selected years, 1992 through 2007
State or jurisdiction Average scale score1  Average scale score1  by race/ethnicity,2  2007 Percent attaining reading achievement levels, 2007
1992 1994 1998 2002 2003 2005 2007 White Black Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander American Indian/
Alaska Native
At or above Basic3 At or above Proficient4 At Advanced5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
United States 215 (1.0) 212 (1.1) 213 (1.2) 217 (0.5) 216 (0.3) 217 (0.2) 220 (0.3) 230 (0.2) 203 (0.4) 204 (0.5) 231 (1.0) 206 (1.2) 66 (0.3) 32 (0.3) 7 (0.1)
Alabama 207 (1.7) 208 (1.5) 211 (1.9) 207 (1.4) 207 (1.7) 208 (1.2) 216 (1.3) 227 (1.4) 201 (1.6) 197 (6.7) (†) (†) 62 (1.4) 29 (1.4) 7 (0.9)
Alaska (†) (†) (†) (†) 212 (1.6) 211 (1.4) 214 (1.0) 228 (1.2) 207 (3.2) 206 (4.4) 217 (3.1) 188 (1.9) 62 (1.2) 29 (1.0) 6 (0.8)
Arizona 209 (1.2) 206 (1.9) 206 (1.4) 205 (1.5) 209 (1.2) 207 (1.6) 210 (1.6) 224 (1.3) 206 (3.5) 197 (2.4) 229 (6.3) 187 (3.4) 56 (1.7) 24 (1.5) 5 (0.6)
Arkansas 211 (1.2) 209 (1.7) 209 (1.6) 213 (1.4) 214 (1.4) 217 (1.1) 217 (1.2) 226 (1.1) 195 (1.3) 202 (4.0) (†) (†) 64 (1.3) 29 (1.3) 5 (0.6)
California6,7  202 (2.0) 197 (1.8) 202 (2.5) 206 (2.5) 206 (1.2) 207 (0.7) 209 (1.0) 227 (1.2) 200 (2.4) 195 (0.9) 228 (2.6) (†) 53 (1.0) 23 (0.9) 5 (0.4)
                                                             
Colorado 217 (1.1) 213 (1.3) 220 (1.4) (†) 224 (1.2) 224 (1.1) 224 (1.1) 234 (1.0) 210 (3.2) 204 (1.7) 233 (3.6) (†) 70 (1.3) 36 (1.4) 9 (1.0)
Connecticut 222 (1.3) 222 (1.6) 230 (1.6) 229 (1.1) 228 (1.1) 226 (1.0) 227 (1.3) 238 (1.3) 203 (3.0) 203 (2.7) 244 (3.6) (†) 73 (1.4) 41 (1.6) 12 (1.2)
Delaware 213 (0.6) 206 (1.1) 207 (1.7) 224 (0.6) 224 (0.7) 226 (0.8) 225 (0.7) 233 (0.9) 213 (1.0) 218 (2.3) 246 (3.6) (†) 73 (1.2) 34 (1.4) 7 (0.6)
District of Columbia 188 (0.8) (†) 179 (1.2) 191 (0.9) 188 (0.9) 191 (1.0) 197 (0.9) 258 (3.9) 192 (1.0) 206 (3.6) (†) (†) 39 (1.1) 14 (0.8) 4 (0.5)
Florida 208 (1.2) 205 (1.7) 206 (1.4) 214 (1.4) 218 (1.1) 220 (0.9) 224 (0.8) 232 (1.0) 208 (1.5) 218 (1.2) 241 (3.2) (†) 70 (1.0) 34 (1.0) 8 (0.6)
                                                             
Georgia 212 (1.5) 207 (2.4) 209 (1.4) 215 (1.0) 214 (1.3) 214 (1.2) 219 (0.9) 230 (1.1) 205 (1.4) 212 (3.3) 232 (6.1) (†) 66 (1.3) 28 (1.5) 5 (0.7)
Hawaii 203 (1.7) 201 (1.7) 200 (1.5) 208 (0.9) 208 (1.4) 210 (1.0) 213 (1.1) 227 (2.2) 212 (4.6) 205 (4.1) 210 (1.2) (†) 59 (1.4) 26 (1.4) 5 (0.6)
Idaho 219 (0.9) (†) (†) 220 (1.1) 218 (1.0) 222 (0.9) 223 (0.8) 227 (0.7) (†) 204 (2.5) (†) 202 (10.9) 70 (1.0) 35 (1.2) 8 (0.6)
Illinois (†) (†) (†) (†) 216 (1.6) 217 (1.2) 219 (1.2) 230 (1.7) 201 (2.4) 205 (1.2) 240 (4.2) (†) 65 (1.6) 32 (1.3) 8 (0.9)
Indiana 221 (1.3) 220 (1.3) (†) 222 (1.4) 220 (1.0) 218 (1.1) 222 (0.9) 226 (1.0) 201 (2.4) 207 (2.5) (†) (†) 68 (1.2) 33 (1.3) 7 (0.7)
                                                             
Iowa6,7  225 (1.1) 223 (1.3) 220 (1.6) 223 (1.1) 223 (1.1) 221 (0.9) 225 (1.1) 227 (1.1) 205 (4.0) 208 (3.1) 235 (6.9) (†) 74 (1.6) 36 (1.4) 7 (0.8)
Kansas6,7  (†) (†) 221 (1.4) 222 (1.4) 220 (1.2) 221 (1.3) 225 (1.1) 229 (1.1) 208 (2.6) 209 (2.4) 229 (5.4) (†) 72 (1.2) 36 (1.5) 8 (0.9)
Kentucky 213 (1.3) 212 (1.6) 218 (1.5) 219 (1.1) 219 (1.3) 220 (1.1) 222 (1.1) 225 (1.1) 203 (2.2) (†) (†) (†) 68 (1.4) 33 (1.4) 8 (0.7)
Louisiana 204 (1.2) 197 (1.3) 200 (1.6) 207 (1.7) 205 (1.4) 209 (1.3) 207 (1.6) 220 (1.8) 194 (1.7) 213 (5.5) (†) (†) 52 (2.0) 20 (1.4) 3 (0.6)
Maine 227 (1.1) 228 (1.3) 225 (1.4) 225 (1.1) 224 (0.9) 225 (0.9) 226 (0.9) 226 (0.9) (†) (†) (†) (†) 73 (1.1) 36 (1.4) 7 (0.8)
                                                             
Maryland 211 (1.6) 210 (1.5) 212 (1.6) 217 (1.5) 219 (1.4) 220 (1.3) 225 (1.1) 236 (1.5) 208 (1.2) 213 (2.4) 243 (2.8) (†) 69 (1.3) 36 (1.5) 10 (0.7)
Massachusetts6  226 (0.9) 223 (1.3) 223 (1.4) 234 (1.1) 228 (1.2) 231 (0.9) 236 (1.1) 241 (1.1) 211 (2.1) 209 (2.0) 241 (3.5) (†) 81 (1.1) 49 (1.7) 16 (1.3)
Michigan 216 (1.5) (†) 216 (1.5) 219 (1.1) 219 (1.2) 218 (1.5) 220 (1.4) 227 (1.2) 197 (2.7) 210 (4.2) 233 (4.6) (†) 66 (1.7) 32 (1.6) 8 (0.7)
Minnesota6,7  221 (1.2) 218 (1.4) 219 (1.7) 225 (1.1) 223 (1.1) 225 (1.3) 225 (1.1) 231 (1.1) 198 (2.5) 200 (3.8) 218 (3.6) 205 (5.5) 73 (1.3) 37 (1.5) 9 (0.8)
Mississippi 199 (1.3) 202 (1.6) 203 (1.3) 203 (1.3) 205 (1.3) 204 (1.4) 208 (1.0) 222 (1.2) 195 (0.9) (†) (†) (†) 51 (1.4) 19 (1.0) 3 (0.4)
                                                             
Missouri 220 (1.2) 217 (1.5) 216 (1.3) 220 (1.3) 222 (1.2) 221 (0.9) 221 (1.1) 226 (1.2) 200 (2.1) 213 (4.1) (†) (†) 67 (1.3) 32 (1.3) 7 (0.6)
Montana6,7  (†) 222 (1.4) 225 (1.5) 224 (1.8) 223 (1.2) 225 (1.1) 227 (1.0) 230 (0.9) (†) 220 (4.2) (†) 204 (3.1) 75 (1.0) 39 (1.8) 8 (0.9)
Nebraska8  221 (1.1) 220 (1.5) (†) 222 (1.5) 221 (1.0) 221 (1.2) 223 (1.3) 230 (0.9) 194 (3.7) 203 (2.8) (†) (†) 71 (1.4) 35 (1.5) 8 (0.8)
Nevada (†) 206 (1.8) 209 (1.2) 207 (1.2) 207 (1.2) 211 (1.2) 224 (1.5) 202 (3.1) 196 (1.6) 220 (2.5) (†) 57 (1.3) 24 (1.3) 5 (0.5)
New Hampshire6  228 (1.2) 223 (1.5) 226 (1.7) (†) 228 (1.0) 227 (0.9) 229 (0.9) 230 (0.9) 215 (5.0) 209 (3.9) 235 (4.3) (†) 76 (0.9) 41 (1.5) 11 (0.9)
                                                             
New Jersey 223 (1.4) 219 (1.2) (†) (†) 225 (1.2) 223 (1.3) 231 (1.2) 238 (1.1) 212 (2.7) 214 (2.5) 245 (2.5) (†) 77 (1.3) 43 (1.5) 12 (0.9)
New Mexico 211 (1.5) 205 (1.7) 205 (1.4) 208 (1.6) 203 (1.5) 207 (1.3) 212 (1.3) 228 (1.9) 208 (4.0) 204 (1.4) (†) 197 (3.7) 58 (1.5) 24 (1.6) 5 (0.7)
New York6,7  215 (1.4) 212 (1.4) 215 (1.6) 222 (1.5) 222 (1.1) 223 (1.1) 224 (1.0) 234 (1.5) 208 (1.5) 206 (1.7) 236 (2.8) (†) 69 (1.2) 36 (1.3) 10 (0.9)
North Carolina 212 (1.1) 214 (1.5) 213 (1.6) 222 (1.0) 221 (1.0) 217 (1.0) 218 (0.9) 228 (1.1) 202 (1.1) 205 (2.2) 228 (5.0) 202 (4.3) 64 (1.2) 29 (1.1) 6 (0.5)
North Dakota7  226 (1.1) 225 (1.2) (†) 224 (1.0) 222 (0.9) 225 (0.7) 226 (0.9) 229 (0.7) (†) (†) (†) 204 (3.5) 75 (1.2) 35 (1.4) 6 (0.6)
                                                             
Ohio 217 (1.3) (†) (†) 222 (1.3) 222 (1.2) 223 (1.4) 226 (1.1) 231 (1.1) 204 (2.1) 214 (4.5) (†) (†) 73 (1.5) 36 (1.6) 8 (1.0)
Oklahoma 220 (0.9) (†) 219 (1.2) 213 (1.2) 214 (1.2) 214 (1.1) 217 (1.1) 223 (1.1) 204 (2.2) 198 (3.9) 221 (7.6) 213 (1.8) 65 (1.5) 27 (1.2) 4 (0.5)
Oregon (†) (†) 212 (1.8) 220 (1.4) 218 (1.3) 217 (1.4) 215 (1.4) 222 (1.3) 198 (3.8) 190 (2.3) 218 (6.3) 206 (7.2) 62 (1.5) 28 (1.5) 6 (0.7)
Pennsylvania8  221 (1.3) 215 (1.6) (†) 221 (1.2) 219 (1.3) 223 (1.3) 226 (1.0) 233 (0.8) 200 (2.9) 200 (5.0) 228 (3.7) (†) 73 (1.3) 40 (1.1) 11 (0.8)
Rhode Island8  217 (1.8) 220 (1.3) 218 (1.4) 220 (1.2) 216 (1.3) 216 (1.2) 219 (1.0) 227 (1.1) 198 (2.3) 198 (2.1) 219 (4.2) (†) 65 (1.2) 31 (1.2) 7 (0.7)
                                                             
South Carolina 210 (1.3) 203 (1.4) 209 (1.4) 214 (1.3) 215 (1.3) 213 (1.3) 214 (1.2) 224 (1.2) 199 (1.5) 205 (3.5) (†) (†) 59 (1.5) 26 (1.3) 5 (0.5)
South Dakota (†) (†) (†) (†) 222 (1.2) 222 (0.5) 223 (1.0) 228 (0.9) (†) 209 (5.2) (†) 196 (2.6) 71 (1.2) 34 (1.6) 7 (0.8)
Tennessee7,8  212 (1.4) 213 (1.7) 212 (1.4) 214 (1.2) 212 (1.6) 214 (1.4) 216 (1.2) 224 (1.3) 192 (1.6) 208 (4.0) (†) (†) 61 (1.6) 27 (1.2) 6 (0.8)
Texas 213 (1.6) 212 (1.9) 214 (1.9) 217 (1.7) 215 (1.0) 219 (0.8) 220 (0.9) 232 (1.1) 207 (1.6) 212 (1.2) 236 (3.2) (†) 66 (1.1) 30 (1.1) 6 (0.5)
Utah 220 (1.1) 217 (1.3) 216 (1.2) 222 (1.0) 219 (1.0) 221 (1.1) 221 (1.2) 226 (1.0) (†) 201 (2.8) 217 (3.9) (†) 69 (1.4) 34 (1.4) 8 (0.5)
                                                             
Vermont (†) (†) (†) 227 (1.1) 226 (0.9) 227 (0.9) 228 (0.8) 229 (0.9) (†) (†) (†) (†) 74 (1.2) 41 (1.2) 11 (0.7)
Virginia 221 (1.4) 213 (1.5) 217 (1.2) 225 (1.3) 223 (1.5) 226 (0.8) 227 (1.1) 233 (1.3) 213 (1.4) 216 (2.8) 237 (2.7) (†) 74 (1.5) 38 (1.4) 9 (1.0)
Washington7  (†) 213 (1.5) 218 (1.4) 224 (1.2) 221 (1.1) 224 (1.1) 224 (1.4) 229 (1.4) 206 (3.5) 206 (2.3) 232 (3.6) 205 (5.0) 70 (1.5) 36 (1.7) 10 (1.1)
West Virginia 216 (1.3) 213 (1.1) 216 (1.7) 219 (1.2) 219 (1.0) 215 (0.8) 215 (1.1) 216 (1.1) 202 (2.9) (†) (†) (†) 63 (1.2) 28 (1.1) 5 (0.6)
Wisconsin6,7,8  224 (1.0) 224 (1.1) 222 (1.1) (†) 221 (0.8) 221 (1.0) 223 (1.2) 229 (1.2) 191 (4.2) 208 (2.8) 222 (4.4) (†) 70 (1.4) 36 (1.4) 8 (0.7)
Wyoming 223 (1.1) 221 (1.2) 218 (1.5) 221 (1.0) 222 (0.8) 223 (0.7) 225 (0.5) 228 (0.6) (†) 210 (2.4) (†) 200 (3.6) 73 (1.0) 36 (1.0) 8 (0.9)
Department of Defense
  dependents schools9 
(†) (†) 220 (0.7) 224 (0.4) 224 (0.5) 226 (0.6) 229 (0.5) 235 (0.8) 218 (1.6) 223 (1.4) 228 (2.1) (†) 78 (0.9) 40 (1.0) 8 (0.5)
                                                             
Other jurisdictions                                                            
Guam 182 (1.4) 181 (1.2) (†) 185 (1.3) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)
U.S. Virgin Islands 171 (1.7) (†) 174 (2.2) 179 (1.9) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)
— Not available.
† Not applicable.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
1 Scale ranges from 0 to 500.
2 Race/ethnicity based on school records.
3 Basic denotes partial mastery of the knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at the 4th-grade level.
4 Proficient represents solid academic performance for 4th-graders. Students reaching this level have demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter.
5 Advanced signifies superior performance.
6 Did not satisfy one or more of the guidelines for school participation in 1998. Data are subject to appreciable nonresponse bias.
7 Did not satisfy one or more of the guidelines for school participation in 2002. Data are subject to appreciable nonresponse bias.
8 Did not satisfy one or more of the guidelines for school participation in 1994. Data are subject to appreciable nonresponse bias.
9 Prior to 2005, NAEP divided the Department of Defense (DoD) schools into two jurisdictions, domestic and overseas. In 2005, NAEP began combining the DoD domestic and overseas schools into a single jurisdiction. Data shown in this table for years prior to 2005 were recalculated for comparability.
NOTE: The reading data include students for whom accommodations were permitted except for the 1992 and 1994 data. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2007 Reading Assessments, retrieved May 16, 2008, from the NAEP Data Explorer (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/). (This table was prepared May 2008.)

2008 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest