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Digest of Education Statistics: 2009
Digest of Education Statistics: 2009

NCES 2010-013
April 2010


Table 119. Percentage of students at or above selected reading score levels, by age, sex, and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1971 through 2008
Selected characteristic 1971 1975 1980 1984 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1999 2004 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
9-year-olds
Total
                                                 
Level 150 91   (0.5) 93 (0.4) 95 (0.4) 92 (0.4) 93 (0.7) 90 (0.9) 92 (0.4) 92 (0.7) 93 (0.6) 93 (0.7) 94 (0.5) 96 (0.4)
Level 200 59   (1.0) 62 (0.8) 68 (1.0) 62 (0.8) 63 (1.3) 59 (1.3) 62 (1.1) 63 (1.4) 64 (1.3) 64 (1.4) 69 (1.0) 73 (0.9)
Level 250 16   (0.6) 15 (0.6) 18 (0.8) 17 (0.7) 17 (1.1) 18 (1.0) 16 (0.8) 17 (1.2) 17 (0.8) 16 (1.0) 19 (0.7) 21 (0.8)
                                                 
Male                                                  
Level 150 88   (0.7) 91 (0.5) 93 (0.5) 90 (0.5) 90 (0.9) 88 (1.4) 90 (0.8) 90 (1.0) 92 (0.8) 91 (1.1) 92 (0.6) 94 (0.6)
Level 200 53   (1.2) 56 (1.0) 63 (1.1) 58 (1.0) 58 (1.8) 54 (1.9) 57 (1.6) 59 (1.5) 58 (2.0) 61 (1.8) 64 (1.3) 70 (1.2)
Level 250 12   (0.6) 12 (0.6) 15 (0.9) 16 (0.8) 16 (1.4) 16 (1.2) 14 (1.0) 15 (1.2) 14 (1.3) 15 (1.3) 17 (0.8) 19 (1.0)
                                                 
Female                                                  
Level 150 93   (0.5) 95 (0.3) 96 (0.4) 94 (0.5) 95 (1.0) 92 (1.1) 94 (0.6) 94 (0.8) 95 (0.6) 95 (0.8) 96 (0.5) 97 (0.4)
Level 200 65   (1.1) 68 (0.8) 73 (1.0) 65 (1.0) 67 (1.4) 64 (1.2) 67 (1.2) 67 (1.9) 70 (1.6) 67 (1.6) 73 (1.2) 77 (1.1)
Level 250 19   (0.8) 18 (0.8) 21 (1.0) 18 (0.8) 19 (1.2) 21 (1.2) 18 (1.1) 18 (1.5) 19 (1.3) 17 (1.3) 20 (1.0) 22 (1.0)
                                                 
White                                                  
Level 150 94 1  (0.4) 96 (0.3) 97 (0.2) 95 (0.3) 95 (0.7) 94 (0.9) 96 (0.5) 96 (0.5) 96 (0.6) 97 (0.4) 97 (0.4) 98 (0.4)
Level 200 65 1  (1.0) 69 (0.8) 74 (0.7) 69 (0.9) 68 (1.6) 66 (1.4) 69 (1.2) 70 (1.5) 71 (1.5) 73 (1.6) 77 (1.0) 81 (1.0)
Level 250 18 1  (0.7) 17 (0.7) 21 (0.9) 21 (0.8) 20 (1.5) 23 (1.2) 20 (1.0) 20 (1.5) 20 (1.1) 20 (1.4) 24 (0.8) 27 (1.1)
                                                 
Black                                                  
Level 150 70 1  (1.7) 81 (1.1) 85 (1.4) 81 (1.2) 83 (2.4) 77 (2.7) 80 (2.2) 79 (2.4) 84 (1.9) 82 (2.5) 88 (1.7) 91 (1.1)
Level 200 22 1  (1.5) 32 (1.5) 41 (1.9) 37 (1.5) 39 (2.9) 34 (3.4) 37 (2.2) 38 (2.8) 42 (3.2) 36 (3.0) 50 (2.3) 58 (2.3)
Level 250 2 1  (0.5) 2 (0.3) 4 (0.6) 5 (0.5) 6 (1.2) 5 (1.5) 5 (0.8) 4 (1.5) 6 (1.1) 4 (1.1) 7 (0.8) 9 (0.9)
                                                 
Hispanic                                                  
Level 150 [2]   (†) 81 (2.5) 84 (1.8) 82 (3.0) 86 (3.5) 84 (1.8) 83 (2.6) 80 (4.6) 86 (2.4) 87 (3.3) 89 (1.3) 93 (0.8)
Level 200 [2]   (†) 35 (3.0) 42 (2.6) 40 (2.7) 46 (3.3) 41 (2.7) 43 (3.5) 37 (4.6) 48 (3.8) 44 (3.4) 53 (1.7) 62 (1.7)
Level 250 [2]   (†) 3 (0.5) 5 (1.4) 4 (0.6) 9 (2.3) 6 (2.0) 7 (2.3) 6 (1.6) 7 (3.2) 6 (1.7) 7 (0.8) 10 (1.2)
                                                 
13-year-olds
Total
                                                 
Level 200 93   (0.5) 93 (0.4) 95 (0.4) 94 (0.3) 95 (0.6) 94 (0.6) 93 (0.7) 92 (0.6) 92 (0.7) 93 (0.7) 92 (0.6) 94 (0.4)
Level 250 58   (1.1) 59 (1.0) 61 (1.1) 59 (0.8) 59 (1.3) 59 (1.0) 62 (1.4) 60 (1.2) 60 (1.3) 61 (1.5) 59 (1.1) 63 (0.8)
Level 300 10   (0.5) 10 (0.5) 11 (0.5) 11 (0.4) 11 (0.8) 11 (0.6) 15 (0.9) 14 (0.8) 14 (1.0) 15 (1.1) 12 (0.8) 13 (0.5)
                                                 
Male                                                  
Level 200 91   (0.7) 91 (0.5) 93 (0.6) 92 (0.4) 93 (1.0) 91 (0.9) 90 (1.1) 89 (1.1) 89 (1.2) 91 (0.9) 89 (0.8) 92 (0.6)
Level 250 52   (1.2) 52 (1.1) 56 (1.2) 54 (0.9) 52 (1.9) 52 (1.5) 55 (2.0) 53 (1.9) 53 (1.6) 55 (1.9) 55 (1.3) 59 (1.2)
Level 300 7   (0.5) 7 (0.4) 9 (0.7) 9 (0.5) 9 (0.9) 8 (0.8) 13 (1.1) 10 (0.7) 10 (1.0) 11 (1.1) 11 (0.9) 11 (0.7)
                                                 
Female                                                  
Level 200 95   (0.4) 96 (0.4) 96 (0.4) 96 (0.3) 97 (0.6) 96 (0.6) 95 (0.7) 95 (0.6) 95 (0.6) 96 (0.7) 95 (0.6) 96 (0.5)
Level 250 64   (1.1) 65 (1.2) 65 (1.1) 64 (0.8) 65 (1.4) 65 (1.5) 68 (1.4) 68 (1.7) 66 (1.6) 66 (1.9) 65 (1.3) 66 (1.0)
Level 300 12   (0.6) 13 (0.7) 13 (0.6) 13 (0.6) 13 (0.9) 14 (0.9) 18 (1.1) 18 (1.1) 17 (1.3) 18 (1.7) 14 (1.0) 16 (0.9)
                                                 
White                                                  
Level 200 96 1  (0.3) 96 (0.2) 97 (0.2) 96 (0.2) 96 (0.6) 96 (0.6) 96 (0.6) 95 (0.7) 95 (0.5) 96 (0.6) 95 (0.5) 96 (0.4)
Level 250 64 1  (0.9) 65 (0.9) 68 (0.8) 65 (0.8) 64 (1.5) 65 (1.2) 68 (1.4) 68 (1.3) 69 (1.4) 69 (1.7) 68 (1.1) 72 (1.2)
Level 300 11 1  (0.5) 12 (0.5) 14 (0.6) 13 (0.6) 12 (0.9) 13 (0.9) 18 (1.1) 17 (1.0) 17 (1.3) 18 (1.4) 16 (0.9) 18 (0.8)
                                                 
Black                                                  
Level 200 74 1  (1.7) 77 (1.3) 84 (1.7) 85 (1.2) 91 (2.2) 88 (2.3) 82 (2.7) 81 (2.3) 82 (3.2) 85 (2.3) 86 (1.5) 91 (1.1)
Level 250 21 1  (1.2) 25 (1.6) 30 (2.0) 35 (1.3) 40 (2.3) 42 (3.5) 38 (2.7) 36 (3.5) 34 (3.9) 38 (2.7) 40 (2.3) 48 (2.3)
Level 300 1 1  (0.2) 2 (0.3) 2 (0.5) 3 (0.6) 5 (1.2) 5 (0.8) 6 (1.4) 4 (1.2) 3 (0.9) 5 (1.4) 4 (0.7) 6 (0.8)
                                                 
Hispanic                                                  
Level 200 [2]   (†) 81 (2.3) 87 (2.4) 86 (1.7) 87 (2.6) 86 (2.4) 83 (3.5) 82 (2.7) 85 (3.2) 89 (2.8) 85 (1.9) 87 (1.3)
Level 250 [2]   (†) 32 (3.6) 35 (2.6) 39 (2.3) 38 (4.4) 37 (2.9) 41 (5.1) 34 (3.9) 38 (3.7) 43 (3.8) 44 (2.3) 44 (1.8)
Level 300 [2]   (†) 2 (1.0) 2 (0.6) 4 (1.0) 4 (1.9) 4 (1.2) 6 (1.9) 4 (1.8) 5 (1.7) 6 (1.8) 5 (1.2) 5 (0.6)
                                                 
17-year-olds
Total
                                                 
Level 250 79   (0.9) 80 (0.7) 81 (0.9) 83 (0.6) 86 (0.8) 84 (1.0) 83 (0.8) 81 (1.0) 82 (0.8) 82 (1.0) 79 (0.9) 80 (0.6)
Level 300 39   (1.0) 39 (0.8) 38 (1.1) 40 (1.0) 41 (1.5) 41 (1.0) 43 (1.1) 41 (1.2) 39 (1.4) 40 (1.4) 36 (1.2) 39 (0.8)
                                                 
Male                                                  
Level 250 74   (1.0) 76 (0.8) 78 (1.0) 80 (0.7) 83 (1.4) 80 (1.4) 78 (1.2) 76 (1.5) 77 (1.2) 77 (1.5) 73 (1.2) 76 (0.8)
Level 300 34   (1.1) 34 (1.0) 35 (1.3) 36 (1.0) 37 (2.3) 36 (1.5) 38 (1.6) 36 (1.9) 34 (1.9) 34 (1.7) 32 (1.2) 35 (0.9)
                                                 
Female                                                  
Level 250 83   (1.0) 84 (0.9) 84 (1.0) 87 (0.6) 88 (1.1) 89 (1.0) 87 (1.1) 86 (1.2) 87 (1.0) 87 (1.0) 84 (0.9) 84 (0.8)
Level 300 44   (1.2) 44 (0.9) 41 (1.2) 45 (1.1) 44 (2.0) 47 (1.3) 48 (1.5) 46 (1.5) 45 (1.7) 45 (1.8) 41 (1.6) 43 (1.0)
                                                 
White                                                  
Level 250 84 1  (0.7) 86 (0.6) 87 (0.6) 88 (0.5) 89 (0.9) 88 (1.1) 88 (0.9) 86 (1.1) 87 (0.8) 87 (1.3) 83 (0.9) 87 (0.6)
Level 300 43 1  (0.9) 44 (0.8) 43 (1.1) 47 (1.1) 45 (1.6) 48 (1.2) 50 (1.4) 48 (1.4) 46 (1.5) 46 (1.5) 42 (1.3) 47 (1.0)
                                                 
Black                                                  
Level 250 40 1  (1.6) 43 (1.6) 44 (2.0) 65 (1.5) 76 (2.4) 69 (2.8) 61 (2.3) 66 (4.1) 68 (4.0) 66 (2.5) 64 (2.2) 67 (2.4)
Level 300 8 1  (0.9) 8 (0.7) 7 (0.8) 16 (1.0) 25 (3.1) 20 (1.8) 17 (2.5) 22 (3.7) 18 (2.2) 17 (1.7) 16 (1.8) 21 (1.5)
                                                 
Hispanic                                                  
Level 250 [2]   (†) 53 (4.1) 62 (3.1) 68 (2.4) 71 (4.8) 75 (4.7) 69 (4.0) 63 (4.4) 65 (4.2) 68 (4.3) 67 (2.4) 70 (1.5)
Level 300 [2]   (†) 13 (2.7) 17 (2.1) 21 (3.0) 23 (3.7) 27 (3.3) 27 (3.2) 20 (3.0) 20 (4.8) 24 (3.8) 23 (2.1) 22 (1.0)
†Not applicable.
1 Data for 1971 include persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
2 Test scores of Hispanics were not tabulated separately.
NOTE: The NAEP reading scores have been evaluated at certain performance levels. Scale ranges from 0 to 500. Students scoring 150 (or higher) are able to follow brief written directions and carry out simple, discrete reading tasks. Students scoring 200 are able to understand, combine ideas, and make inferences based on short uncomplicated passages about specific or sequentially related information. Students scoring 250 are able to search for specific information, interrelate ideas, and make generalizations about literature, science, and social studies materials. Students scoring 300 are able to find, understand, summarize, and explain relatively complicated literary and informational material. Includes public and private schools. Excludes persons not enrolled in school and students who were unable to be tested due to limited proficiency in English or due to a disability. Beginning in 2004, data are for a revised assessment format that provides accommodations for students with disabilities and English language learners. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity, except where noted. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress; and 2004 and 2008 Long-Term Trend Reading Assessments, retrieved May 12, 2009, from the Long-Term Trend NAEP Data Explorer (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/). (This table was prepared May 2009.)