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| 2010 Tables and Figures | All Years of Tables and Figures | Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest |
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| Table 127. | Average reading scale scores and percentage distribution of 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds, by amount of reading for school, frequency of reading for fun, and time spent doing homework and watching TV/video: Selected years, 1984 through 2008 |
| Time spent on reading and homework | 9-year-olds | 13-year-olds | 17-year-olds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 1994 | 1999 | 2004 | 2008 | 1984 | 1994 | 1999 | 2004 | 2008 | 1984 | 1994 | 1999 | 2004 | 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |||||||||||||||
| Average scale score | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pages read daily in school and for homework |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 or fewer | 208 | (0.9) | 203 | (2.3) | 202 | (1.8) | 206 | (1.5) | 210 | (1.1) | 250 | (0.8) | 249 | (1.7) | 249 | (2.0) | 245 | (1.4) | 250 | (1.2) | 273 | (0.8) | 271 | (1.9) | 273 | (2.7) | 269 | (1.4) | 271 | (1.3) |
| 6-10 | 215 | (1.0) | 214 | (1.7) | 212 | (1.7) | 217 | (1.4) | 219 | (1.3) | 261 | (0.6) | 261 | (1.4) | 262 | (1.7) | 257 | (1.1) | 258 | (1.2) | 287 | (0.9) | 284 | (2.1) | 285 | (1.7) | 283 | (1.5) | 284 | (1.4) |
| 11-15 | 220 | (1.4) | 217 | (2.3) | 221 | (2.4) | 222 | (1.6) | 224 | (1.4) | 264 | (1.0) | 266 | (1.8) | 263 | (2.1) | 263 | (1.5) | 263 | (1.1) | 294 | (0.9) | 288 | (1.9) | 292 | (2.1) | 290 | (2.0) | 290 | (1.6) |
| 16-20 | 215 | (1.4) | 209 | (2.9) | 214 | (2.0) | 220 | (1.4) | 225 | (1.5) | 263 | (1.1) | 263 | (2.3) | 264 | (2.6) | 266 | (1.9) | 267 | (1.6) | 296 | (1.1) | 298 | (2.8) | 292 | (2.9) | 293 | (1.6) | 296 | (1.5) |
| More than 20 | 215 | (1.6) | 217 | (2.4) | 217 | (2.1) | 218 | (1.1) | 226 | (1.2) | 261 | (1.5) | 261 | (2.0) | 265 | (2.0) | 261 | (1.6) | 267 | (1.4) | 300 | (1.2) | 304 | (2.2) | 302 | (1.9) | 298 | (1.9) | 303 | (1.3) |
| Frequency of reading for fun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Almost every day | 214 | (1.1) | 215 | (2.3) | 215 | (2.4) | — | (†) | 225 | (1.2) | 264 | (1.4) | 272 | (3.2) | 272 | (3.2) | — | (†) | 274 | (1.4) | 297 | (1.5) | 302 | (4.2) | 301 | (4.9) | — | (†) | 302 | (1.3) |
| Once or twice a week | 212 | (1.7) | 214 | (3.1) | 215 | (2.6) | — | (†) | 225 | (1.3) | 255 | (1.4) | 255 | (3.1) | 263 | (3.2) | — | (†) | 264 | (1.1) | 290 | (1.7) | 286 | (4.1) | 289 | (2.9) | — | (†) | 291 | (1.7) |
| Once or twice a month | 204 | (3.3) | 213 | (5.8) | 211 | (4.2) | — | (†) | 221 | (1.7) | 255 | (2.1) | 255 | (5.7) | 260 | (3.7) | — | (†) | 261 | (1.3) | 290 | (1.8) | 286 | (4.5) | 286 | (4.8) | — | (†) | 288 | (1.3) |
| A few times a year | 197 | (4.2) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | — | (†) | 212 | (2.0) | 252 | (3.6) | 252 | (5.4) | 253 | (4.4) | — | (†) | 254 | (1.3) | 279 | (2.7) | 281 | (8.2) | 283 | (4.4) | — | (†) | 287 | (1.5) |
| Never or hardly ever | 198 | (2.7) | 193 | (3.9) | 195 | (3.3) | — | (†) | 211 | (1.2) | 239 | (2.5) | 237 | (5.1) | 242 | (5.3) | — | (†) | 247 | (0.9) | 269 | (2.4) | 258 | (5.2) | 262 | (5.0) | — | (†) | 269 | (1.1) |
| Time spent on homework yesterday |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No homework assigned | 212 | (1.0) | 213 | (2.0) | 210 | (1.9) | 215 | (1.5) | 219 | (1.7) | 254 | (1.0) | 250 | (1.7) | 251 | (2.0) | 248 | (1.7) | 251 | (1.2) | 276 | (0.8) | 273 | (2.3) | 275 | (2.3) | 268 | (1.6) | 272 | (1.3) |
| Didn't do assignment | 199 | (2.3) | 200 | (4.3) | 204 | (4.4) | 194 | (3.0) | 201 | (2.6) | 247 | (1.7) | 243 | (5.6) | 249 | (4.2) | 245 | (2.1) | 242 | (2.4) | 287 | (1.4) | 285 | (2.1) | 282 | (3.1) | 277 | (1.7) | 284 | (1.7) |
| Less than 1 hour | 217 | (0.8) | 212 | (1.4) | 214 | (1.5) | 219 | (1.2) | 223 | (0.9) | 261 | (0.6) | 261 | (1.3) | 262 | (1.2) | 258 | (1.2) | 260 | (0.9) | 290 | (0.9) | 288 | (1.6) | 291 | (2.3) | 286 | (1.2) | 288 | (1.1) |
| 1 to 2 hours | 216 | (1.4) | 214 | (3.0) | 215 | (3.2) | 218 | (1.9) | 222 | (1.6) | 267 | (0.8) | 268 | (1.7) | 269 | (1.6) | 266 | (1.4) | 269 | (1.2) | 296 | (0.8) | 297 | (1.7) | 296 | (2.0) | 294 | (1.5) | 295 | (1.1) |
| More than 2 hours | 201 | (1.9) | 193 | (6.1) | 197 | (3.5) | 198 | (3.6) | 207 | (3.1) | 264 | (1.2) | 270 | (2.4) | 269 | (3.0) | 259 | (2.3) | 277 | (1.9) | 303 | (1.4) | 306 | (3.1) | 300 | (2.8) | 300 | (2.4) | 306 | (2.2) |
| TV/video watched on school day |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| None | 212 | (3.4) | 212 | (4.8) | 221 | (4.6) | — | (†) | 223 | (3.0) | 264 | (2.7) | 270 | (5.1) | 265 | (6.0) | — | (†) | 267 | (3.0) | 300 | (1.6) | 308 | (3.4) | 300 | (2.8) | — | (†) | 292 | (2.4) |
| 1 hour or less | 217 | (1.5) | 216 | (1.8) | 218 | (2.1) | — | (†) | 225 | (1.2) | 269 | (1.1) | 270 | (1.5) | 270 | (1.6) | — | (†) | 266 | (1.2) | 300 | (1.2) | 299 | (2.0) | 298 | (2.0) | — | (†) | 293 | (1.2) |
| 2 hours | 222 | (1.1) | 219 | (2.1) | 221 | (1.7) | — | (†) | 229 | (1.1) | 268 | (0.8) | 268 | (1.4) | 268 | (1.6) | — | (†) | 266 | (1.1) | 295 | (0.9) | 292 | (1.8) | 292 | (2.1) | — | (†) | 290 | (1.1) |
| 3 hours | 220 | (1.2) | 218 | (2.2) | 218 | (2.3) | — | (†) | 227 | (1.3) | 264 | (0.7) | 262 | (1.4) | 263 | (1.5) | — | (†) | 262 | (1.3) | 288 | (1.0) | 284 | (2.0) | 282 | (2.3) | — | (†) | 284 | (1.3) |
| 4 hours | 219 | (1.0) | 212 | (1.8) | 214 | (2.4) | — | (†) | 223 | (1.4) | 262 | (0.9) | 254 | (2.2) | 254 | (2.4) | — | (†) | 255 | (1.5) | 284 | (1.0) | 276 | (4.1) | 273 | (2.2) | — | (†) | 276 | (2.3) |
| 5 hours | 214 | (1.4) | 209 | (2.7) | 208 | (3.0) | — | (†) | 219 | (2.2) | 257 | (1.0) | 250 | (3.0) | 253 | (3.2) | — | (†) | 255 | (2.6) | 277 | (1.5) | 269 | (4.0) | 275 | (3.8) | — | (†) | 273 | (2.4) |
| 6 hours or more | 199 | (0.8) | 192 | (2.7) | 191 | (1.7) | — | (†) | 205 | (1.2) | 245 | (1.0) | 234 | (3.1) | 238 | (1.8) | — | (†) | 238 | (1.4) | 269 | (1.5) | 256 | (3.7) | 256 | (5.2) | — | (†) | 256 | (2.3) |
| Percentage distribution | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pages read daily in school and for homework |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 or fewer | 36 | (0.8) | 28 | (1.4) | 28 | (1.4) | 25 | (0.9) | 25 | (0.9) | 27 | (0.7) | 26 | (0.9) | 23 | (1.0) | 25 | (0.8) | 26 | (0.8) | 21 | (0.8) | 21 | (1.2) | 23 | (1.4) | 31 | (0.9) | 30 | (0.9) |
| 6-10 | 25 | (0.4) | 26 | (0.6) | 24 | (0.9) | 20 | (0.5) | 20 | (0.5) | 34 | (0.5) | 31 | (0.9) | 31 | (1.1) | 25 | (0.7) | 24 | (0.6) | 26 | (0.6) | 25 | (0.9) | 24 | (0.8) | 24 | (0.6) | 23 | (0.5) |
| 11-15 | 14 | (0.4) | 14 | (0.5) | 15 | (0.7) | 14 | (0.6) | 14 | (0.5) | 18 | (0.4) | 17 | (0.6) | 18 | (0.8) | 16 | (0.5) | 17 | (0.5) | 18 | (0.3) | 18 | (0.6) | 17 | (0.6) | 15 | (0.5) | 16 | (0.5) |
| 16-20 | 13 | (0.4) | 14 | (0.9) | 14 | (0.7) | 13 | (0.6) | 14 | (0.6) | 11 | (0.2) | 13 | (0.5) | 13 | (0.7) | 12 | (0.5) | 13 | (0.4) | 14 | (0.5) | 13 | (0.6) | 14 | (0.8) | 11 | (0.5) | 12 | (0.4) |
| More than 20 | 13 | (0.5) | 17 | (1.0) | 19 | (1.0) | 29 | (1.0) | 28 | (0.8) | 11 | (0.5) | 14 | (0.8) | 16 | (1.0) | 21 | (0.7) | 22 | (0.9) | 21 | (0.9) | 23 | (1.5) | 22 | (1.2) | 19 | (0.9) | 19 | (0.7) |
| Frequency of reading for fun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Almost every day | 53 | (1.0) | 58 | (1.6) | 54 | (1.6) | — | (†) | 48 | (0.7) | 35 | (1.0) | 32 | (1.8) | 28 | (1.7) | — | (†) | 26 | (0.7) | 31 | (0.8) | 30 | (2.6) | 25 | (1.7) | — | (†) | 20 | (0.6) |
| Once or twice a week | 28 | (0.8) | 25 | (1.5) | 26 | (1.5) | — | (†) | 23 | (0.6) | 35 | (1.2) | 32 | (2.1) | 36 | (1.7) | — | (†) | 25 | (0.6) | 33 | (1.1) | 31 | (1.9) | 28 | (2.7) | — | (†) | 22 | (0.5) |
| Once or twice a month | 7 | (0.6) | 5 | (0.6) | 6 | (0.6) | — | (†) | 8 | (0.3) | 14 | (0.8) | 14 | (1.7) | 17 | (1.6) | — | (†) | 13 | (0.4) | 17 | (0.5) | 15 | (1.5) | 19 | (1.7) | — | (†) | 17 | (0.5) |
| A few times a year | 3 | (0.3) | 3 | (0.6) | 4 | (0.7) | — | (†) | 8 | (0.4) | 7 | (0.5) | 10 | (1.2) | 10 | (1.2) | — | (†) | 12 | (0.4) | 10 | (0.5) | 12 | (1.5) | 12 | (1.4) | — | (†) | 16 | (0.5) |
| Never or hardly ever | 9 | (0.5) | 9 | (0.8) | 10 | (0.8) | — | (†) | 14 | (0.6) | 8 | (0.6) | 12 | (1.7) | 9 | (1.4) | — | (†) | 24 | (0.7) | 9 | (0.6) | 12 | (1.4) | 16 | (2.4) | — | (†) | 24 | (0.6) |
| Time spent on homework yesterday |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No homework assigned | 35 | (1.3) | 32 | (2.1) | 26 | (1.6) | 23 | (1.5) | 18 | (1.3) | 22 | (0.7) | 23 | (1.4) | 24 | (1.2) | 20 | (1.2) | 23 | (1.2) | 22 | (0.9) | 23 | (1.4) | 26 | (1.0) | 26 | (1.0) | 28 | (0.8) |
| Didn't do assignment | 4 | (0.3) | 4 | (0.4) | 4 | (0.3) | 4 | (0.3) | 5 | (0.3) | 4 | (0.2) | 6 | (0.6) | 5 | (0.4) | 7 | (0.3) | 7 | (0.3) | 11 | (0.3) | 11 | (0.6) | 13 | (0.7) | 15 | (0.6) | 12 | (0.4) |
| Less than 1 hour | 41 | (1.0) | 48 | (1.7) | 53 | (1.4) | 55 | (1.2) | 60 | (1.2) | 36 | (0.6) | 34 | (1.0) | 37 | (1.4) | 42 | (0.8) | 43 | (1.2) | 26 | (0.4) | 27 | (0.9) | 26 | (1.0) | 29 | (0.7) | 27 | (0.5) |
| 1 to 2 hours | 13 | (0.4) | 11 | (0.7) | 12 | (0.7) | 13 | (0.6) | 12 | (0.5) | 29 | (0.5) | 28 | (1.0) | 26 | (1.0) | 24 | (0.7) | 21 | (0.7) | 27 | (0.5) | 26 | (1.2) | 23 | (0.8) | 21 | (0.7) | 22 | (0.5) |
| More than 2 hours | 6 | (0.2) | 4 | (0.4) | 5 | (0.5) | 6 | (0.3) | 5 | (0.3) | 9 | (0.3) | 9 | (0.7) | 8 | (0.8) | 8 | (0.5) | 6 | (0.4) | 13 | (0.5) | 13 | (0.9) | 12 | (0.9) | 10 | (0.6) | 10 | (0.5) |
| TV/video watched on school day |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| None | 3 | (0.2) | 2 | (0.2) | 4 | (0.8) | — | (†) | 4 | (0.3) | 2 | (0.2) | 3 | (0.3) | 4 | (0.6) | — | (†) | 5 | (0.3) | 5 | (0.3) | 6 | (0.8) | 6 | (0.3) | — | (†) | 6 | (0.3) |
| 1 hour or less | 14 | (0.3) | 23 | (1.0) | 24 | (0.9) | — | (†) | 24 | (0.6) | 12 | (0.4) | 20 | (1.0) | 22 | (0.8) | — | (†) | 25 | (0.7) | 25 | (0.5) | 31 | (0.9) | 34 | (0.9) | — | (†) | 33 | (0.6) |
| 2 hours | 16 | (0.4) | 23 | (0.7) | 21 | (0.9) | — | (†) | 18 | (0.5) | 23 | (0.5) | 27 | (0.7) | 29 | (0.8) | — | (†) | 25 | (0.5) | 26 | (0.3) | 26 | (0.8) | 26 | (0.9) | — | (†) | 27 | (0.6) |
| 3 hours | 15 | (0.3) | 16 | (0.5) | 14 | (0.6) | — | (†) | 13 | (0.4) | 23 | (0.4) | 22 | (0.8) | 20 | (0.9) | — | (†) | 18 | (0.5) | 20 | (0.3) | 18 | (0.8) | 17 | (0.7) | — | (†) | 16 | (0.5) |
| 4 hours | 12 | (0.2) | 11 | (0.5) | 9 | (0.4) | — | (†) | 9 | (0.4) | 17 | (0.4) | 12 | (0.7) | 11 | (0.6) | — | (†) | 10 | (0.4) | 12 | (0.3) | 9 | (0.6) | 8 | (0.5) | — | (†) | 8 | (0.4) |
| 5 hours | 9 | (0.3) | 6 | (0.4) | 6 | (0.4) | — | (†) | 6 | (0.3) | 10 | (0.3) | 7 | (0.4) | 5 | (0.3) | — | (†) | 5 | (0.3) | 6 | (0.2) | 5 | (0.5) | 4 | (0.4) | — | (†) | 4 | (0.2) |
| 6 hours or more | 30 | (0.7) | 20 | (0.8) | 22 | (1.2) | — | (†) | 26 | (0.8) | 13 | (0.4) | 10 | (0.9) | 9 | (0.6) | — | (†) | 13 | (0.4) | 6 | (0.2) | 5 | (0.4) | 5 | (0.6) | — | (†) | 6 | (0.4) |
| —Not available. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Not applicable. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ‡Reporting standards not met. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Standard errors appear in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), NAEP Trends in Academic Progress, 1996 and 1999; and 2004 and 2008 NAEP Long-Term Trend Reading Assessments, retrieved June 24, 2009, from the Long-Term Trend NAEP Data Explorer (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/). (This table was prepared June 2009.) |
