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Digest of Education Statistics: 2015
Digest of Education Statistics: 2015

NCES 2016-014
December 2016


Table 221.40. Average National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scale score of 4th-grade public school students and percentage attaining reading achievement levels, by state: Selected years, 1992 through 2015
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
State Average scale score1 Percent attaining reading achievement levels, 2015
19922 19942 1998 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 At or above Basic3 At or above Profi-cient4 At Ad-vanced5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
United States 215 (1.0) 212 (1.1) 213 (1.2) 217 (0.5) 216 (0.3) 217 (0.2) 220 (0.3) 220 (0.3) 220 (0.3) 221 (0.3) 221 (0.4) 68 (0.4) 35 (0.4) 8 (0.2)
Alabama 207 (1.7) 208 (1.5) 211 (1.9) 207 (1.4) 207 (1.7) 208 (1.2) 216 (1.3) 216 (1.2) 220 (1.3) 219 (1.2) 217 (1.4) 65 (1.8) 29 (1.7) 5 (0.7)
Alaska (†) (†) (†) (†) 212 (1.6) 211 (1.4) 214 (1.0) 211 (1.2) 208 (1.1) 209 (1.0) 213 (1.3) 61 (1.4) 30 (1.4) 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) 210 (1.2) 212 (1.2) 213 (1.4) 215 (1.3) 62 (1.6) 30 (1.5) 7 (0.8)
Arkansas 211 (1.2) 209 (1.7) 209 (1.6) 213 (1.4) 214 (1.4) 217 (1.1) 217 (1.2) 216 (1.1) 217 (1.0) 219 (0.9) 218 (1.1) 65 (1.3) 32 (1.5) 6 (0.8)
California6,7 202 (2.0) 197 (1.8) 202 (2.5) 206 (2.5) 206 (1.2) 207 (0.7) 209 (1.0) 210 (1.5) 211 (1.8) 213 (1.2) 213 (1.7) 59 (2.1) 28 (1.7) 6 (0.9)
                                                         
Colorado 217 (1.1) 213 (1.3) 220 (1.4) (†) 224 (1.2) 224 (1.1) 224 (1.1) 226 (1.2) 223 (1.3) 227 (1.0) 224 (1.6) 71 (1.7) 39 (1.8) 10 (1.0)
Connecticut 222 (1.3) 222 (1.6) 230 (1.6) 229 (1.1) 228 (1.1) 226 (1.0) 227 (1.3) 229 (1.1) 227 (1.3) 230 (0.9) 229 (1.1) 74 (1.2) 43 (1.5) 13 (1.0)
Delaware8 213 (0.6) 206 (1.1) 207 (1.7) 224 (0.6) 224 (0.7) 226 (0.8) 225 (0.7) 226 (0.5) 225 (0.7) 226 (0.8) 224 (0.8) 70 (1.2) 37 (1.2) 9 (0.7)
District of Columbia 188 (0.8) 179 (0.9) 179 (1.2) 191 (0.9) 188 (0.9) 191 (1.0) 197 (0.9) 202 (1.0) 201 (0.8) 206 (0.9) 212 (0.9) 56 (1.2) 27 (0.9) 8 (0.7)
Florida 208 (1.2) 205 (1.7) 206 (1.4) 214 (1.4) 218 (1.1) 219 (0.9) 224 (0.8) 226 (1.0) 225 (1.1) 227 (1.1) 227 (1.0) 75 (1.2) 39 (1.5) 8 (0.9)
                                                         
Georgia 212 (1.5) 207 (2.4) 209 (1.4) 215 (1.0) 214 (1.3) 214 (1.2) 219 (0.9) 218 (1.1) 221 (1.1) 222 (1.1) 222 (1.2) 68 (1.5) 34 (1.6) 7 (0.9)
Hawaii 203 (1.7) 201 (1.7) 200 (1.5) 208 (0.9) 208 (1.4) 210 (1.0) 213 (1.1) 211 (1.0) 214 (1.0) 215 (1.0) 215 (1.0) 61 (1.2) 29 (1.2) 6 (0.6)
Idaho 219 (0.9) (†) (†) 220 (1.1) 218 (1.0) 222 (0.9) 223 (0.8) 221 (0.9) 221 (0.8) 219 (0.9) 222 (1.0) 69 (1.3) 36 (1.4) 8 (0.7)
Illinois (†) (†) (†) (†) 216 (1.6) 216 (1.2) 219 (1.2) 219 (1.4) 219 (1.1) 219 (1.4) 222 (1.2) 68 (1.3) 35 (1.5) 9 (0.9)
Indiana 221 (1.3) 220 (1.3) (†) 222 (1.4) 220 (1.0) 218 (1.1) 222 (0.9) 223 (1.1) 221 (0.9) 225 (1.0) 227 (1.1) 75 (1.3) 40 (1.6) 9 (0.8)
                                                         
Iowa6,7 225 (1.1) 223 (1.3) 220 (1.6) 223 (1.1) 223 (1.1) 221 (0.9) 225 (1.1) 221 (1.2) 221 (0.8) 224 (1.1) 224 (1.1) 71 (1.4) 38 (1.6) 9 (0.8)
Kansas6,7 (†) (†) 221 (1.4) 222 (1.4) 220 (1.2) 220 (1.3) 225 (1.1) 224 (1.3) 224 (1.0) 223 (1.3) 221 (1.5) 68 (1.6) 35 (1.8) 9 (1.0)
Kentucky 213 (1.3) 212 (1.6) 218 (1.5) 219 (1.1) 219 (1.3) 220 (1.1) 222 (1.1) 226 (1.1) 225 (1.0) 224 (1.2) 228 (1.2) 75 (1.3) 40 (1.6) 10 (1.1)
Louisiana 204 (1.2) 197 (1.3) 200 (1.6) 207 (1.7) 205 (1.4) 209 (1.3) 207 (1.6) 207 (1.1) 210 (1.4) 210 (1.3) 216 (1.5) 63 (1.9) 29 (1.6) 6 (1.0)
Maine8 227 (1.1) 228 (1.3) 225 (1.4) 225 (1.1) 224 (0.9) 225 (0.9) 226 (0.9) 224 (0.9) 222 (0.7) 225 (0.9) 224 (0.9) 71 (1.2) 36 (1.3) 8 (0.7)
                                                         
Maryland 211 (1.6) 210 (1.5) 212 (1.6) 217 (1.5) 219 (1.4) 220 (1.3) 225 (1.1) 226 (1.4) 231 (0.9) 232 (1.3) 223 (1.3) 68 (1.5) 37 (1.7) 10 (0.9)
Massachusetts6 226 (0.9) 223 (1.3) 223 (1.4) 234 (1.1) 228 (1.2) 231 (0.9) 236 (1.1) 234 (1.1) 237 (1.0) 232 (1.1) 235 (1.0) 82 (1.2) 50 (1.5) 14 (1.0)
Michigan 216 (1.5) (†) 216 (1.5) 219 (1.1) 219 (1.2) 218 (1.5) 220 (1.4) 218 (1.0) 219 (1.2) 217 (1.4) 216 (1.3) 63 (1.8) 29 (1.6) 5 (0.8)
Minnesota6,7 221 (1.2) 218 (1.4) 219 (1.7) 225 (1.1) 223 (1.1) 225 (1.3) 225 (1.1) 223 (1.3) 222 (1.2) 227 (1.2) 223 (1.3) 71 (1.4) 39 (1.5) 9 (1.0)
Mississippi 199 (1.3) 202 (1.6) 203 (1.3) 203 (1.3) 205 (1.3) 204 (1.3) 208 (1.0) 211 (1.1) 209 (1.2) 209 (0.9) 214 (1.0) 60 (1.4) 26 (1.3) 5 (0.6)
                                                         
Missouri 220 (1.2) 217 (1.5) 216 (1.3) 220 (1.3) 222 (1.2) 221 (0.9) 221 (1.1) 224 (1.1) 220 (0.9) 222 (1.0) 223 (1.1) 70 (1.2) 36 (1.5) 9 (0.8)
Montana6,7,9 (†) 222 (1.4) 225 (1.5) 224 (1.8) 223 (1.2) 225 (1.1) 227 (1.0) 225 (0.8) 225 (0.6) 223 (0.8) 225 (0.8) 72 (1.2) 37 (1.2) 8 (0.6)
Nebraska8,9 221 (1.1) 220 (1.5) (†) 222 (1.5) 221 (1.0) 221 (1.2) 223 (1.3) 223 (1.0) 223 (1.0) 223 (1.0) 227 (1.1) 74 (1.3) 40 (1.5) 9 (1.0)
Nevada (†) (†) 206 (1.8) 209 (1.2) 207 (1.2) 207 (1.2) 211 (1.2) 211 (1.1) 213 (1.0) 214 (1.1) 214 (1.2) 61 (1.4) 29 (1.3) 6 (0.7)
New Hampshire6,8,9 228 (1.2) 223 (1.5) 226 (1.7) (†) 228 (1.0) 227 (0.9) 229 (0.9) 229 (1.0) 230 (0.8) 232 (0.9) 232 (1.0) 79 (1.2) 46 (1.5) 12 (0.8)
                                                         
New Jersey8 223 (1.4) 219 (1.2) (†) (†) 225 (1.2) 223 (1.3) 231 (1.2) 229 (0.9) 231 (1.2) 229 (1.3) 229 (1.4) 75 (1.5) 43 (1.8) 12 (1.2)
New Mexico 211 (1.5) 205 (1.7) 205 (1.4) 208 (1.6) 203 (1.5) 207 (1.3) 212 (1.3) 208 (1.4) 208 (1.0) 206 (1.1) 207 (1.0) 54 (1.4) 23 (1.2) 4 (0.5)
New York6,7,8 215 (1.4) 212 (1.4) 215 (1.6) 222 (1.5) 222 (1.1) 223 (1.0) 224 (1.0) 224 (1.0) 222 (1.1) 224 (1.2) 223 (1.1) 68 (1.2) 36 (1.5) 9 (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) 219 (1.1) 221 (1.2) 222 (1.1) 226 (1.1) 73 (1.4) 38 (1.5) 9 (1.0)
North Dakota7 226 (1.1) 225 (1.2) (†) 224 (1.0) 222 (0.9) 225 (0.7) 226 (0.9) 226 (0.8) 226 (0.5) 224 (0.5) 225 (0.7) 73 (1.0) 37 (0.9) 7 (0.7)
                                                         
Ohio 217 (1.3) (†) (†) 222 (1.3) 222 (1.2) 223 (1.4) 226 (1.1) 225 (1.1) 224 (1.0) 224 (1.2) 225 (1.2) 72 (1.3) 38 (1.7) 8 (1.0)
Oklahoma 220 (0.9) (†) 219 (1.2) 213 (1.2) 214 (1.2) 214 (1.1) 217 (1.1) 217 (1.1) 215 (1.1) 217 (1.1) 222 (1.1) 71 (1.4) 33 (1.5) 6 (0.7)
Oregon (†) (†) 212 (1.8) 220 (1.4) 218 (1.3) 217 (1.4) 215 (1.4) 218 (1.2) 216 (1.1) 219 (1.3) 220 (1.4) 67 (1.6) 34 (1.6) 8 (0.9)
Pennsylvania9 221 (1.3) 215 (1.6) (†) 221 (1.2) 219 (1.3) 223 (1.3) 226 (1.0) 224 (1.4) 227 (1.2) 226 (1.3) 227 (1.8) 74 (1.9) 41 (2.0) 11 (1.0)
Rhode Island9 217 (1.8) 220 (1.3) 218 (1.4) 220 (1.2) 216 (1.3) 216 (1.2) 219 (1.0) 223 (1.1) 222 (0.8) 223 (0.9) 225 (0.9) 72 (1.1) 40 (1.3) 10 (0.8)
                                                         
South Carolina 210 (1.3) 203 (1.4) 209 (1.4) 214 (1.3) 215 (1.3) 213 (1.3) 214 (1.2) 216 (1.1) 215 (1.2) 214 (1.2) 218 (1.4) 65 (1.4) 33 (1.6) 8 (0.9)
South Dakota (†) (†) (†) (†) 222 (1.2) 222 (0.5) 223 (1.0) 222 (0.6) 220 (0.9) 218 (1.0) 220 (0.9) 68 (1.2) 35 (1.1) 8 (0.7)
Tennessee7,9 212 (1.4) 213 (1.7) 212 (1.4) 214 (1.2) 212 (1.6) 214 (1.4) 216 (1.2) 217 (1.2) 215 (1.1) 220 (1.4) 219 (1.4) 66 (1.7) 33 (1.7) 8 (1.0)
Texas 213 (1.6) 212 (1.9) 214 (1.9) 217 (1.7) 215 (1.0) 219 (0.8) 220 (0.9) 219 (1.2) 218 (1.5) 217 (1.1) 218 (1.7) 64 (1.9) 31 (1.9) 7 (0.9)
Utah 220 (1.1) 217 (1.3) 216 (1.2) 222 (1.0) 219 (1.0) 221 (1.0) 221 (1.2) 219 (1.0) 220 (1.0) 223 (1.1) 226 (1.1) 74 (1.1) 40 (1.5) 10 (1.1)
                                                         
Vermont (†) (†) (†) 227 (1.1) 226 (0.9) 227 (0.9) 228 (0.8) 229 (0.8) 227 (0.6) 228 (0.6) 230 (0.8) 76 (1.0) 45 (1.4) 12 (0.9)
Virginia 221 (1.4) 213 (1.5) 217 (1.2) 225 (1.3) 223 (1.5) 226 (0.8) 227 (1.1) 227 (1.2) 226 (1.1) 229 (1.3) 229 (1.7) 74 (1.8) 43 (2.1) 14 (1.4)
Washington7 (†) 213 1.5 218 (1.4) 224 (1.2) 221 (1.1) 223 (1.1) 224 (1.4) 221 (1.2) 221 (1.1) 225 (1.4) 226 (1.5) 71 (1.5) 40 (1.8) 12 (1.2)
West Virginia 216 (1.3) 213 (1.1) 216 (1.7) 219 (1.2) 219 (1.0) 215 (0.8) 215 (1.1) 215 (1.0) 214 (0.8) 215 (0.8) 216 (1.2) 64 (1.3) 30 (1.5) 6 (0.7)
Wisconsin6,9 224 (1.0) 224 (1.1) 222 (1.1) (†) 221 (0.8) 221 (1.0) 223 (1.2) 220 (1.1) 221 (0.8) 221 (1.6) 223 (1.1) 71 (1.4) 37 (1.5) 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) 223 (0.7) 224 (0.8) 226 (0.6) 228 (0.7) 75 (1.0) 41 (1.2) 10 (0.7)
Department of Defense
      dependents
      schools10
(†) (†) 220 (0.7) 224 (0.4) 224 (0.5) 226 (0.6) 229 (0.5) 228 (0.5) 229 (0.5) 232 (0.6) 234 (0.7) 83 (1.1) 47 (1.3) 9 (0.9)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
‡Reporting standards not met. Participation rates fell below the required standards for reporting.
1 Scale ranges from 0 to 500.
2 Accommodations were not permitted for this assessment.
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 meet one or more of the guidelines for school participation in 1998. Data are subject to appreciable nonresponse bias.
7 Did not meet one or more of the guidelines for school participation in 2002. Data are subject to appreciable nonresponse bias.
8 Did not meet one or more of the guidelines for school participation in 1992. Data are subject to appreciable nonresponse bias.
9 Did not meet one or more of the guidelines for school participation in 1994. Data are subject to appreciable nonresponse bias.
10 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: For 1998 and later years, includes public school students who were tested with accommodations; excludes only those students with disabilities (SD) and English language learners (ELL) who were unable to be tested even with accommodations. SD and ELL populations, accommodation rates, and exclusion rates vary from state to state. Some data have been revised from previously published estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015 Reading Assessments, retrieved November 11, 2015, from the Main NAEP Data Explorer (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/). (This table was prepared November 2015.)