• Reading Scale-Score and Achievement-Level Results for the Nation
• Reading Results for Student Subgroups
• School and Home Factors Related to Reading Performance

This report presents the results of the NAEP 1998 Reading Assessment for the nation. Results in 1998 are compared with those in 1994 and 1992. Students' performance on the assessment is described in terms of their average scores on a 0-to-500 scale and in terms of the percentage of students attaining three achievement levels: Basic, Proficient, and Advanced.

The achievement levels are performance standards, adopted by the National Assessment Governing Board as part of its statutory requirements. The levels are collective judgments of what students should know and be able to do for each grade tested. They are based on recommendations by broadly representative panels of classroom teachers, education specialists, and members of the general public.

As provided by law, the Commissioner of Education Statistics, upon review of a congressionally mandated evaluation of NAEP, has determined that the achievement levels are to be considered developmental and should be interpreted and used with caution. However, both the Commissioner and the Board believe that these performance standards are useful for understanding trends in student achievement. They have been widely used by national and state officials, including the National Education Goals Panel, as a common yardstick of academic performance.

In addition to providing average scores and achievement-level performance for the nation, this report provides results for subgroups of students defined by various background and contextual characteristics. A summary of major findings from the NAEP 1998 Reading Assessment is presented below.

• Average reading scores increased for students in grades 4, 8, and 12. At the 4th and 12th grades, the national average score was higher in 1998 than in 1994. At the 8th grade, the national average score was higher in 1998 than in 1994 and 1992.

• While the national average reading score increased at all three grades in 1998, increased scores were not observed for all students. At grade 4, score increases were observed only among lower performing students. At grade 8, score increases were observed among lower and middle performing students. At grade 12, score increases were observed among middle and upper performing students; however, the score for lower performing 12th-graders was not as high in 1998 as it had been in 1992.

• Across the three grades (4, 8, and 12) in 1998, the percentages of students performing at or above the Basic level were 62, 74, and 77 percent; the percentages who performed at or above the Proficient level were 31, 33, and 40 percent; and the percentages who performed at the highest achievement level, Advanced, were 7, 3, and 6 percent.

• At grade 4, no significant changes since 1994 or 1992 were observed in the percentages of students attaining any of the achievement levels.

• At grade 8, a greater percentage of students performed at or above the Basic level and the Proficient level in 1998 compared with 1994 and 1992.

• At grade 12, a greater percentage of students performed at or above the Proficient level and the Advanced level in 1998 compared with 1994. The percentage of students at Advanced was also greater in 1998 than in 1992. Although the 1998 percentage of students at or above Basic was greater than that in 1994, it remained lower than the 1992 percentage.

• At all three grades in 1998, female students had higher average scale scores than their male peers, and the percentage of females attaining each of the reading achievement levels exceeded that of males.

• At grade 4, males had a higher average score in 1998 than in 1994; however, the average score of female fourth-graders remained unchanged. At grade 8, both male and female students had higher average scores in 1998 than in 1994 and 1992. At grade 12, an apparent increase was observed for both males and females between 1994 and 1998; however, the increase was not significant for male students. The average score for male 12th-graders in 1998 remained lower than that in 1992.

• At all three grades in 1998, the average score for white students was higher than those for black, Hispanic, and American Indian students.

• At grade 4, the only significant increase among racial-ethnic groups was observed for black students, whose average score in 1998 was higher than in 1994. At grade 8, increases were evident for both white and black students; their average scores in 1998 were higher than in 1994 and 1992. At grade 12, increases were evident for both white and Hispanic students since 1994.

• Students in grades 8 and 12 were asked to indicate their parents' highest level of education. Consistent with past NAEP assessments, students in 1998 who reported higher levels of parental education had higher average scale scores.

• The average score of eighth-graders who reported the highest level of parental education--graduated from college--was higher in 1998 than in both 1994 and 1992. The average score of 12th-graders who reported the lowest level of parental education--did not finish high school--was lower in 1998 than in 1992.

• The 1998 results by region indicated that fourth- and eighth-graders in the Northeast and Central regions outperformed their counterparts in the Southeast and West. Among 12th-graders, students in the Southeast had lower scores than students in the other three regions. Also among 12th-graders, students in the Central region outperformed students in the West region.

• An examination of results for students within the four regions--Northeast, Southeast, Central, and West--reveals four changes across the assessment years. In the Northeast, the 1998 average score for eighth-graders was higher than in 1992, and fourth-graders showed an increase between 1994 and 1998. In the Southeast, eighth-graders had a higher average score in 1998 than in 1994 and 1992. And for 12th-graders in the Central region, the 1998 average score was higher than the 1994 average score.

• In 1998, fourth- and eighth-graders in central city schools had lower average scores than their counterparts in rural or small town schools and urban fringe or large town schools. Also, eighth-graders in rural or small town schools had lower average scores than their counterparts in urban fringe or large town schools. No significant differences were observed among 12th-graders by type of location.

• Among students attending central city schools, eighth-graders had a higher average score in 1998 than in 1992. Among students attending schools in urban fringe or large town locations, 8th- and 12th-graders had higher average scores in 1998 than in 1994. In rural or small town schools, 12th-graders had a higher average score in 1998 than in 1994.

• The NAEP 1998 ReadingAssessment collected information on student eligibility for the federally funded free or reduced-price lunch program that provides children near or below the poverty line with nourishing meals. At all three grades, students who were eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program had lower average reading scores than students who were not eligible for the program.

• Consistent with past NAEP reading assessments, the 1998 results indicated that students attending nonpublic schools had higher average scale scores than their counterparts attending public schools.

• At grades 8 and 12, there was an increase between 1994 and 1998 in the average scores of students attending public schools. For eighth-grade public school students, the 1998 average was also higher than the 1992 average. While there was no significant change at any grade in the average score for all nonpublic schools, eighth-graders attending nonpublic Catholic schools had an average score in 1998 that was higher than in 1992.

• In 1998, at all three grades assessed, students who reported reading more pages daily in school and for homework had higher average scale scores than students who reported reading fewer pages daily.

• The 1998 results indicated that students in grades 8 and 12 were reading more pages each day for school and for homework than in 1994.

• Eighth- and 12th-grade students reported on how often they were asked to explain their understanding and discuss interpretations of their reading. At both grades, a positive relationship was observed between these instructional activities and student reading performance. Students who reported being asked by their teachers to explain their understanding or discuss interpretations at least once a week had higher average scores in 1998 than their classmates who reported doing so less than weekly.

• At grade 8, students' reports in 1998 indicated an increase in the frequency of both of these activities since 1994 and 1992. Twelfth-graders' reports indicated an increase since 1994 in the frequency of being asked to explain their understanding.

• At all three grades, a positive relationship between student reading performance and writing long answers to questions on tests and assignments that involved reading is generally supported by findings from the 1998 NAEP assessment. Students who reported engaging in this activity on a weekly or a monthly basis had higher average scores than students who reported doing so only once or twice a year, or hardly ever. At the 12th grade, students who reported doing such writing at least once or twice a week demonstrated the highest reading performance.

• Increases since 1994 in the frequency of this activity were indicated in the 1998 reports of fourth- and eighth-graders.

• Fourth-grade students who reported that their teachers gave them time to read books of their own choosing on a daily basis had a higher average score than their peers who reported being given time to do so less often. However,at grades 8 and 12, this activity did not have a positive relationship with average scores.

• Students' reports in 1998 indicated an increase since 1994 in the frequency of this activity for 4th-graders, while the reports of 8th- and 12th-graders indicated an increase since 1992.

• At all three grades in 1998, students who reported at least weekly home discussions about their studies had higher average scores than students who reported discussing their studies less frequently. At the 8th and 12th grades, having such discussions almost every day was associated with the highest average scores.

• Students' reports in 1998 indicated little change across assessment years in the percentages of students discussing their studies at home more or less frequently.

• At all three grades in 1998, students who reported talking about their reading activities with family or friends once or twice a week, or at least monthly, had higher average scores than students who reported doing so rarely or never.

• At grades 8 and 12, students' reports in 1998 indicated that they were talking about theirreading activities less frequently in comparison to their reports in 1992.

• At all three grades in 1998, students who reported watching 3 or fewer hours of television each day had higher average scores than students who reported watching more television.

• Results of the 1998 assessment are encouraging in that they indicate decreases since 1994 in the amount of time students spend watching television each day.