Trends in the Reading Performance of 9-, 13-, and 17-Year-Olds

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Vol 2, Issue 2, Topic: Elementary and Secondary Education

Reading Performance: Trends in the Reading Performance of 9-, 13-, and 17-Year-Olds

This article was originally published as an Indicator of the Month, taken fromThe Condition of Education: 1999. The sample survey data are from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Long-Term Trend Assessment.

Reading ability is essential to students' educational progress. Since the early 1970s, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has assessed the trends in students' reading performance. These trends provide a picture of how student performance in reading has changed over time, specifically among students of different ages and racial/ethnic groups.

For 9- and 13-year-olds, average reading scores improved slightly between 1971 and 1980 and showed little or no change between 1980 and 1996 (table 1a). Scores for 17-year-olds have remained relatively consistent since 1971.
Females outscored males in reading performance across all age groups (table 1a).
During these periods, reading scores of black and Hispanic students were lower than those of white students for all age groups (table 1b and figure 1a). However, the black-white score gap, in particular, changed over time. For all age groups, the gap decreased between 1971 and 1988, yet showed no significant change between 1988 and 1996 for 9- and 17-year-olds and increased for 13-year-olds (figure 1b).

Table 1a.—Average reading performance (scale score), by sex and age: 1971-96
Table 1a.- Average reading performance (scale score), by sex and age: 1971-96

Table 1b.—Average reading performance (scale score), by race/ethnicity and age: 1971-96
Table 1b.- Average reading performance (scale score), by race/ethnicity and age: 1971-96

—Not available.

NOTE: The reading performance scale has a range from 0 to 500. A score of 300 implies an ability to find, understand, summarize, and explain relatively complicated literary and informational material. A score of 250 implies an ability to search for specific information, interrelate ideas, and make generalizations about literature, science, and social studies materials. A score of 200 implies an ability to understand, combine ideas, and make inferences based on short, uncomplicated passages about specific or sequentially related information. A score of 150 implies an ability to follow brief written directions and carry out simple, discrete reading tasks.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, (1997, revised in 1998) NAEP 1996 Trends in Academic Progress (NCES 97-985).

Figure 1a.—Average reading performance, by age and race/ethnicity: 1971-96
Figure 1a.- Average reading performance, by age and race/ethnicity: 1971-96 Figure 1b.- Difference in average reading performance (scale scores) between white and black students, by age: 1971-96

Figure 1b.-Difference in average reading performance (scale scores) between white and black students, by age: 1971-96
Figure 1b.—Difference in average reading performance (scale scores) between white and black students, by age: 1971-96

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, (1997, revised in 1998) NAEP 1996 Trends in Academic Progress (NCES 97-985).

Data source: The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1996 Long-Term Trend Assessment.

For technical information, see

National Center for Education Statistics. (1999). The Condition of Education: 1999 (NCES 1999-022).

For complete supplemental and standard error tables, see either

• the electronic version of The Condition of Education: 1999 (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=1999022) , or

• volume 2 of the printed version: The Condition of Education: 1999 Supplemental and Standard Error Tables (NCES 2000-016).

For questions about content, contact John Wirt (john.wirt@ed.gov).

To obtain this Indicator of the Month (NCES 2000-006), call the toll-free ED Pubs number (877-433-7827) or visit the NCES Web Site (http://nces.ed.gov) .