Table 9a. Average reading scale scores on the long-term trend National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), by age and race/ethnicity: Various years, 1971-2004

Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Minorities

NCES 2007-039
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Table 9a.

Average reading scale scores on the long-term trend National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), by age and race/ethnicity: Various years, 1971-2004

Year	9-year-olds			13-year-olds			17-year-olds
Year	White	Black	Hispanic	White	Black	Hispanic	White	Black	Hispanic
1971	214 ¹	170 ¹	—	261 ¹	222 ¹	—	291	239	—
1975	217	181	183	262	226	232	293	241	252
1980	221	189	190	264	233	237	293	243	261
1984	218	186	187	263	236	240	295	264	268
1988	218	189	194	261	243	240	295	274	271
1990	217	182	189	262	241	238	297	267	275
1992	218	185	192	266	238	239	297	261	271
1994	218	185	186	265	234	235	296	266	263
1996	220	191	195	266	234	238	295	266	265
1999	221	186	193	267	238	244	295	264	271
2004	226	200	205	266	244	242	293	264	264
— Not available. ¹ Data for 1971 include persons of Hispanic origin. 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 those who were unable to be tested due to limited proficiency in English or due to a disability. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic origin. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2006). Digest of Education Statistics, 2005 (NCES 2006-030), table 108, data from U.S. Department of Education, NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), various years, 1971–2004 Long-Term Trend Reading Assessment.