Percentage distribution of U.S. 15-year-old students on reading literacy scale, by proficiency level and race/ethnicity: 2009

International Activities Program

Contact Us Publications & Products|Staff|TIMSS|PISA|PIRLS|PIAAC|TALIS|ICILS|IELS

Download Excel Excel format

Excel format

(193 KB)

Table B.1.55.

Percentage distribution of U.S. 15-year-old students on reading literacy scale, by proficiency level and race/ethnicity: 2009

Race/ethnicity	Below level 1b				Level 1b				Level 1a				Level 2				Level 3				Level 4				Level 5				Level 6
Race/ethnicity	Percent		s.e.		Percent		s.e.		Percent		s.e.		Percent		s.e.		Percent		s.e.		Percent		s.e.		Percent		s.e.		Percent		s.e.
White, non-Hispanic	‡		†		2	**	0.4		9	*	0.8		20	**	1.3		29		1.0		26	*	1.1		12	*	1.1		2	!**	0.7
Black, non-Hispanic	2	!	0.9		10	*	1.7		25	*	3.0		31	*	2.4		21	*	2.7		9	*	1.6		3	!*	1.0		‡		†
Hispanic	1	!	0.4		6		0.9		18	*	1.4		33	*	2.0		27		1.6		12	*	1.4		4	*	0.7		‡		†
Asian, non-Hispanic	‡		†		‡		†		7	!*	2.4		16	*	2.9		29		4.2		29	*	3.9		14	***	3.6		‡		†
American Indian/Alaska Native, non- Hispanic	‡		†		‡		†		‡		†		‡		†		‡		†		‡		†		‡		†		‡		†
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic	‡		†		‡		†		‡		†		‡		†		‡		†		‡		†		‡		†		‡		†
Two or more races, non-Hispanic	‡		†		4	!	1.6		13		3.1		22		3.7		30		4.2		22		3.5		7	!***	3.0		‡		†
U.S. average	1		0.1		4		0.5		13		0.8		24		0.9		28		0.8		21		0.9		8		0.8		2		0.4
OECD average	1		0.1		5		0.1		13		0.1		24		0.2		29		0.2		21		0.2		7		0.1		1		#
† Not applicable.
# Rounds to zero.
! Interpret data with caution.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
* p < .05. Significantly different from the U.S. and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) averages at the .05 level of statistical significance.
** p < .05. Significantly different from the OECD average at the .05 level of statistical significance, but not significantly different from the U.S. average.
*** p < .05. Significantly different from the U.S. average at the .05 level of statistical significance, but not significantly different from the OECD average.
NOTE: To reach a particular proficiency level, a student must correctly answer a majority of items at that level. Students were classified into reading literacy levels according to their scores. Exact cut point scores are as follows: below level 1b (a score less than or equal to 262.04); level 1b (a score greater than 262.04 and less than or equal to .334.75); level 1a (a score greater than 334.75 and less than or equal to 407.47); level 2 (a score greater than 407.47 and less than or equal to 480.18); level 3 (a score greater than 480.18 and less than or equal to 552.89); level 4 (a score greater than .552.89 and less than or equal to 625.61); level 5 (a score greater than 625.61 and less than or equal to 698.32); and level 6 (a score greater than 698.32). Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. The OECD average is the average of the national percentages of the OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Reporting standards were not met for American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. Black includes African American, and Hispanic includes Latino. Students who identified themselves as being of Hispanic origin were classified as Hispanic, regardless of their race. Although data for some race/ethnicities are not shown separately because the reporting standards were not met, they are included in the U.S. totals shown throughout the report. Students who identified themselves as being of Hispanic origin were classified as Hispanic, regardless of their race. Standard error is noted by s.e. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: Fleischman, H.L., Hopstock, P. J., Pelczar, M.P, and Shelly, B.E. (2010). Highlights From PISA 2009: Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Reading, Mathematics, and Science Literacy in an International Context (NCES 2011-004), supplemental table R11. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.