National Center for Education Statistics
June 2003
The latest reading results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), released last week, constitute a data trove to be mined for many purposes in the months ahead. I also see them as establishing the No Child Left Behind reading "baseline" in grades four and eight, i.e. marking the level from which our schools must boost their pupils if everyone is to become "proficient" in reading (as well as math) by 2014. And what these results show is that America has an ENORMOUS distance still to go. Granted, the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) has a fairly ambitious view of what it means to be a "proficient" reader. A proficient fourth grade reader, accordingly to NAGB, "demonstrate(s) an overall understanding of the text, providing inferential as well as literal information. When reading text appropriate to fourth grade, they should be able to extend the ideas in the text by making inferences, drawing conclusions, and making connections to their own experiences." After four more years of schooling, says NAGB, a proficient eighth grade reader should also "be able to identify some of the devices authors use in composing text. For example, & students & should be able to give details and examples to support themes that they identify. They should be able & to interpret the actions, behaviors, and motives of characters&." States may expect less from their "proficient" readers. That's up to them. If they set lower standards, more of their pupils will meet them. But according to NAGB's standards, when tested in 2002, just 31 percent of U.S. fourth graders and 33 percent of eighth graders reached the proficient level. That means more than two thirds of our schoolchildren are reading below that level. And when we look at minority and low-income youngsters, we find perilously low rates of proficiency: for black students, 12 percent of fourth graders and 13 percent of eighth graders; for Hispanic children, 15 percent in both grades. As for pupils in Title I schools, just 15 percent of fourth graders and 14 percent of eighth graders were reading at (or above) the proficient level. These are mighty wide gaps to close - and arguably the biggest education challenge facing the nation. You can get these data and much more, including state-specific results (which vary greatly), from the NAEP reading report, which comes in various lengths and formats. Begin by surfing to http://www.nagb.org/or http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/results2002/, then selecting the version you want.
