Student Reading Proficiency, 1971–2004

These test scores are from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP scores have been evaluated at certain performance levels. 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. Scale ranges from 0–500. Standard errors appear in parentheses.

Characteristics of students	1971	1975	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	1999	2004
Total 9-year-olds¹	208 (1.0)	210 (0.7)	215 (1.0)	211 (0.7)	212 (1.1)	211 (0.9)	212 (1.0)	212 (1.3)	219 (1.1)
Male	201 (1.1)	204 (0.8)	210 (1.1)	207 (0.8)	207 (1.4)	206 (1.3)	207 (1.4)	209 (1.6)	216 (1.4)
Female	214 (1.0)	216 (0.8)	220 (1.1)	214 (0.8)	216 (1.3)	215 (0.9)	218 (1.1)	215 (1.5)	221 (1.0)
Race/ethnicity
White, non-Hispanic	214 (0.9)	217 (0.7)	221 (0.8)	218 (0.8)	218 (1.4)	218 (1.0)	220 (1.2)	221 (1.6)	226 (1.1)
Black, non-Hispanic	170 (1.7)	181 (1.2)	189 (1.8)	186 (1.1)	189 (2.4)	185 (2.2)	191 (2.6)	186 (2.3)	200 (2.2)
Hispanic	(²)	183 (2.2)	190 (2.3)	187 (2.1)	194 (3.5)	192 (3.1)	195 (3.4)	193 (2.7)	205 (1.7)
Other	193 (3.8)	208 (4.1)	218 (3.8)	224 (2.5)	228 (5.4)	208 (4.0)	214 (4.2)	215 (4.0)
Total 13-year-olds¹	255 (0.9)	256 (0.8)	258 (0.9)	257 (0.5)	257 (1.0)	260 (1.2)	258 (1.0)	259 (1.0)	259 (1.0)
Male	250 (1.0)	250 (0.8)	254 (1.1)	253 (0.6)	252 (1.3)	254 (1.7)	251 (1.2)	254 (1.3)	254 (1.2)
Female	261 (0.9)	262 (0.9)	263 (0.9)	262 (0.6)	263 (1.0)	265 (1.2)	264 (1.2)	265 (1.2)	264 (1.3)
Race/ethnicity
White, non-Hispanic	261 (0.7)	262 (0.7)	264 (0.7)	263 (0.6)	261 (1.1)	266 (1.2)	266 (1.0)	267 (1.2)	266 (1.0)
Black, non-Hispanic	222 (1.2)	226 (1.2)	233 (1.5)	236 (1.0)	243 (2.4)	238 (2.3)	234 (2.6)	238 (2.4)	244 (2.0)
Hispanic	(²)	232 (3.0)	237 (2.0)	240 (1.7)	240 (3.5)	239 (2.5)	238 (2.9)	244 (2.9)	242 (1.6)
Other	251 (3.0)	256 (3.4)	254 (6.4)	260 (2.8)	269 (4.2)	268 (3.4)	253 (3.7)	258 (5.0)
Total 17-year-olds¹	285 (1.2)	286 (0.8)	285 (1.2)	289 (0.6)	290 (1.0)	290 (1.1)	288 (1.1)	288 (1.3)	285 (1.2)
Male	279 (1.2)	280 (1.0)	282 (1.3)	284 (0.6)	286 (1.5)	284 (1.6)	281 (1.3)	281 (1.6)	278 (1.5)
Female	291 (1.3)	291 (1.0)	289 (1.2)	294 (0.8)	294 (1.5)	296 (1.1)	295 (1.2)	295 (1.4)	292 (1.3)
Race/ethnicity
White, non-Hispanic	291 (1.0)	293 (0.6)	293 (0.9)	295 (0.7)	295 (1.2)	297 (1.4)	295 (1.2)	295 (1.4)	293 (1.1)
Black, non-Hispanic	239 (1.7)	241 (2.0)	243 (1.8)	264 (1.0)	274 (2.4)	261 (2.1)	266 (2.7)	264 (1.7)	264 (2.7)
Hispanic	(²)	252 (3.6)	261 (2.7)	268 (2.2)	271 (4.3)	271 (3.7)	265 (4.1)	271 (3.9)	264 (2.9)
Other	276 (4.8)	274 (4.4)	280 (3.0)	285 (3.1)	290 (5.3)	287 (5.8)	281 (6.0)	290 (5.0)

1. Excludes persons not enrolled in school.

2. Test scores of Hispanics were not tabulated separately.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2006), National Assessment of Educational Progress, NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress, by Educational Testing Service.

Average Math and Science Scores of Fourth-Grade and Eighth-Grade Students by Country

Elementary and High School Education

Public Schools with Access to the Internet, 1994–2000