National Center for Education Statistics
March 2010
If you get a distinct tinge of d??j?? vu reading the 2009 NAEP reading report card, you're not alone. Results of this most-recent version of the test look a whole lot like those we saw in 2007.??Compared to two years ago, fourth grade reading scores are identical (221) and eighth grade reading scores improved by just one (though statistically-significant) point (from 263 to 264). What's more, very few of the subgroups tested saw any significant score improvements: Neither the fourth??nor eighth grade results show a statistically significant change in the black-white, Hispanic-white, or female-male achievement gaps from 2007 to 2009. In fact, since 1992, only the black-white achievement gap in grade 4 and the female-male achievement gap in grade 8 have narrowed.??Only one state, Kentucky, increased scores for both fourth and eighth??grade between 2007 and 2009; thirty-eight states saw no significant changes in either grade. A few other highlights include: Private schools and Catholic schools scored on average fifteen points higher than public schools in grade 4; Massachusetts is once again the top scorer for both fourth??grade and eighth??grade, with New Jersey a close second; and Washington, D.C. is last on the list, but at least can boast a five-point jump for fourth-graders. See the results??here.
