How Educated Are We - Children's Reading Skills

The test scores for 17-year-olds from 1971-1999 are charted here. These are average test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) survey. During this entire period, average scores failed to reach "proficient" levels of reading. After 1992, average scores have even declined. Belief in universal progress may be premature.

White students scored the highest throughout these years. Except for 1988 and 1996, Hispanic students outscored black students. But scores for black students have risen the most since 1971: 25.2 points. Hispanic students' scores rose 18.3 points. White students' scores have risen only 3.4 points. In 1984, Hispanic students scored within the "basic" reading proficiency level⁹ for the first time. They were scoring in the "below basic" proficiency level throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Black students did not reach the "basic" level until 1988. White and Hispanic students have remained at this level ever since. Black students dropped back to the "below basic" level in 1999.

What do all these scores mean? According to the NAEP, the average 17-year-old student was barely able to follow directions in order to completely fill out an employment application and would not be able to explain the relevance of a major issue in a political speech.

Average 13-Year-Old Reading Proficiency Scores, by Race, 1971-1999

What about the younger students? The next chart shows the NAEP average test scores for 13-year-olds. At this level also, on average, students have not been able to achieve a"proficient" level of reading ability. In fact, scores for 13-year-olds are more below the minimum proficiency level than are scores for 17-year-olds. In 1999, the average score for a 13-year-old was 21.6 points lower than the minimum 281 points needed to obtain a rating of "proficient." The average 17-year-old had a score 13.9 points lower than the minimum score of 302. Overall, students scored in the "basic" proficiency range. However, black students' scores, on average, have remained in the "below basic" range throughout this time period. Hispanic students reached the "basic" level only in 1999, when their average score was 243.8. The minimum score for "basic" proficiency is 243.0. White students consistently scored within the "basic" range. In 1999, their average score was 266.7.

A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, a report by the National Commission on Excellence in Education (NCEE), was published in April 1983. It outlined the reasons the NCEE believed that students in the United States were falling behind students from other nations academically. The report also gave suggestions on how to improve our educational system. Many of the suggestions, such as increased emphasis on the "New Basic" curriculum¹⁰ and standardized testing, were implemented. In the nearly 20 years since this report, student reading test scores on the NAEP exams do not seem to reflect the level of improvement envisioned by the NCEE.

Next we'll take a look at children's mathematics proficiency.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. Digest of Education Statistics 2001. National Commission on Excellence in Education. A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform (April 1983). Online. Available: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/ April 11, 2002. U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics.. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). "Item Map of Selected Item Descriptions on the NAEP Reading Scale for Grade 8" and "Item Map of Selected Item Descriptions on the NAEP Reading Scale for Grade 12." Online. Available: http://nces.ed.gov. April 12, 2002.