Nation's Report Card Home

Summary of Major Findings

 

Twelfth-graders' performance in reading improves since 2005

Seven states score higher than the natioanl average in reading. Compared to the nation, average reading scores were higher in Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and South Dakota; lower in Arkansas, Florida, and West Virginia; and not significantly different in New Jersey. State did not participate. (This statement applies to all states that were not previously listed.)

Nationally representative samples of more than 52,000 twelfth-graders participated in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading. On the national level, results are reported for students attending public and private schools across the nation.

  • The average reading score for the nation's twelfth-graders was 2 points higher in 2009 than in 2005. The score in 2009, however, was 4 points lower than the score for the first reading assessment in 1992.
  • White students, Asian/Pacific Islander students, and male students made gains since 2005.
  • Thirty-eight percent of twelfth-graders performed at or above the Proficient level in reading in 2009, which was higher than the percentage in 2005, but not significantly different from the percentages in other earlier assessment years.

See all the grade 12 national results.

Results are also reported for twelfth-grade public school students in 11 states that participated in the first state pilot program in 2009. The states that participated are Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

  •  Compared to the nation, average reading scores were higher in Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and South Dakota.

  • Compared to the nation, average reading scores were lower in Arkansas, Florida, and West Virginia.

See all the results for the 11 states that participated.

Students responded to questions designed to measure their knowledge of reading comprehension across two types of texts: literary and informational. Find out more about what the reading assessment measures.

For more information, browse the report online or download a copy of the report.