NAEP Focus on Interpreting Words

As part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading, students are asked to demonstrate their understanding of words as used in literary and informational texts. This focus on students’ understanding of words in varied contexts highlights the importance of vocabulary in reading comprehension. Students' performance on the vocabulary questions is analyzed separately from the reading comprehension results and reported on a separate 0–500 vocabulary scale. Vocabulary scores are available for 2009, 2011, and 2013 at grades 4 and 8, and for 2009 and 2013 at grade 12.

National Score Trends

4th Grade

The number one superimposed on an arrow pointing up
Up 1 score point
SINCE
2011

8th Grade

The number one superimposed on an arrow pointing up
Up 1 score point
SINCE
2011

12th Grade

Side-to-side arrows
No score change
SINCE
2009

Examples of Students' Vocabulary Knowledge

75% of 4th-graders recognized the meaning of the word fascinating
79% of 8th-graders recognized the meaning of the word intently
76% of 12th-graders recognized the meaning of the word precedent
Show Notes and Sources