Student Group Scores

Student Group Score Results

Average reading scores increased for some groups of 9-year-olds compared to 2022; students from these student groups also had score increases at the 25th percentile

Average reading scores and scores at the 25th percentile in the 2025 long-term trend assessment were higher for 9-year-olds in the following student groups compared to 2022:

male students;
students who were identified as economically disadvantaged;
students attending public schools;
students attending grade 4 (the grade typical for age 9);
students who were identified and not identified as students with disabilities; and
students who were not identified as English learners.

Compared to the earliest assessments in the 1970s, many student groups with reportable results showed increases in average reading scores and scores at the 25th and 75th percentiles in 2025.

To see trends in average score and percentile results by selected student groups, click on the student group label below.

Score Gap Results By Student Groups

NAEP Achievement Gaps Dashboard

Explore student group score gap results using the Achievement Gaps Dashboard, which provides a quick glance at trends and significant differences in average scores between two groups of students for long-term trend reading and mathematics assessments.

Details

Demographic Trends

Demographic changes in student populations 

The demographic makeup of the United States' student population has changed since the first long-term trend reading assessment was administered in 1971.

At age 9, the proportion of Hispanic students has increased from 5 percent in 1975 to 27 percent in 2025, while the proportion of White students has decreased from 80 percent to 48 percent over the same time period.
Another notable change is that a higher percentage of 9-year-old students are now in a grade lower than the one typical for their age: 24 percent of 9-year-olds were in a grade lower than fourth grade in 1971, whereas 39 percent of 9-year-old students were below their typical grade in 2025.
The proportion of 9-year-olds in grade 4 has decreased from 75 percent to 61 percent over the same time period.

Select a student group from the drop-down menu to view changes in the percentage distribution for that group over time. 

NOTE: The NAEP long-term trend reading scale ranges from 0 to 500. Results for 1971–1999 are from the original assessment format (including an original assessment sample in the 2004 Bridge Study), and results for 2004–2025 are from the revised assessment format. See more information about the two assessment formats and the 2004 Bridge Study. Results are not shown for data points where the sample sizes are insufficient to permit a reliable estimate or where data are not available. Black includes African American, Hispanic includes Latino, and “Other” includes Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and unclassified, which was used in the NAEP long-term trend assessment prior to 2012 and was classified as Two or More Races in 2012 and later assessment years. Race categories exclude Hispanic origin. For the grade attended variable, fourth grade is the typical grade for 9-year-old students and eighth grade is the typical grade for 13-year-old students. Results are not available for parents’ highest education level prior to 2004 in NAEP long-term trend reading assessments because the wording of the survey question for this variable in the revised format of the reading assessments administered in 2004 and later was different from previous years. Results are not shown for private schools overall under the type of school category because the participation rate for overall private schools did not meet the minimum participation guidelines for reporting in recent long-term trend assessments since 2012. Beginning with the 2024 NAEP assessment, the variable previously reported as "eligibility for the National School Lunch Program" is relabeled as "economically disadvantaged status" to better reflect the data collecting procedure for this variable. The results for "economically disadvantaged status" are available in this report for 2004 and later assessment years. NAEP aims to include all students sampled for the assessments including students with disabilities and English learners. This goal is accomplished by allowing many of the same accommodations that students use on other tests such as extra testing time or individual administration. Traditionally, the long-term trend assessments have not provided such accommodations. Accommodations were first made available in the long-term trend assessments in 2004 as part of the changes made to the assessment. The category "students with disabilities" includes students identified as having either an Individualized Education Program or protection under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The results for students with disabilities and English learners are based on students who were assessed and cannot be generalized to the total population of such students. See more information about student group variables. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding or the omission of categories. Although the estimates (e.g., average scores or percentages) are shown as rounded numbers in the charts, the positions of the data points in the graphics are based on the unrounded numbers. Unrounded numbers were used for calculating the differences between the estimates, and for the statistical comparison test when the estimates were compared to each other. Not all apparent differences between estimates are statistically significant.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), various years, 1971–2025 Long-Term Trend Reading Assessments.