NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results:
Reading and Mathematics

NOTE: The NAEP long-term trend reading scale ranges from 0 to 500. Results for 1971–99 are from the original assessment format, and results for 2004–20 are from the revised assessment format. See more information about the two assessment formats. 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 under the type of school category because the participation rate for private schools did not meet the minimum participation guidelines for reporting in 2020. Results are not available for eligibility for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) prior to 2004 in NAEP long-term trend assessments. The information about NSLP variable is based on available school records. If school records were not available, the student was classified as "Information not available." 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. 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, 1971–2020 Long-Term Trend Reading Assessments.