NAEP Report Card: Reading

Percentages of fourth-grade students at or above NAEP Proficient higher in 8 states compared to the nation's public schools

In comparison to the nation (public) in 2022,

The percentage of fourth-grade public school students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level in reading was 32 percent nationally in 2022.  

NAEP achievement levels are performance standards that describe what students should know and be able to do. Results are reported as percentages of students performing at or above three achievement levels (NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, and NAEP Advanced). Students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level on NAEP assessments demonstrate solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter. It should be noted that the NAEP Proficient achievement level does not represent grade level proficiency as determined by other assessment standards (e.g., state or district assessments). NAEP achievement levels are to be used on a trial basis and should be interpreted and used with caution. Find out more about the NAEP reading achievement levels.

Use the NAEP State Profiles Tool to compare NAEP achievement-level performance between states/jurisdictions and the nation (public) and to see trends in states/jurisdictions by NAEP achievement level.

See how percentages of fourth-grade public school students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient  level in reading in each state/jurisdiction compare to the nation (public) by clicking on the state/jurisdiction in the map.

Scroll down below the map to explore the percentage of students who performed at each of the NAEP reading achievement levels by state/jurisdiction in 2022.

Between 21 and 50 percent of fourth-grade students performed at or above NAEP Proficient in reading across states/jurisdictions

In 2022, the percentage of fourth-grade public school students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level in reading was 32 percent nationally. Across the states/jurisdictions, the percentages of public school fourth-graders performing at or above NAEP Proficient  in reading ranged from 21 percent to 50 percent.

The chart below lists the percentages of fourth-grade public school students performing at each of the NAEP reading achievement levels by states/jurisdictions in 2022.

Set the baseline at either NAEP Basic or NAEP Proficient to see the percentages of students performing at or above that NAEP achievement level in each state/jurisdiction. Click "Show NAEP achievement-level breakdown" to see how the percentages of fourth-grade students at each of the NAEP achievement levels compare to the nation (public). Click "Hide NAEP achievement-level breakdown" to see how the percentages of students at or above the selected baseline NAEP achievement level compare to the nation (public).