Average Scale Scores and Achievement-Level Results in Reading by Gender

• In 2005, female fourth- and eighth-graders both scored higher, on average, in reading than their male counterparts.
• Male fourth-graders had a higher average reading score in 2005 than in both 1992 and in 2003. The percentages of male and female fourth-graders performing at or above Basic in reading showed no statistically significant differences between 1992 and 2005; however, the percentage of male fourth-graders performing at or above Basic in reading was higher in 2005 than in 2003.
• Male eighth-graders had a higher average reading score in 2005 than in 1992; however, both male and female eighth-graders had a lower average reading score in 2005 than in 2003. The percentage of male eighth-graders performing at or above Basic in reading was higher in 2005 than in 1992.  The percentage of both male and female eighth-graders performing at or above Basic in reading was lower in 2005 than in 2003.