About the NAEP Reading Assessment
NAEP Reading Assessment Administration
The 2024 NAEP reading assessment at grade 12 was administered on Microsoft Surface Pro tablets and, for the first time, on Chromebooks. Both device types were supplied by NCES. Students were able to interact with the Surface Pro tablets or Chromebooks via touchscreen, with an attached keyboard. Students using a Surface Pro also had access to a stylus provided by NCES. A bridge study was conducted to evaluate potential effects of changing the assessment device from Microsoft Surface Pro to Chromebook. Technical details about the device evaluation are available in 2024 NAEP Digital Device Bridge Study for Mathematics and Reading at Grade 12.
The digitally based reading assessment provided students with tools such as annotation via an on-screen pencil or highlighter, selection of color themes, and zoom-in. In addition, a text-to-speech capability was available on the Directions and Help screens (but not available for the reading passages or questions). At the beginning of the assessment session, students viewed an interactive tutorial that presented all the information needed to take the assessment; for example, the tutorial explains how to progress through the reading passage and how to indicate or provide answers to questions, as well as how to use the tools. The interactive nature of the tutorial allowed students to familiarize themselves with the digital delivery system before beginning the actual assessment.
In 2024, the reading assessment at grade 12 was administered digitally for the second time, having transitioned from paper-based assessment (PBA) to digitally based assessment (DBA) in 2019. Technical details about the NAEP transition to digitally based assessment are available in the 2017 NAEP Transition to Digitally Based Assessments in Mathematics and Reading at Grades 4 and 8: Mode Evaluation Study. Read more about the grade 12 transition and mode evaluation.
The 2024 reading assessment comprised both discrete sets of passages and questions as well as scenario-based tasks (SBTs). At grade 12, a total of 14 blocks of questions were administered, including 11 discrete sets and 3 scenario-based tasks. All blocks except one were also used in the 2019 digitally based assessment at grade 12. Students were assessed with two 30-minute blocks for a total of 60 minutes of testing time.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a congressionally mandated project administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the U.S. Department of Education and is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what our nation's students know and can do in select subjects. The NAEP reading assessment uses literary and informational texts to measure students' reading comprehension skills. Students read grade-appropriate passages and answer questions based on what they have read. Results for the 2024 reading assessment at grade 12 are reported for the nation.