Opportunities in Education
When fourth-graders took the reading assessment in January—March, 2019, 2022, and 2024, they were asked to indicate the number of days they had been absent from school in the previous month. The response options were none, 1 or 2 days, 3 or 4 days, 5 to 10 days, and more than 10 days.
For the top two response options—5 to 10 days and more than 10 days—a smaller percentage of fourth-graders reported missing 5 or more days from school in the previous month in 2024 (15 percent) compared to 2022 (21 percent). However, in comparison to 2019, the percentage of fourth-grade students missing 5 or more days was higher in 2024.
Figure Percentage distribution of fourth-grade students in NAEP reading by the reported number of days they were absent from school in the previous month: 2019, 2022, and 2024
Larger percentage of lower-performing students reported being absent from school for 3 or more days
In 2024, the percentage of lower-performing fourth-grade students (those scoring below the 25th percentile) who reported missing 3 or more days of school in the past month (45 percent) was larger than the percentage of higher-performing students (those scoring at or above the 75th percentile) who reported missing 3 or more days (21 percent).
A larger percentage of higher-performing students (45 percent) than lower-performing students (27 percent) reported missing no days of school in the past month.
Figure Percentage distribution of fourth-grade students in NAEP reading by performance level and by the reported number of days they were absent from school in the previous month: 2024
Administrators of schools where the reading assessment was administered were asked to indicate the percentage of teachers absent on an average day in 2019, 2022, and 2024. The response options ranged from 0‒2% to more than 10%.
The percentage of fourth-grade students whose school administrators indicated more than 10% of teachers were absent on an average day decreased in 2024 (1 percent) compared to 2022 (3 percent).
The percentage of fourth-grade students whose school administrators indicated 0‒2% of teachers were absent on an average day in 2024 (55 percent) was smaller than in 2019 (62 percent). Larger percentages of fourth-graders in 2024 had school administrators who indicated 3‒5% and 6‒10% of teachers were absent on an average day compared to 2019.
Figure Percentage distribution of fourth-grade students in NAEP reading by school reported percentage of teachers absent on an average day: 2019, 2022, and 2024
Larger percentages of lower-performing students attended schools with 6% or more teachers absent on an average day
In 2024, larger percentages of lower-performing fourth-graders (those scoring below the 25th percentile) had school administrators who reported 6% or more teachers were absent on an average day when compared to their higher-performing peers (those scoring at or above the 75th percentile).
Figure Percentage distribution of fourth-grade students in NAEP reading by performance level and by school reported percentage of teachers absent on an average day: 2024
The teachers of fourth-graders took the reading assessment were asked to indicate the degree to which the statement “I am satisfied with being a teacher at my school” applied to them. The response options ranged from not at all like me to exactly like me. The percentage of students in 2024 with teachers who responded exactly like me (46 percent) was not significantly different from 2022 or 2019.
Figure Percentage distribution of fourth-grade students in NAEP reading by how their teachers responded to a statement about being satisfied with teaching at their current school: 2019, 2022, and 2024
Smaller percentage of lower-performing students had teachers who responded “exactly” they were satisfied with being a teacher at their school
In 2024, a smaller percentage of lower-performing fourth graders (43 percent), who scored below the 25th percentile, had teachers who reported that the statement “I am satisfied with being a teacher at this school” exactly applied to them compared to their higher-performing peers (48 percent) who scored at or above the 75th percentile.
Figure Percentage distribution of fourth-grade students in NAEP reading by performance level and by how their teachers responded to a statement about being satisfied with teaching at their current school: 2024
When they took the reading assessment, fourth-grade students in 2019, 2022, and 2024 reported their confidence in performing six reading-related tasks, such as explaining the meaning of something they have read or figuring out the main idea of a text.
A larger percentage of fourth-graders reported having high levels of confidence in their reading knowledge and skills in 2024 (57 percent) than in 2022 (54 percent), while the percentage in 2024 was smaller than in 2019 (62 percent).
Figure Percentage distribution of fourth-grade students in NAEP reading by students' confidence in reading knowledge and skills index score category: 2019, 2022, and 2024
Larger percentage of higher-performing students reported high levels of confidence in their reading skills
In 2024, a larger percentage of higher-performing fourth-graders (those scored at or above the 75th percentile) reported having high levels of confidence in their reading knowledge and skills (76 percent) compared to lower-performing students (30 percent), who scored below the 25th percentile.
Figure Percentage distribution of fourth-grade students in NAEP reading by performance level and by students’ confidence in reading knowledge and skills index score category: 2024
Students were asked how often during the school year they had been asked to write long answers (several sentences or paragraphs) to questions on tests or assignments that involved reading. The response options ranged from never to more than five times.
The percentage of fourth-graders who were asked to write long answers to questions on tests or assignments that involved reading more than five times a year decreased in 2024 (37 percent) in comparison to both 2022 (39 percent) and 2019 (42 percent).
Figure Percentage distribution of fourth-grade students in NAEP reading by how often they were asked to write long answers to questions on tests or assignments that involved reading in the school year: 2019, 2022, and 2024
Smaller percentage of lower-performing students asked to write long answers more than five times a year
In 2024, a smaller percentage of lower-performing students (26 percent), who scored below the 25th percentile, were asked to write long answers to questions on tests or assignments that involved reading more than five times a year compared to their higher-performing peers (45 percent) who scored at or above the 75th percentile.
Figure Percentage distribution of fourth-grade students in NAEP reading by performance level and by how often they were asked to write long answers to questions on tests or assignments that involved reading in the school year: 2024
NOTE: The NAEP reading scale ranges from 0 to 500. 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. Comparison results are based on a statistical significance level set at .05, with appropriate adjustments for multiple comparisons. 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), 2019, 2022, and 2024 Reading Assessments.
Below are selected National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading survey questionnaire results from the 2019, 2022, and 2024 assessments covering aspects of students' educational experience. The selected results provide trends in student and teacher absenteeism, teacher satisfaction, students’ confidence in reading, and students' reading activities in school. Read more about NAEP survey questionnaires.
A special module was added to the 2024 NAEP survey questionnaires to collect information about students’ learning experiences and how educators addressed educational recovery and student development related to learning disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit the Opportunity to Learn dashboard for survey results related to learning recovery.
NAEP survey questionnaire responses provide additional information for understanding NAEP performance results. Although comparisons in students’ performance are made based on student, teacher, and school characteristics and educational experiences, these results cannot be used to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the characteristics or experiences and student achievement. NAEP is not designed to identify the causes of performance differences. There are many factors that may influence average student achievement, including local educational policies and practices, the quality of teachers, and available resources. Such factors may change over time and vary among student groups; therefore, results must be interpreted with caution.
NAEP reports results using widely accepted statistical standards; findings are reported based on a statistical significance level set at .05, with appropriate adjustments for multiple comparisons. Students are always the unit of analysis when reporting NAEP survey questionnaire responses. The percentages shown are weighted and represent students or students whose teachers or school administrators indicated a specific response on the survey questionnaire. Some student responses are missing as a result of an inability to link students to their teachers’ or school administrators’ responses to the survey questionnaire or as a result of nonresponse from students, teachers, or school administrators. The denominator of the percentages presented excludes all students with missing information in the data for the analysis. The percentage distributions of reported survey response categories could change when students with missing data are included in the denominator. To find missing rates and explore student, teacher, and school questionnaire data further, use the NAEP Data Explorer.