Summary of Major Findings

The 2011 NAEP writing assessment is the first large-scale national assessment to measure students' writing using commonly available word-processing tools. National samples of 24,100 eighth-graders and 28,100 twelfth-graders responded to writing prompts designed to measure their ability to write for specified purposes (to persuade, to explain, or to convey experience) and audiences. A proficiency scale ranging from 0-300 with a mean of 150 was developed to report results for the new assessment.

Females outperform males at both grades

• At both grades 8 and 12, female students outperformed male students on the 2011 writing assessment.
• Female students scored 19 points higher on average than male students in 2011 at grade 8 and 14 points higher on average than male students at grade 12.

About one-quarter of students perform at or above the Proficient level in writing in 2011.

• Eighty percent of eighth-graders and 79 percent of twelfth-graders performed at or above the Basic level in writing in 2011.
• Twenty-seven percent of students at both grades 8 and 12 performed at or above the Proficient level in writing.
• Three percent of eighth- and twelfth-graders in 2011 performed at the Advanced level.

 Performance varies by race/ethnicity

• At grade 8, average writing scores were higher for Asian students than for other racial/ethnic groups.
• At grade 12, average writing scores were not significantly different for White students, Asian students, and students of two or more races.
• At grade 12, scores were higher for White students, Asian students, and students of two or more races than for Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native students.

See all the average scores for students at grade 8 and grade 12.

See all the achievement-level results for students at grade 8 and grade 12.

Find out how to interpret NAEP writing results.

For more information, browse the report online or download a copy of the report.