Chapter Three

How Are Results of the NAEP Reading Assessment Reported?

NAEP reading assessment results are reported in terms of average scores for groups of students on the NAEP 0–500 scale and as percentages of students who attain each of the three achievement levels: Basic, Proficient, and Advanced (see exhibit 10). The achievement levels offer a means of identifying percentages of students who have demonstrated certain reading proficiencies. Authorized by NAEP legislation and adopted by the Governing Board, the achievement levels are performance standards based on the collective judgments of experts about what students should know and be able to do in terms of the NAEP Reading Framework.

Exhibit 10. Policy Definitions of NAEP Achievement Levels

Advanced	Superior performance.
Proficient	Solid academic performance for each grade assessed. Students reaching this level have demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, including subject-matter knowledge, application of such knowledge to real-world situations, and analytical skills appropriate to the subject matter.
Basic	Partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at each grade.

As part of the process for setting achievement levels for each NAEP subject area, panels of teachers, curriculum experts, policymakers, and members of the general public use the generic policy definitions to develop descriptions of what students should know and be able to do at the Basic, Proficient, and Advanced levels. These descriptions are presented in exhibits 11 through 13 to illustrate Basic, Proficient, and Advanced performance on the NAEP reading assessment for 4th, 8th, and 12th graders.

Exhibit 12. NAEP Reading Achievement Levels: Grade 8

Reading Achievement Level	Description
Advanced	Eighth-grade students performing at the Advanced level should be able to describe the more abstract themes and ideas of the overall text. When reading text appropriate to eighth grade, they should be able to analyze both meaning and form and support their analyses explicitly with examples from the text, and they should be able to extend text information by relating it to their experiences and to world events. At this level, student responses should be thorough, thoughtful, and extensive. For example, when reading literary text, Advanced-level eighth graders should be able to make complex, abstract summaries and theme statements. They should be able to describe the interactions of various literary elements (i.e., setting, plot, characters, and theme) and explain how the use of literary devices affects both the meaning of the text and their response to the author’s style. They should be able to critically analyze and evaluate the composition of the text. When reading informational text, they should be able to analyze the author’s purpose and point of view. They should be able to use cultural and historical background information to develop perspectives on the text and be able to apply text information to broad issues and world situations. When reading practical text, Advanced-level students should be able to synthesize information that will guide their performance, apply text information to new situations, and critique the usefulness of the form and content.
Proficient	Eighth-grade students performing at the Proficient level should be able to show an overall understanding of the text, including inferential as well as literal information. When reading text appropriate to eighth grade, they should be able to extend the ideas in the text by making clear inferences from it, by drawing conclusions, and by making connections to their own experiences—including other reading experiences. Proficient eighth graders should be able to identify some of the devices authors use in composing text. For example, when reading literary text, students at the Proficient level should be able to give details and examples to support themes that they identify. They should be able to use implied as well as explicit information in articulating themes; to interpret the actions, behaviors, and motives of characters; and to identify the use of literary devices such as personification and foreshadowing. When reading informational text, they should be able to summarize the text using explicit and implied information and support conclusions with inferences based on the text. When reading practical text, Proficient-level students should be able to describe its purpose and support their views with examples and details. They should be able to judge the importance of certain steps and procedures.
Basic	Eighth-grade students performing at the Basic level should demonstrate a literal understanding of what they read and be able to make some interpretations. When reading text appropriate to eighth grade, they should be able to identify specific aspects of the text that reflect the overall meaning, extend the ideas in the text by making simple inferences, recognize and relate interpretations and connections among ideas in the text to personal experience, and draw conclusions based on the text. For example, when reading literary text, Basic-level eighth graders should be able to identify themes and make inferences and logical predictions about aspects such as plot and characters. When reading informational text, they should be able to identify the main idea and the author’s purpose. They should make inferences and draw conclusions supported by information in the text. They should recognize the relationships among the facts, ideas, events, and concepts of the text (e.g., cause and effect, order). When reading practical text, they should be able to identify the main purpose and make predictions about the relatively obvious outcomes of procedures in the text.

Exhibit 13. NAEP Reading Achievement Levels: Grade 12

Reading Achievement Level	Description
Advanced	Twelfth-grade students performing at the Advanced level should be able to describe more abstract themes and ideas in the overall text. When reading text appropriate to 12th grade, they should be able to analyze both the meaning and the form of the text and explicitly support their analyses with specific examples from the text. They should be able to extend the information from the text by relating it to their experiences and to the world. Their responses should be thorough, thoughtful, and extensive. For example, when reading literary text, Advanced-level 12th graders should be able to produce complex, abstract summaries and theme statements. They should be able to use cultural, historical, and personal information to develop and explain text perspectives and conclusions. They should be able to evaluate the text, applying knowledge gained from other texts. When reading informational text, they should be able to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate points of view. They should be able to identify the relationship between the author’s stance and elements of the text. They should be able to apply text information to new situations and to the process of forming new responses to problems or issues. When reading practical text, Advanced-level 12th graders should be able to make critical evaluations of the usefulness of the text and apply directions from the text to new situations.
Proficient	Twelfth-grade students performing at the Proficient level should be able to show an overall understanding of the text, which includes inferential as well as literal information. When reading text appropriate to 12th grade, they should be able to extend the ideas of the text by making inferences, drawing conclusions, and making connections to their own personal experiences and other readings. Connections between inferences and the text should be clear, even when implicit. These students should be able to analyze the author’s use of literary devices. When reading literary text, Proficient-level 12th graders should be able to integrate their personal experiences with ideas in the text to draw and support conclusions. They should be able to explain the author’s use of literary devices such as irony and symbolism. When reading informative text, they should be able to apply text information appropriately to specific situations and integrate their background information with ideas in the text to draw and support conclusions. When reading practical text, they should be able to apply information or directions appropriately. They should be able to use personal experiences to evaluate the usefulness of text information.
Basic	Twelfth-grade students performing at the Basic level should be able to demonstrate an overall understanding and make some interpretations of the text. When reading text appropriate to 12th grade, they should be able to identify and relate aspects of the text to its overall meaning, extend the ideas in the text by making simple inferences, recognize interpretations, make connections among and relate ideas in the text to their personal experiences, and draw conclusions. They should be able to identify elements of an author’s style. For example, when reading literary text, Basic-level 12th graders should be able to explain the theme, support their conclusions with information from the text, and make connections between aspects of the text and their own experiences. When reading informational text, Basic-level twelfth graders should be able to explain the main idea or purpose of a selection and use text information to support a conclusion or make a point. They should be able to make logical connections between the ideas in the text and their own background knowledge. When reading practical text, they should be able to explain its purpose and the significance of specific details or steps.

The reading performance of fourth graders and the aspects of reading can be illustrated by a map that positions item descriptions along the NAEP reading composite scale where items are likely to be answered successfully by students (see exhibit 14). The descriptions used on the map focus on the reading skill or ability needed to answer the question. For each test item indicated, students who scored above the scale point had a higher probability of successfully answering the question, and students who scored below the scale point had a lower probability of successfully answering the question. Item maps are useful indicators of higher or lower probability of successfully answering test questions depending on students' overall ability as measured by the NAEP scale.

NAEP achievement level descriptions provide descriptions of Basic, Proficient, and Advanced performance. However, based on the NAEP reading results, it may be useful to give some information about students who score below the Basic level. These students are not necessarily nonreaders. They may be able to read but not well enough to attain the minimum score for Basic. For example, exhibit 14 indicates what fourth-grade students scoring below Basic could do on the 2000 NAEP reading assessment. As one can see, students who scored below Basic could complete tasks such as identifying a character trait and identifying a character’s problem, tasks that require some reading and comprehension skills. Given the length and difficulty of the passages, the skills demonstrated by some of the students who scored below Basic indicated some comprehension. Additional NAEP reading questions with performance results are available on the NAEP Web site at nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.

The NAEP reading assessment provides important information for nationally representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12 and for state-level samples of fourth and eighth graders. NAEP also reports on subgroups of students by gender, race/ethnicity, region of the country, location of school (for example, central city, urban fringe/large town, rural/small town), eligibility for free or reduced price lunch, public or nonpublic school, and other variables of interest. For an example of how NAEP reports such data, see Fourth-Grade Reading Highlights 2000 (National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2001) or the NAEP Web site at nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.

One of NAEP's most important functions is to report trends in the average reading achievement of students over time. This information helps policymakers and the public answer the following:

• Are students improving in reading achievement over time?

• Are percentages of students at the upper achievement levels increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same?

• Are the gaps in achievement among various groups narrowing?

This information is useful in making decisions about the allocation of resources and the framing of policy related to reading. For examples of how NAEP reports trends, see The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2002 (NCES, 2003) or the NAEP Web site at nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.

Students participating in NAEP respond to a background survey that provides information to round out the picture of reading in the United States. This survey gathers information on items such as time spent reading in and out of school, home activities related to reading, and types of activities their teachers use for reading instruction. Some activities are related to average scores on NAEP. NAEP collects only background information that is related to reading achievement. For example, students who report having the opportunity to read books for fun every day have significantly higher average scores than those who only read for fun once or twice a week. However, a complex mix of educational and socioeconomic factors may affect student achievement. To see how NAEP reports relate information from the surveys to the main part of NAEP, see Fourth-Grade Reading Highlights 2000 (NCES, 2001) or the NAEP Web site at nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.

The results of the NAEP reading assessment and analysis of those results provide a useful snapshot of reading achievement in the United States that can be compared with achievement in previous years to identify trends and background factors in reading. When interpreting NAEP results, keep in mind that there is no simple causal relationship between membership in a subgroup and performance on NAEP.

Exhibit 14. Selected Item Descriptions on NAEP Reading Scale: Grade 4

Note: Regular type denotes a constructed-response question. Italic type denotes a multiple-choice question. Each grade 4 reading question was mapped onto the NAEP 0–500 reading scale. The position of the question on the scale represents the scale score attained by students who had a 65-percent probability of successfully answering a constructed-response question or a 74-percent probability of correctly answering a four-option, multiple-choice question. Only selected questions are presented. Scale score ranges for reading achievement levels are referenced on the map.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2000 NAEP reading assessment.

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Reading Framework for the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress