According to the results of the latest NAEP reading assessment, there was a drop of 3 points in the average performance of both fourth and eighth graders when compared with 2019 test results. However, the decline was greater for lower-performing students and Black students and Hispanic students. Scores for fourth-grade students at the 10th percentile fell 6 points. For eight-grade students, the drop was 3 points. Fourth-grade scores for Black students and Hispanic students were 8 and 6 points lower. At the eighth-grade level, there were no significant changes for most ethnic/racial groups. However, scores for White students fell 4 points. According to Harvard psychometrician Andrew Ho, each point on the scale is estimated to represent 3 weeks of learning (Mervosh, 2022). Thus, the average drop in learning is 9 weeks but 18 weeks for the lowest achieving fourth graders –those at the 10th percentile– and 24 and 18 weeks for fourth-grade Black students and Hispanic students. The drop in the scores of students at the 10th percentile means that the lowest-performing students are even further behind. More troubling is the increase in the percentage of students reading below Basic. Below Basic represents grade-level reading approximately. The percentage of fourth graders reading below Basic increased from 34 to 37 %. For eighth graders, the percentage increased from 27 to 30%. The drop in the scores of the lowest-achieving readers and the increase in the percentage of students reading below Basic translate into a large and increasing number of students being further behind. It is a continuing trend that has been noted in earlier assessments. Students who might have been reading one or two years below grade level might now be reading two or three years below grade level.
Oral Reading Accuracy of Students at Four Levels of Reading Achievement
In a recent study, the oral reading accuracy of a nationally representative sample of 1,800 fourth-graders who had taken the NAEP tests was assessed (White et al., 2021). Students were classified as being at one of four levels according to their scores: Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. This assessment provided data on word recognition that can be used to operationalize the NAEP classifications, for instance, the percentage of oral reading accuracy associated with Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced designations (Gunning, 2022). As part of the oral reading assessment, students read four passages orally. Percentage of words read accurately was calculated as was reading rate and number of words read correctly per minute. Percentage of words read accurately can be used to estimate students’ reading levels. The figure 95% is widely regarded as an indicator of instructional reading level. Thus, if fourth graders can read at least 95% of the words in typical fourth-grade texts, the students can be classified as reading on grade level. Percentages correct for Basic, Proficient, and Advanced were 96, 97, and 98 percent. From a word recognition point of view, the 96 percentage for Basic level indicates that students reading on a Basic level are, on average, preforming on grade level. Students reading on the Proficient and Advanced levels are reading above grade level.
Oral Reading Performance of Below Basic Students
In the study, Below Basic was divided into three groups: Low, Medium, and High Below Basic, with 11% of students in each group. Their accuracy scores were 82, 92, and 94 percent. High Below Basic students, who were just one percentage point below grade level accuracy, could be accommodated by being provided extra assistance. They should be able to handle grade level text if given additional preparation. The Medium Below Level group would likely need some additional small group instruction. Grade-level text would mostly likely be a bit too challenging for them unless they received fairly extensive preparation. They would benefit from having texts on their instructional level coupled with instruction that would boost them up to grade level. The difference between the Low Below Basic group and the Medium group was quite dramatic. On grade-level passages, the Low Below Basic group misread an average of 16 out of 100 words. They would need intensive small group instruction and possibly individual intervention and materials on their instructional level. The goal would be to boost their skills and gradually increase the challenge of the materials they read so that eventually they would be reading on or close to grade level. Overall, the results, which have been adjusted to account for the recent increase in percentage of students reading below Basic, suggest that 12% of fourth graders are reading significantly below grade level, 12% are reading somewhat below grade level, and 12% are reading slightly below grade level.
Bright Spots
Despite the overall drop in scores, the latest NAEP results did have some bright spots. The reading scores in Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest school district, actually increased. Eighth-grade reading scores increased by 9 points, fourth-grade scores by 2 points. What led to the increase? Los Angeles implemented a number of initiatives. These include Acceleration Days devoted to shoring up weak areas, expanded tutoring, increasing the number of counselors and mental health supports, equity-driven instruction, multiple opportunities for intervention and credit recovery, and targeted professional development, especially in schools with the highest need. Even before the pandemic, Los Angeles had created parent and family academies and portals to enable parents to support their students in the home, had set up progress monitoring systems and extended learning programs, and had invested in the kind of technology that allowed the school district to quickly and effectively make use of virtual learning (Carvalho, 2022, October 24). Another bright spot was the 2-point increase in the reading scores of students enrolled in Department of Defense schools. These two bright spots highlight what is possible and provide hope for the future. Suggestions for following the lead of the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Department of Defense Schools and accelerating the progress of all students, but especially those most affected by the drop in scores, will be the subject for future blogs.
References
Carvalho, A. (2022, October 24). Panel discussion of 2022 NAEP results. NAEP Day 2022.Washington D.C.: The National Press Club.
Gunning, T. G. (2022). Closing the literacy gap: Accelerating the progress of underperforming students. New York: Guilford Press.
Mervosh, S. (2022, September 1). Pandemic set school back two decades. The New York Times, p. A1-A 15
White, S., Sabatini, J., Park, B. J., Chen, J., Bernstein, J., & Li, M. (2021). Highlights of the 2018 NAEP Oral Reading Fluency Study (NCES 2021–026). Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2021026.