The analysis below pertains to data for 2009, the most recent year for which all data points are available.
Below is an analysis of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 8th grade reading proficiency rates for 2009 in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This analysis details how reading proficiency among 8th grade students interacts with other important education indicators such as funding and demographics.
8th grade reading proficiency varies by region.
On average, a higher percentage of 8th graders in the Northeastern United States and the Midwest scored proficient or above on NAEP reading tests than in the South and the West in 2009.1 In the Northeastern states, approximately 35 percent of 8th graders scored proficient or above in reading, while in the Southern states, only 26 percent scored proficient or above. All but one of the 10 lowest-performing states in the country were located in the South or the West in 2009, while all but one of the 10 highest-performing states were located in the Northeast or Midwest.2
Massachusetts ranked first in the country with 43 percent of its 8th graders scoring proficient or above in reading in 2009. In low-performing, similarly-sized (and lower-income) Tennessee, only 28 percent of 8th graders scored proficient or above in reading. This means that approximately 11,232 more 8th graders in Massachusetts scored proficient or above in reading than in Tennessee, where only 20,231 students scored proficient or above.
States where students performed better on the NAEP 8th grade reading test tended to have lower student poverty rates and higher per-pupil expenditures.
In general, states where higher percentages of 8th grade students scored proficient or above on the NAEP reading test also had lower student poverty rates. In the 10 lowest-performing states—the District of Columbia, Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, West Virginia, California, Nevada, Hawaii, Alabama, and South Carolina—an average of 22 percent of students were living in poverty in 2009. In the 10 highest-performing states—Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Montana, and Ohio—an average of 14 percent of students were living in poverty. Although poverty and student performance are not perfectly correlated, research by the RAND Corporation has found that NAEP performance is linked to student background and family characteristics.3
Six out of the 10 lowest-performing states in 8th grade reading—the District of Columbia, Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, West Virginia, and Alabama—were all among the 10 states with the highest student poverty rates in 2009. Furthermore, six of the highest-performing states in 8th grade reading proficiency—Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Minnesota—were all among the 10 states with the lowest student poverty rates in 2009.
In addition, states where higher percentages of 8th graders scored proficient or above in reading in 2009 generally had higher average per-pupil expenditures the same year. The 10 highest-performing states averaged $12,767 in per pupil-expenditures, whereas the 10 lowest-performing states averaged $10,735 in per-pupil expenditures. When the District of Columbia—which skews the results because it has the highest per-pupil expenditure rate in the country—is omitted, the average per-pupil expenditure for the remaining nine states drops to $9,739.
8th grade reading proficiency has increased little over the past two decades and the achievement gap between white and minority students persists.
Between 1992 and 2003, the percentage of 8th graders scoring proficient and above on the NAEP reading test increased only 3 percentage points from 29 percent to 32 percent. From 2003 to 2009, 8th grade reading proficiency was largely unchanged. Although all students saw similar gains in reading proficiency over that time. The percent of white 8th grade students scoring proficient or above in reading increased from 35 percent in 1992 to 41 percent in 2009, and African American student proficiency rates increased from nine percent to 14 percent. Hispanic students saw an increase in reading proficiency from 13 to 17 percent. 8th grade reading performance increased by 4 percentage points over the same period (13 percent to 17 percent). The percentage of white 8th graders scoring proficient and above also increased from 35 percent to 41 percent.
- 1. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. It is administered to a representative sample of students in 4th and 8th grade in each state every two years.
- 2. Regions. Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont. Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin. South: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia. West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
- 3. David W. Grissmer, Ann Flanagan, Jennifer H. Kawata, & Stephanie Williamson, RAND Corporation, Improving Student Achievement: What State NAEP Test Scores Tell Us