The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—The Nation’s Report Card—sets a high standard for what educators, curriculum specialists, and others want students to know and be able to do at various points in their education. The No Child Left Behind Act requires all states to participate in NAEP reading and math assessments at the fourth- and eighth-grade levels, but assessments are also given in other subjects and at the twelfth-grade level.

Achievement is measured by many other tests as well—including state assessments, which often do not align with NAEP in content or results. However, NAEP is the only nationwide test that can compare student achievement across states. (See At a glance: The proficiency debate.)

The nonpartisan National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees NAEP, involves a wide range of experts in developing frameworks for the assessments and determining achievement levels: below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced. Below, is a short description on how NAEP defines the major achievement levels for the fourth-grade reading assessment.

Basic

Fourth-grade students performing at the basic level should demonstrate an understanding of the overall meaning of what they read. When reading texts appropriate for fourth graders, they should be able to make relatively obvious connections between the text and their own experiences and extend the ideas in the text by making simple inferences.

For example, when reading literary text, they should be able to tell what the story is generally about—providing details to support their understanding—and be able to connect aspects of the stories to their own experiences. When reading informational text, basic-level fourth graders should be able to tell what the selection is generally about or identify the purpose for reading it; provide details to support their understanding; and connect ideas from the text to their background knowledge and experiences.

Proficient
 
Fourth-grade students performing at the proficient level should be able to demonstrate an overall understanding of the text, providing inferential as well as literal information. When reading text appropriate to fourth grade, they should be able to extend the ideas in the text by making inferences, drawing conclusions, and making connections to their own experiences. The connection between the text and what the student infers should be clear.

For example, when reading literary text, proficient-level fourth graders should be able to summarize the story, draw conclusions about the characters or plot, and recognize relationships such as cause and effect. When reading informational text, proficient-level students should be able to summarize the information and identify the author’s intent or purpose. They should be able to draw reasonable conclusions from the text, recognize relationships such as cause and effect or similarities and differences, and identify the meaning of the selection’s key concepts.

Advanced

Fourth-grade students performing at the advanced level should be able to generalize about topics in the reading selection and demonstrate an awareness of how authors compose and use literary devices. When reading text appropriate to fourth grade, they should be able to judge texts critically and, in general, give thorough answers that indicate careful thought.

For example, when reading literary text, advanced-level students should be able to make generalizations about the point of the story and extend its meaning by integrating personal experiences and other readings with the ideas suggested by the text. They should be able to identify literary devices such as figurative language. When reading informational text, advanced-level fourth graders should be able to explain the author’s intent by using supporting material from the text. They should be able to make critical judgments of the form and content of the text and explain their judgments clearly.

(See, pages 12–14, 15–16, 17–19, or 20–21 for a sample text and response for the fourth-grade NAEP reading assessment.)

Source: Loomis, S. C., and Bourque, M. L. (Eds.). (2001). National Assessment of Educational Progress Achievement Levels, 1992–1998, Reading. Washington: National Assessment Governing Board. Retrieved on September 13, 2007, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1a/91/f2.pdf

For more on reading see: Main article on research, fluency, phonics, vocabulary, phonemic awareness, comprehension and recent research on early reading