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The Nation's Report Card

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Sample questions in reading
Grade 4
Grade 8
Test Yourself...then see how students responded to the same questions on NAEP.

The following grade 8 multiple-choice question asks students to recognize why the author included specific information in an article. See the full text of the grade 8 reading passage.

The percentages above the question indicate how students performed on the question. In addition to the overall percentage of students who answered the question correctly, the percentage of students at each achievement level who answered the question correctly is presented.

As an example of how to interpret these percentages, 72 percent of the students overall answered this question correctly. When only the students in the Proficient category are considered, 92 percent answered correctly.

Grade 8 Multiple-Choice question. National percentage correct in 2007. 72% of all students answered this multiple-choice question correctly. By achievement level, 45% of students Below Basic answered this question correctly; 72% of students at Basic answered this question correctly; 92% of students at Proficient answered this question correctly; 99% of students at Advanced answered this question correctly. The sample question is as follows. "We don't get reports this thorough when we pay consultants hundreds of thousands of dollars." The author included this information to a) show how the city saves money, b) describe the city budget, c) emphasize Ellie's achievement, and d) criticize the city of Berkeley. The answer is c.

See more about this question in the NAEP Questions Tool.

View this question, at score 265, on a map of NAEP reading items.

Learn more about what the reading assessment measures.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2007 Reading Assessment.

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National Assessment of Educational Progress, National Center for Education Statistics
National Assessment Governing Board
Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education