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Scores higher in 2007 than in all previous assessment years for lower- and middle-performing students at grades 8 and 12

Trend in eighth-grade NAEP writing percentile scores

Findings

  • Scores for lower- and middle-performing students (those at the 10th, 25th, and 50th percentiles) were higher in 2007 than in both previous assessments.
  • Scores for higher-performing students (those at the 75th and 90th percentiles) were higher in 2007 than in 1998.

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2007.
NOTE: View complete data with standard errors.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

Trend in twelfth-grade NAEP writing percentile scores

  • Scores for lower- and middle-performing twelfth-graders (those at the 10th, 25th, and 50th percentiles) were higher in 2007 than in both previous assessments.
  • Scores for students at the 75th percentile were higher in 2007 than in 1998.

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2007.
NOTE: View complete data with standard errors.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1998, 2002, and 2007 Writing Assessments.

Although the writing scale score ranges are identical for both grades 8 and 12, they were derived independently and, therefore, scores cannot be compared across grades. For example, the average score of 156 at grade 8 does not denote higher performance than the score of 153 at grade 12. See more about the NAEP writing scale.

To read more about achievement levels and how they are set, see Reporting the Assessment—Scale Scores and Achievement Levels.

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