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For grade 4:

·                       The average reading scale score for students in Maine was 224. This was lower than that of 1992 (227) and was not found to differ significantly from that in 2002 (225).

·                       Maine 's average score (224) was higher than that of the nation's public schools (216).

·                       Students' average scores in Maine were higher than those in 31 jurisdictions, not significantly different from those in 18 jurisdictions, and lower than those in 3 jurisdictions.

·                       The percentage of students in Maine who performed at or above the Proficient level was 36 percent. This was not found to differ significantly from that in 1992 (36 percent) and was not found to differ significantly from that in 2002 (35 percent).

·                       In Maine , the percentage of students who performed at or above Proficient was higher than that for the nation's public schools (30 percent).

This report provides selected results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for Maine 's public-school students at grade 4. Since 1992, reading has been assessed in five different years at the state level (at grade 4 in 1992 and 1994, and at both grades 4 and 8 in 1998, 2002, and 2003). In 2003, 53 jurisdictions participated: the 50 states, District of Columbia , Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools, and Department of Defense Dependents Schools (Overseas). Maine participated and met the criteria for reporting public-school results at grade 4 in 1992 and 1994, and at both grades 4 and 8 in 1998, 2002, and 2003.

NAEP is a project of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). For more information about the assessment, see The Nation's Report Card, Reading Highlights 2003 or The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2003, which will be available in 2004. The full set of results is available in an interactive database on the NAEP web site (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/). Released test questions, scoring guides, and question-level performance data are also available on the web site.

Introduction

Who Was Assessed?

In 2003, 53 jurisdictions participated in NAEP: the 50 states, District of Columbia , Department of Defense Domestic Elementary and Secondary Schools, and Department of Defense Dependents Schools (Overseas). The target sample for each state or other jurisdiction was approximately 100 schools at a grade and approximately 3,000 students for each subject at a grade, except in small or sparsely populated jurisdictions. The sample of schools and students was chosen in a two-stage sampling process. First, the sample of schools was selected by probability sampling methods. Then, within the participating schools, random samples of students were chosen. Beginning in 2002, the national sample was obtained by aggregating the samples from each state. The national results include the results from the states, weighted appropriately to represent the U.S. student population. Only public schools, however, are included in the state reports. The overall participation rates for schools and students must meet guidelines established by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) in order for assessment results to be reported publicly. Data are not reported to the public for a state or jurisdiction that participates but does not meet minimum participation guidelines (see http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/participrates.asp). Participation rates for the 2003 reading assessment are available at the NAEP web site (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/sampledesign.asp).

Cautions in Interpreting Results

The averages and percentages in this report have a standard error—a range of up to a few points above or below the score—which takes into account potential score fluctuation due to sampling error and measurement error. Statistical tests that factor in these standard errors are used to determine whether the differences between average scores or percentages are significant. All differences were tested for statistical significance at the 0.05 level. NAEP sample sizes have increased since 2002 compared to previous years, resulting in smaller standard errors. As a consequence, smaller differences are detected as statistically significant than in previous assessments.

In this report, statistically significant differences are referred to as "significant differences" or "significantly different." Significant differences between 2003 and prior assessments are marked with a notation (*) in the tables. Any differences in scores within a year or across years that are mentioned in the text as "higher," "lower," "greater," or "smaller" are statistically significant.

Estimates based on small subgroups are likely to have large standard errors. Consequently some seemingly large differences may not be statistically significant. The reader is cautioned to rely on reported differences in the tables and/or text, which are statistically significant, rather than on the apparent magnitude of any difference. Readers are also cautioned against interpreting NAEP results causally. Inferences related to subgroup performance, for example, should take into account the many socioeconomic and educational factors that may affect student performance.


NAEP Reading 2003 Overall Scale Score and Achievement-Level Results for Public School Students

Overall Scale Score Results

In this section student performance is reported as an average score based on the NAEP reading scale, which ranges from 0 to 500. Scores on this scale are comparable from 1992 through 2003.

Prior to 1998, testing accommodations were not provided for students with special needs in state reading assessments. In 1998 only, results were reported for two samples of students: one in which accommodations were permitted and one in which accommodations were not pemitted. Subsequent assessment results were based on the more inclusive samples.

Table 1 shows the overall performance results of grade 4 public school students in Maine and the nation. The first column of results presents the average score on the NAEP reading scale. The subsequent columns show the score at selected percentiles. The percentile indicates the percentage of students who performed below the score for that percentile. For example, 10 percent of the students had scores that were lower than the score shown for the 10th percentile.


 

 

 

 



T
A
B
L
E

1

 

 

The Nation's Report Card 2003 State Assessment

Average reading scale scores and selected percentiles, grade 4 public schools: 1992–2003

 

 

Average
Scale Score

Scale score distribution

10th Percentile

25th Percentile

50th Percentile

75th Percentile

90th Percentile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accommodations not permitted

 

 

1992

Maine

227

(1.1)*

190

(2.1)*

208

(1.2)*

228

(1.1)

246

(1.1)

262

(1.9)

 

Nation (Public)

215

(1.0)

168

(2.1)

192

(0.9)

217

(1.7)

240

(1.5)

259

(2.4)

1994

Maine

228

(1.3)*

186

(2.2)

208

(1.8)*

231

(1.2)*

251

(1.3)*

268

(1.9)

 

Nation (Public)

212

(1.1)*

156

(2.2)*

187

(1.5)*

217

(1.1)*

241

(1.1)

261

(1.4)

1998

Maine

225

(1.2)

185

(2.3)

206

(1.3)

227

(1.6)

247

(1.2)

263

(1.6)

 

Nation (Public)

215

(0.8)

165

(2.1)

192

(1.0)

218

(0.8)

242

(1.0)

261

(1.3)

Accommodations permitted

 

 

1998

Maine

225

(1.4)

183

(1.4)

205

(1.6)

227

(1.4)

247

(0.9)

264

(1.9)

 

Nation (Public)

213

(1.2)*

161

(2.9)*

189

(1.7)*

215

(1.5)*

241

(1.0)*

260

(0.9)

2002

Maine

225

(1.1)

183

(2.5)

205

(2.0)

226

(1.2)

247

(1.1)

263

(1.8)

 

Nation (Public)

217

(0.5)

169

(0.8)

194

(0.6)

219

(0.4)

242

(0.5)

261

(0.5)

2003

Maine

224

(0.9)

179

(2.5)

203

(1.6)

226

(1.2)

247

(1.2)

264

(1.3)

 

Nation (Public)

216

(0.3)

167

(0.5)

193

(0.4)

219

(0.4)

243

(0.2)

262

(0.3)

 

 

 

* Value is significantly different from the value for the same jurisdiction in 2003.
NOTE: The NAEP reading scale ranges from 0 to 500. The standard errors of the statistics in the table appear in parentheses. All differences were tested for statistical significance at the 0.05 level using unrounded numbers. Performance comparisons may be affected by differences in exclusion rates for students with disabilities and limited-English-proficient students in the NAEP samples and changes in sample sizes. NAEP sample sizes have increased since 2002 compared to previous years, resulting in smaller detectable differences than in previous assessments. In addition to allowing for accommodations, the accommodations-permitted results for national public schools (1998–2003) differ slightly from previous years' results, and from previously reported results for 1998, due to changes in sample weighting procedures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1992–2003 Reading Assessments.


 

Overall Achievement-Level Results

In this section student performance is reported as the percentage of students performing relative to standards set by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). These performance standards for what students should know and be able to do were based on the recommendations of broadly representative panels of educators and members of the public. In 1998 only, results were obtained for student samples for which accommodations were permitted and were not permitted.

Table 2 presents the percentage of students at grade 4 who performed below Basic, at or above Basic, at or above Proficient, and at the Advanced level. Because the percentages are cumulative from Basic to Proficient to Advanced, they sum to more than 100 percent. Only the percentage of students performing at or above Basic (which includes the students at Proficient and Advanced) plus the students below Basic will sum to 100 percent (except for rounding).


 

 

 

 



T
A
B
L
E

2

 

 

The Nation's Report Card 2003 State Assessment

Percentage of students at or above each reading achievement level, grade 4 public schools: 1992–2003

 

 

 

 

 

Below Basic

At or above Basic

At or above

 

Proficient

Advanced

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accommodations not permitted

 

1992

Maine

25

(1.4)*

75

(1.4)*

36

(1.7)

6

(0.8)

 

Nation (Public)

40

(1.1)

60

(1.1)

27

(1.3)*

6

(0.6)

1994

Maine

25

(1.6)*

75

(1.6)*

41

(1.5)*

10

(1.0)

 

Nation (Public)

41

(1.1)*

59

(1.1)*

28

(1.2)

7

(0.7)

1998

Maine

27

(1.5)

73

(1.5)

36

(1.7)

8

(0.8)

 

Nation (Public)

39

(1.0)

61

(1.0)

29

(0.9)

6

(0.5)

Accommodations permitted

 

1998

Maine

28

(1.7)

72

(1.7)

35

(2.0)

7