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Appendix A Reading Achievement Level Descriptions NAEP Reading Achievement Levels Grade 4 Basic Fourth-grade students performing at the basic level should demonstrate an understanding of the overall meaning of what they read. When reading text 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 connections 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 a 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 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. Grade 8 Basic Eighth-grade students performing at the basic level should demonstrate a literal understanding of what they read and be able to make some interpretations. When reading text appropriate to eighth grade, they should be able to identify specific aspects of the text that reflect the overall meaning, extend the ideas in the text by making simple inferences, recognize and relate interpretations and connections among ideas in the text to personal experience, and draw conclusions based on the text. For example, when reading literary text, basic-level eighth graders should be able to identify themes and make inferences and logical predictions about aspects such as plot and characters. When reading informational text, they should be able to identify the main idea and the author's purpose. They should make inferences and draw conclusions supported by information in the text. They should recognize the relationships among the facts, ideas, events, and concepts of the text (e.g., cause and effect, order). When reading practical text, they should be able to identify the main purpose and make predictions about the relatively obvious outcomes of procedures in the text. Proficient Eighth-grade students performing at the proficient level should be able to show an overall understanding of the text, including inferential as well as literal information. When reading text appropriate to eighth grade, they should be able to extend the ideas in the text by making clear inferences from it, by drawing conclusions, and by making connections to their own experiences -- including other reading experiences. Proficient eighth graders should be able to identify some of the devices authors use in composing text. For example, when reading literary text, students at the proficient level should be able to give details and examples to support themes that they identify. They should be able to use implied as well as explicit information in articulating themes; to interpret the actions, behaviors, and motives of characters; and to identify the use of literary devices such as personification and foreshadowing. When reading informational text, they should be able to summarize the text using explicit and implied information and support conclusions with inferences based on the text. When reading practical text, proficient-level students should be able to describe its purpose and support their views with examples and details. They should be able to judge the importance of certain steps and procedures. Advanced Eighth-grade students performing at the advanced level should be able to describe the more abstract themes and ideas of the overall text. When reading text appropriate to eighth grade, they should be able to analyze both meaning and form and support their analyses explicitly with examples from the text; they should be able to extend text information by relating it to their experiences and to world events. At this level, student responses should be thorough, thoughtful, and extensive. For example, when reading literary text, advanced-level eighth graders should be able to make complex, abstract summaries and theme statements. They should be able to describe the interactions of various literary elements (i.e., setting, plot, characters, and theme); to explain how the use of literary devices affects both the meaning of the text and their response to the author's style. They should be able critically to analyze and evaluate the composition of the text. When reading informational text, they should be able to analyze the author's purpose and point of view. They should be able to use cultural and historical background information to develop perspectives on the text and be able to apply text information to broad issues and world situations. When reading practical text, advanced-level students should be able to synthesize information that will guide their performance, apply text information to new situations, and critique the usefulness of the form and content. Grade 12 Basic Twelfth-grade students performing at the basic level should be able to demonstrate an overall understanding and make some interpretations of the text. When reading text appropriate to 12th grade, they should be able to identify and relate aspects of the text by making simple inferences, recognize interpretations, make connections among and relate ideas in the text to their personal experiences, and draw conclusions. They should be able to identify elements of an author's style. For example, when reading literary text, basic-level 12th graders should be able to explain the theme, support their conclusions with information from the text, and make connections between aspects of the text and their own experiences. When reading informational text, basic-level 12th graders should be able to explain the main idea or purpose of a selection and use text information to support a conclusion or make a point. They should be able to make logical connections between the ideas in the text and their own background knowledge. When reading practical text, they should be able to explain its purpose and the significance of specific details or steps. Proficient Twelfth-grade students performing at the proficient level should be able to show an overall understanding of the text, which includes inferential as well as literal information. When reading text appropriate to 12th grade, they should be able to extend the ideas of the text by making inferences, drawing conclusions, and making connections to their own personal experiences and other readings. Connections between inferences and the text should be clear, even when implicit. These students should be able to analyze the author's use of literary devices. When reading literary text, proficient-level 12th graders should be able to integrate their personal experiences with ideas in the text to draw and support conclusions. They should be able to explain the author's use of literary devices such as irony and symbolism. When reading informative text, they should be able to apply text information appropriately to specific situations and integrate their background information with ideas in the text to draw and support conclusions. When reading practical text, they should be able to apply information or directions appropriately. They should be able to use personal experiences to evaluate the usefulness of text information. Advanced Twelfth-grade students performing at the advanced level should be able to describe more abstract themes and ideas in the overall text. When reading text appropriate to 12th grade, they should be able to analyze both the meaning and the form of the text and explicitly support their analyses with specific examples from the text. They should be able to extend the information from the text by relating it to their experiences and to the world. Their responses should be thorough, thoughtful, and extensive. For example, when reading literary text, advanced-level 12th graders should be able to produce complex, abstract summaries and theme statements. They should be able to use cultural, historical, and personal information to develop and explain text perspectives and conclusions. They should be able to evaluate the text, applying knowledge gained from other texts. When reading informational text, they should be able to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate points of view. They should be able to identify the relationship between the author's stance and elements of the text. They should be able to apply text information to new situations and to the process of forming new responses to problems or issues. When reading practical text, advanced-level 12th graders should be able to make critical evaluations of the usefulness of the text and apply directions from the text to new situations.
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