EA 3.1.B

READING HABITS OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH

Independent reading is one necessary aspect of literacy development. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has documented the association between students who read for fun in their free time and reading achievement. Students in grades 4, 8, and 12 who read more frequently for fun had consistently higher average reading proficiency scores than those students who read less often.³²

Differences by Age. In 1994, nearly half of fourth graders (45 percent) reported reading for fun on a daily basis, compared to less than a quarter of eighth and twelfth graders (22 percent and 24 percent, respectively) (see Table EA 3.1.B).

Differences by Gender. In both fourth and eighth grades, larger proportions of girls than boys reported frequent reading in their spare time. For example, more than half (53 percent) of fourth grade girls read for fun on a daily basis, compared to only 36 percent of fourth grade boys in 1994. Among twelfth graders, however, similar proportions of boys (22 percent) and girls (26 percent) reported reading on a daily basis (see Figure EA 3.1.B).

Differences by Race and Ethnicity.³³ In 1994, the percentage of fourth graders who reported reading for fun on a daily basis was similar for all racial/ethnic groups. By twelfth grade, rates of daily reading had declined substantially for every racial or ethnic group. In the twelfth grade, white students were the most likely to report reading for fun (see Table EA 3.1.B).
 
 

Figure EA 3.1.B   Percentage of Students in 4th, 8th, and 12th Grade Who Read for Fun on a Daily Basis, by Gender: 1994

Source: U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1994 Reading Assessment, unpublished data.

Differences by Parent's Educational Levels. Students whose parents had some post–high school education were more likely to read for fun than students whose parents had not graduated from high school or had no education beyond high school. For example, in 1994, 29 percent of twelfth graders whose parents had graduated from college and 22 percent whose parents had some education after high school read for fun on a daily basis. In contrast, 19 percent of twelfth graders whose parents had graduated from high school (but had no education beyond that) and 18 percent whose parents had not finished high school reported reading for fun on a daily basis. These patterns are similar among eighth graders (see Table EA 3.1.B).

Differences by Type of School. Larger percentages of eighth and twelfth graders who attended non-Catholic private schools read for fun on a daily basis than did their counterparts in public schools (see Table EA 3.1.B).
 

Table EA 3.1.B  Percentage of Students in 4th, 8th, and 12th Grade Who Read for Fun on a Daily Basis by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, Parent's Education, and Type of School: 1992 and 1994
					4th Grade  ———————		8th Grade  ———————		12th Grade  ———————
					1992	1994	1992	1994	1992	1994
					———	———	———	———	———	———
Total					44	45	22	22	23	24
	Gender
		Male			36	36	17	17	23	22
		Female			51	53	27	26	22	26
	Race/Ethnicity
		White, non-Hispanic			44	45	24	24	25	26
		Black, non-Hispanic			40	40	15	14	17	16
		Hispanic			44	43	17	16	18	18
		Asian/Pacific Islander			50	48	26	25	22	20
		American Indian			45	45	31	31	25	25
	Parents’ Educationa
		Did not finish high school			—	—	18	13	14	18
		Graduated high school			—	—	18	16	18	19
		Some education after high school			—	—	23	24	22	22
		Graduated college			—	—	26	26	28	29
	Type of School
		Public schools			43	45	21	21	22	24
		Catholic schools			41	46	25	24	23	25
		Other Private schools			55	40	35	33	31	28
Note: aPercentage reading for fun is not reported by parent’s education for 4th graders because over a third did not know their parents’ level of education. Parents’ education represents the highest level of education reported by the student.   Source: U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1994 Reading Assessment, unpublished data.

³³ Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those races.
 

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