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Reading Problems

Results from a closely watched national test released this month have heightened concerns about adolescents’ reading skills. While overall scores on the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress —which tests a sampling of 4th and 8th graders in math and reading—showed at least modest improvement since 2003, the average reading score for 8th graders declined by a point. Just 31 percent of the 8th graders scored at or above the proficient level in reading—a figure that has barely budged since the first NAEP scores...