How are American students performing in reading?

http://nces.ed.gov/FastFacts/display.asp?id=147

The main National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports current reading assessment information for the nation and specific geographic regions of the country. The assessment program includes students drawn from both public and nonpublic schools and reports results for student achievement at grades 4, 8, and 12. The main NAEP assessment data were first collected in 1992 and are reported on a scale of 0 to 500. From 2007 to 2009, there were no measurable changes in average reading scores for 4th-grade males and females or for 4th-grade students from any of the five racial/ethnic groups. From 1992 to 2009, male 4th-graders' average reading scores increased from 213 to 218 and female 4th-graders' scores increased from 221 to 224. At grade 4, the average reading scores in 2009 for White, Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native students were not measurably different from their scores in 2007. The 2009 reading scores for White, Black, and Hispanic students did, however, remain higher than scores from assessment years prior to 2007. The 2009 average NAEP reading scale score for 8th-graders was 1 point higher than the 2007 score and 4 points higher than the 1992 score, but the 2009 score was not always measurably different from the scores on the assessments given between 1994 and 2005. For 12th-graders, the 2009 average reading score was 4 points lower than the score in 1992 but 2 points higher than the score in 2005 (12th-graders were not assessed in 2007).

The 2009 main NAEP reading assessment of states found that the average reading proficiency of public school 4th- and 8th-graders varied across participating jurisdictions (the 50 states, the Department of Defense overseas and domestic schools, and the District of Columbia). For 4th-graders in public schools, the U.S. average score was 220, with average scores in participating jurisdictions ranging from 202 in the District of Columbia to 234 in Massachusetts. For 8th-graders in public schools, the U.S. average score was 262, with average scores in participating jurisdictions ranging from 242 in the District of Columbia to 274 in Massachusetts.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). Digest of Education Statistics, 2010 (NCES 2011-015), Chapter 2.