National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2013 Wave I (Main NAEP Core, Reading, and Mathematics)

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF
EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS
Wave 1 Submittal for 2013
VOLUME II
BACKGROUND QUESTIONS
Part 2a
Student Grade 8 Core + Reading

Part 2a contains:
Student Grade 8 Core + Reading Questions
The amount of time estimated to complete this form is 15 minutes.

Student Core Items, Grade 8

In this section, please tell us about yourself and your family. Please answer questions about
your home based on where you live most of the time during the school year. The section
has 155 questions. Mark your answers in your booklet. Fill in only one oval for each
question except where instructed otherwise.
VB331330

1. Are you Hispanic or Latino? Fill in one or more ovals.
A No, I am not Hispanic or Latino.
B Yes, I am Mexican, Mexican American, or Chicano.
C Yes, I am Puerto Rican or Puerto Rican American.
D Yes, I am Cuban or Cuban American.
E Yes, I am from some other Hispanic or Latino background.

VB331331

2. Which of the following best describes you? Fill in one or more ovals.
A White
B Black or African American
C Asian
D American Indian or Alaska Native
E Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

VB331334

3. Does your family get any magazines regularly?
A Yes
B No
C I don’t know.

VB331335

4. About how many books are there in your home?
A Few (0–10)
B Enough to fill one shelf (11–25)
C Enough to fill one bookcase (26–100)
D Enough to fill several bookcases (more than 100)
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VB331336

5. Is there a computer at home that you use?
A Yes
B No

VB331337

6. Is there an encyclopedia in your home? It could be a set of books, or it could be on
the computer.
A Yes
B No
C I don’t know.

VE592166

7. Do you have the following items at your home? Fill in ovals for all that apply.
A Access to the Internet
B Clothes dryer just for your family
C Dishwasher
D More than one bathroom
E Your own bedroom

TB001101

8. About how many pages a day do you have to read in school and for homework?
A 5 or fewer
B 6–10
C 11–15
D 16–20
E More than 20

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VB331339

9. How often do you talk about things you have studied in school with someone in
your family?
A Never or hardly ever
B Once every few weeks
C About once a week
D Two or three times a week
E Every day

VB331447

10. How many days were you absent from school in the last month?
A None
B 1 or 2 days
C 3 or 4 days
D 5 to 10 days
E More than 10 days

VB330870

11. How far in school did your mother go?
A She did not finish high school.
B She graduated from high school.
C She had some education after high school.
D She graduated from college.
E I don’t know.

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VB330871

12. How far in school did your father go?
A He did not finish high school.
B He graduated from high school.
C He had some education after high school.
D He graduated from college.
E I don’t know.

VB331451

13. How often do people in your home talk to each other in a language other than
English?
A Never
B Once in a while
C About half of the time
D All or most of the time

VE592165

14. Do the following people live in your home? Fill in ovals for all that apply.
A Mother
B Stepmother
C Foster mother or other female legal guardian
D Father
E Stepfather
F Foster father or other male legal guardian

VE102537

15. Write the ZIP code of your home address in the boxes.

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SECTION

4

4

Section

This section has 12 questions. Mark your answers in your booklet. Fill in only one oval
for each question except where instructed otherwise.

VB345622

1. Please indicate how much you DISAGREE or AGREE with the following statements
about reading and writing. Fill in one oval on each line.
Strongly
disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly
agree

a. When I read books, I learn a lot.

A

B

C

D

VB345623

b. Reading is one of my favorite activities.

A

B

C

D

VB345624

VB379288

2. How often do you do each of the following? Fill in one oval on each line.
Never or
hardly
ever

Once or
twice a
month

Once or
twice a
week

Almost
every day

a. Read for fun on your own time

A

B

C

D

VB379289

b. Talk with your friends or family about
something you have read

A

B

C

D

VB379290

VB345644

3. Now think about reading and writing you do for school. For your English class this year,
how often do you do each of the following? Fill in one oval on each line.
Never or
hardly
ever

A few
times a
year

Once or
twice a
month

At least
once a
week

a. Have a class discussion about something
that the whole class has read

A

B

C

D

VB345645

b. Work in pairs or small groups to talk
about something that you have read

A

B

C

D

VB345646

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4
VB345648

4. For your English class so far this year, how many times have you done each of the
following? Fill in one oval on each line.
Never

Once

2 or 3
times

4 or 5
times

6 or more
times

a. Made a presentation to the
class about something that
you have read

A

B

C

D

E

VB345650

b. Done a project about
something that you have read
(for example, written a
play, created a website)

A

B

C

D

E

VB345651

c. Conducted research
for reading and writing
projects

A

B

C

D

E

VF009263

VB345715

VC503875

5. Do you study or do work for English/
language arts at an after-school or
tutoring program?

6. For school this year, how often have
you been asked to write long answers
to questions on tests or assignments
that involved reading?

A Yes

A Never

B No

B Once or twice this year
C Once or twice a month
D At least once a week

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VC504013

7. In your English/language arts class this year, how often does your class do each of the
following? Fill in one oval on each line.
Never or
hardly
ever

Once or
twice a
month

Once or
twice a
week

Every day
or almost
every day

a. Read aloud

A

B

C

D

VC504014

b. Read silently

A

B

C

D

VC504015

c. Discuss new or difficult vocabulary

A

B

C

D

VC504016

d. Explain what we have read

A

B

C

D

VC504017

e. Read books we have chosen ourselves

A

B

C

D

VC504019

f. Write something about what we
have read

A

B

C

D

VC504020

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VC504022

8. In your English/language arts class this year, when reading a story, article, or other passage,
how often does your teacher ask you to do the following? Fill in one oval on each line.
Never or
hardly
ever

Once or
twice a
month

Once or
twice a
week

Every day
or almost
every day

a. Summarize the passage

A

B

C

D

VC504023

b. Interpret the meaning of the passage

A

B

C

D

VC504024

c. Question the motives or feelings of
the characters

A

B

C

D

VC504025

d. Identify the main themes of the
passage

A

B

C

D

VC504026

VC504027

9. In your English/language arts class this year, how often do you use a computer to do each
of the following? Fill in one oval on each line.
Never or
hardly
ever

Once or
twice a
month

Once or
twice a
week

Every day
or almost
every day

a. Learn and practice vocabulary

A

B

C

D

VC504028

b. Practice spelling and grammar

A

B

C

D

VC504029

c. Access reading-related websites (for
example, websites with book reviews
and lists of recommended books)

A

B

C

D

VC504033

d. Conduct research for reading and
writing projects

A

B

C

D

VC504034

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4

VB595182

10. How hard was this test compared to
most other tests you have taken this
year in school?

A Easier than other tests
B About as hard as other tests
C Harder than other tests
D Much harder than other tests
VC034559

11. How hard did you try on this test
compared to how hard you tried on
most other tests you have taken this
year in school?

A Not as hard as on other tests
B About as hard as on other tests
C Harder than on other tests
D Much harder than on other tests
VB595184

12. How important was it to you to do
well on this test?

A Not very important
B Somewhat important
C Important
D Very important

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