Students Selecting Stories: The Effects of Choice in Reading Assessment. Results from 'The NAEP Reader' Special Study of the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Conducted as part of the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the "NAEP Reader" study was designed to compare the performance of students who were allowed to select a story with the performance of those who were assigned a story. One nationally representative sample of students at each grade was allowed to choose a story (from 7) to read. Distinct representative samples at each grade were assigned stories. All participants answered the same 11 comprehension questions. Results indicated: (1) no significant difference was observed among 12th- graders (and only a slight difference among 8th-graders) between the average reading scores of students who were given a choice of story and students who were assigned a story; (2) at grades 8 and 12, students in the choice group were more likely than students in the non-choice group to rate the assessment as easier than other tests or assignments that they had in school; (3) despite slight variations, the patterns of students' story selection were similar across racial/ethnic groups at both grades 8 and 12, and across gender groups at grade 8; (4) among 12th-graders, males were drawn to a story about a soldier and females were drawn to a story about a relationship; and (5) although identical questions were used, many questions were more or less difficult to answer in conjunction with certain stories. (Contains 14 tables and 10 figures of data. Appendixes contain data; the comprehension questions; and details of the procedures and methods used.)(RS)