Huntington Learning Center Strives to Improve Students' Vocabulary

ORADELL, NJ--(Marketwire - Dec 19, 2012) - According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Nation's Report Card: Reading 2011 -- the NAEP's assessment of 4th-, 8th- and 12th-grade students' reading skills -- U.S. students' vocabulary scores increase with reading comprehension. However, even students performing above the 90th percentile in reading comprehension in 2011 had an average score (on a 500-point scale) of just 266 in 4th grade and 311 in 8th grade. Grade 12, which was only assessed in 2009, had an average vocabulary score among student readers above the 90th percentile of 350.

The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2011 reports how well students perform in reading various texts and answering questions about those texts. The assessment measures reading comprehension and students' ability to apply vocabulary knowledge to assist them in understanding what they read.

Other notable results from the 2011 report card -- only the second time the NAEP has measured vocabulary as part of its reading assessment:

• As part of the 2011 reading assessment, 4th-grade and 8th-grade teachers were asked how often they help students understand new words. In 4th grade, 85 percent of students received help to understand new words almost every day, while in 8th grade, 24 percent of students discussed new or difficult vocabulary every day.
• In 4th grade, the average vocabulary score for readers at the 75th percentile decreased from 247 in 2009 to 245 in 2011, while the score for the 25th percentile remained the same (193).
• The overall average vocabulary score of 4th-grade students in 2011 was 218 out of 500.
• In 8th grade, the average vocabulary score for readers at the 75th percentile decreased from 292 in 2009 to 291 in 2011, while the score for the 25th percentile remained the same (241).
• The overall average vocabulary score of 8th-grade students in 2011 was 265 out of 500.
• In 12th grade, readers at the 75th percentile achieved an average vocabulary score of 327 in 2009, while the average score for the 25th percentile was 268 out of 500.
• The overall average vocabulary score of 12th-grade students in 2011 was 296.

Dr. Raymond Huntington, founder and chairman of Huntington Learning Center, noted the importance of vocabulary development in Huntington's tutoring programs in reading.

"Vocabulary is an essential component of strong reading ability and we have long believed that building a robust vocabulary helps students' reading comprehension, fluency and much more," said Dr. Huntington. "The NAEP's Report Card on reading and their specific focus on vocabulary is an important reminder to us at Huntington that vocabulary is critical to our nation's efforts to raise reading scores. As we have done for many years, we will continue to focus on vocabulary attainment in our supplemental reading programs."

Nationally representative samples of about 213,000 4th-graders and 168,000 8th-graders participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading. Students responded to questions designed to measure their reading skills across two types of texts: literary and informational. The NAEP is part of the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education.

About Huntington
Founded in 1977, Huntington is a pioneer and leader in the tutoring industry. For over 35 years, Huntington has provided quality instruction to hundreds of thousands of students. Huntington prides itself on being "Your Tutoring Solution" for students in all grades and subjects. They tutor in academic skills, such as reading, phonics, math and study skills; and in advanced math and science subjects ranging from algebra through calculus and general science through physics. They also prepare students for state and standardized entrance exams, such as high school entrance exams and the SAT and ACT and provide free school tutoring to eligible schools.