When conducting a national- or system-level diagnostic as defined in Chapter 1, a national-level stakeholder, such as a ministry of education (to use a generic term), may want to establish a nationwide baseline or to study the differences in reading ability among various groups—for example, second, fourth, and sixth grades—and determine average intergrade progression. Or, a national stakeholder might want to determine whether achievement differs between types of school systems (public vs. private) or curricular modalities (dual or monolingual programs).
