4th-grade reading, across the nation - proficiency remains low

A new brief from the Annie E. Casey Foundation updates its earlier reports on the status of 4th-grade reading across the nation and in each state. Despite improvement in the past decade, reading proficiency remains low. All demographic groups improved, but proficiency increased significantly more for higher-income students (17 percent) than for lower-income (6 percent). The gap in proficiency based on family income widened by nearly 20 percent and worsened in nearly every state. Eighty percent of low-income children are below proficiency, compared with 49 percent of higher-income children. The likelihood of proficiency varies dramatically by location. In 2013, 79 percent of fourth-grade students in New Mexico and Mississippi were not proficient, compared with 53 percent in Massachusetts. Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Rhode Island saw the biggest gains; only West Virginia, Michigan, Alaska, and South Dakota saw rates get slightly worse. The gap based on socioeconomic status is highest in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The brief calls for policies that ensure the physical health of children so they can be present and learning every day, and socially and emotionally on track. We must encourage and support parents, families, and caregivers to be co-producers of good outcomes for children, and hold schools and policymakers accountable for results-driven solutions that transform low-performing schools into high-quality learning environments. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

Published by LEAP

Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.