2019 NAEP Scores

Concern with failing elementary students with reading to expectations in the United States, specifically regarding the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2019.

The NAEP is a standardized test administered to students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in the United States to measure proficiency in various subjects, including reading. In 2019, the NAEP found that only 35% of fourth-grade students were proficient in reading, which was a slight decrease from the previous NAEP administration in 2017.

The results also showed significant disparities in reading proficiency based on students’ race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. For example, only 18% of Black fourth-grade students and 23% of Hispanic fourth-grade students were proficient in reading, compared to 45% of White fourth-grade students. Similarly, only 22% of fourth-grade students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch were proficient in reading, compared to 53% of students who were not eligible.

These results are concerning because reading proficiency in the early years is critical for long-term academic success. Students who struggle to read at grade level by third grade are more likely to experience academic difficulties and drop out of high school. Additionally, research has shown that students who are not proficient in reading by fourth grade are more likely to experience negative social and emotional outcomes, such as low self-esteem and behavior problems.

Efforts to improve literacy rates in elementary schools are ongoing and involve various strategies, including implementing evidence-based reading instruction, providing additional support for struggling readers, increasing access to high-quality literature, and engaging families in literacy activities. However, addressing the systemic issues that contribute to disparities in educational outcomes, such as poverty and inequality, is also necessary to improve reading proficiency among all students.

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It’s ‘Alarming’: Children Are Severely
Behind in Reading

 

Photo of a teacher standing at the front of a classroom and pointing to their left as students sit at their desks in rows

An article published on Axios by Shawna Chin.

A second-grade class at Weaverville Elementary School on Aug. 17, 2020, the first day of returning to in-person instruction, in Weaverville, Calif. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Children are falling severely behind in reading as the world enters its third year of the coronavirus pandemic, according to multiple studies.

The big picture: Though U.S. literacy rates were already dipping prior to COVID-19, studies show that roughly a third of kindergarten through second-grade students are missing reading benchmarks compared to about 21% in 2019.

Why it matters: The learning loss disproportionately impacts children who are Black, Hispanic, disabled, low-income or not fluent in English.

Details: As schools closed and districts struggled to adapt to remote teaching, students were forced to learn the basics of reading outside the classroom with varying access to online instruction.

      • One study found that K-2 students are scoring below the benchmark at the highest rate ever observed in a Virginia learning assessment’s 20-year history.

      • “In these three early grades, persistent learning losses have widened the national gaps in early reading skills between Black and Hispanic students and their white counterparts,” an0ther study noted.

    Perhaps the most critical factor at play is the shortage of teachers that has persisted even as students returned to classrooms.

        • Nearly half of public schools report full- or part-time teaching vacancies, according to data released last week by the National Center for Education Statistics. Special education and elementary school positions have seen the most vacancies.

        • Below benchmark rates are still largely moving in the wrong direction and a higher proportion of students than ever before are at medium to high risk for reading difficulties.

      What they’re saying: “The scope of the issue is large in scale and deserves districtwide, statewide, and national attention,” one research brief noted.

          • “Effective instruction and intervention are critical because reading difficulties typically persist for students who do not develop adequate reading skills within the first three years of schooling,” the authors of the Virginia study wrote.

        • “In turn, reading deficits often compound to negatively affect other areas of academic learning, engagement, and success. Thus, without adequate, sustained, and targeted supports, it is likely that many of these students will not only continue to struggle with reading, but in other domains as well.

        It’s ‘Alarming’: Children Are Severely
        Behind in Reading         Read More »