Rhode Island in Top Three Nationally for 4th Grade Reading Gains

Rhode Island in Top Three Nationally for 4th Grade Reading Gains

Rhode Island is among the top three in the nation for gains made in fourth grade reading proficiency, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT has announced.

The national Annie E. Casey Foundation released its report, Early Reading Proficiency in the United States, highlighting fourth grade reading proficiency rates over a ten‐year period in the United States -- and the biggest gains were in Rhode Island, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

In 2003, 71% of Rhode Island fourth graders were reading below proficiency as measured by the NAEP. By 2013, this percentage had improved by 13% (or 9 percentage points) and 62% were reading below proficiency.

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“This is good news for Rhode Island – this national Data Snapshot shows that Rhode Island is one of two states in the nation, along with the District of Columbia, with the biggest gains in fourth grade reading proficiency over the past ten years. Reading proficiently by fourth grade is a key indicator of a student’s future educational and economic success,” said Elizabeth Burke Bryant, Executive Director of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT.

Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed that all but six states have made progress in improving reading proficiency rates from 2003 to 2013. Despite this improvement, two‐thirds of all children in the United States are still not reading proficiently by the time they reach fourth grade.

Spotlight on Achievement Gaps

Early Reading Proficiency in the United States finds that disparities remain in reading proficiency levels between Black (83 percent not proficient), Latino (81 percent) and American Indian/Alaska Native (78 percent) children and their White (55 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islander (49 percent) peers.

Dual language learners are among the least likely to hit this important milestone. Nationally, the gap between students from low‐ and higher‐ income families widened, with a 17 percent improvement seen among higher‐income children, compared to a 6 percent improvement among their lower‐income peers.

Rhode Island mirrors this national trend in having large achievement gaps among children of varying income groups. In 2013, 81% of low‐income fourth graders were reading below proficiency as measured by the NAEP, compared to 45% of higher‐income fourth graders. Rhode Island’s achievement gap between low‐ and higher‐income students is among the largest in the nation.

Elizabeth Burke Bryant said, “These positive gains in Rhode Island’s overall reading proficiency provide important momentum for the continued urgent work to close Rhode Island’s significant achievement gap in reading proficiency between low‐ and higher‐income income students. We need to ensure that all children are proficient in reading by the end of third grade.”

“Rhode Island is focusing attention on the key strategies we know improve early reading proficiency, including improving access to high‐quality early learning programs, reducing chronic absence in the early grades, and enhanced literacy strategies targeted to struggling readers,” said Bryant. “We must continue to focus our attention and resources on these issues because we all know how important early reading proficiency is to a child’s future success and to the economic success of our state.”