Students who read at grade level by the end of the third grade are more likely to perform well in later grades, succeed in high school, graduate from college, and achieve success in the workforce. Unfortunately, a large percentage of Arkansas students are not proficient in reading by the end of the third grade. Seven in 10 Arkansas fourth graders fail to hit this important educational milestone. The state has shown some improvement over the past decade, but Arkansas still lags behind other states in this measure, ranking 35th in the nation.
There is also a significant gap in reading proficiency among Arkansas students across racial and ethnic lines. In 2011, 38 percent of Arkansas’s white students were proficient on the National Assessment of Educational Progress exam. Just over one in 10 African-American students did so. Under 20 percent of Latino and Latina students scored proficient. The state-level benchmark examinations yield better results, but still show large percentages of students who are not reading at grade level. Based on 2012 data, 82% of Arkansas 3rd graders are reading proficiently. The benchmark also paints a much more favorable picture of minority achievement with 61% of black students and 71% of Hispanic students scoring at proficient or above.
Today, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is releasing a report by Hendrix professor (and AACF board member) Jay Barth entitled “Reading to Learn: The Importance of Reading by the End of the Third Grade in Arkansas.” The research presented in the report served as the foundation for the launch of the Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, an effort to make sure all Arkansas children read at grade-level by the end of the third grade.
Barth’s report examines key questions around grade-level reading including: How does Arkansas compare to other states in grade-level reading by the end of the third grade? How do students from different racial and economic backgrounds perform? What does the data tell us about the long-term ramifications of non-proficiency in Arkansas? And finally, what can we do here in Arkansas to help our students read at grade level by the end of third grade?
The report also offers some policy solutions in the areas of school readiness, chronic absence, parent and community involvement, and reducing summer learning loss. You can read the complete report here. To find out more about the Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, visit www.ar-glr.net.