NC students continue to struggle with reading despite millions spent on literacy program, new test scores show
North Carolina students continue to struggle with reading despite the state spending more than $150 million on the Read to Achieve literacy program since 2012, according to data released Wednesday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress — also known as "The Nation’s Report Card."
The report, which measures math and reading performance of a nationwide sample of fourth- and eighth-graders every two years, found that North Carolina was among 32 states "without statistically significant changes in reading scores – up or down – at the fourth grade and among 19 states without significant change in eighth-grade reading scores," according to the state Department of Public Instruction.
"In math, 40 states, including North Carolina, saw no significant change in fourth-grade math performance and 42 states saw neither appreciable gains nor losses in eight-grade math," the agency reported, adding that "few states showed gains."
Percent of NC students scoring as proficient or higher
4th grade reading
2019 - 36%
2017 - 39%
In fourth-grade reading, North Carolina’s average score declined three points, but was one of 34 states and jurisdictions with no statistically significant change in their scores from 2017. With 36% performing at the proficient or advanced levels, it was one of 37 states with similar proficiency levels. (Three states were higher; 10 lower.)
8th grade reading
2019 - 33%
2017 - 33%
In reading at the eighth grade, North Carolina was one of 20 states and jurisdictions that had no significant change in scores. Just one, the District of Columbia, saw a significant increase. Thirty-one states and the nation had significant declines. With a proficiency rate of 33 percent, North Carolina was one of 30 states and the nation with performance that was statistically similar. (Ten states had higher rates of proficiency; 10 were lower.)
4th grade math
2019 - 41%
2017 - 42%
Looking at the results of all states and jurisdictions, North Carolina was one of 40 states where changes in fourth-grade math scores from 2017 weren’t statistically significant. In terms of performance levels, North Carolina’s results showed that 41% of students met NAEP’s “proficient” or “advanced” standards, a percentage that was statistically similar to that of the nation as a whole and 28 other states. (Nine achieved higher rates of proficiency, 12 lower.)
8th grade math
2019 - 37%
2017 - 35%
For eighth-grade math results, North Carolina was one of 43 states and jurisdictions with no significant change in their scores from 2017. Just two states and one jurisdiction saw significant increases, and six states and the nation saw declines in their scores. North Carolina’s proficiency rate of 37% in eighth-grade math was statistically similar to that of 22 other states. (Four states were higher; 23 and the nation were lower.)
Under North Carolina's Read to Achieve program, students must be reading at grade level by the end of third grade in order to advance. The latest state data show only 56.8 percent of third-graders were proficient in reading last school year.
N.C. State released a study last year showing the state's Read to Achieve program has had no gains for third-graders, with five years of test scores showing little benefit. Researchers found it was too focused on third grade and that having each school district implement the program led to inconsistencies from teacher skills to the type of summer reading camps offered.
Meanwhile, the Nation's Report Card found that student performance is lagging nationally as well.
America's eighth graders are falling behind in math and reading, while fourth graders are doing slightly better in reading, according to the latest results. But there were some exceptions to the findings, which also showed declines among fourth graders in math.
Mississippi and the District of Columbia showed gains, along with some other big-city school districts.
Nationwide, a little more than a third of eighth graders are proficient in reading and math. About a third of fourth graders are proficient in reading, while more than 40% of fourth graders are proficient in math.
"Every American family needs to open The Nation's Report Card this year and think about what it means for their child and for our country's future," U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement. "The results are, frankly, devastating. This country is in a student achievement crisis, and over the past decade it has continued to worsen, especially for our most vulnerable students."
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Associated Press reporters Jeff Amy and Carolyn Thompson contributed to this report.
