STATE READING SCORES: ARE ALL AMERICA’S CHILDREN REALLY ABOVE AVERAGE?

Analysis by child advocates shows wildly varying state assessments distort true condition of education

WASHINGTON – State-level school reading tests vary so greatly with each other and the findings of the U.S. Department of Education national assessment that it is unclear how well America’s fourth-grade children are reading. A state-by-state analysis of test scores was released today by Voices for America’s Children, the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy groups.

The analysis, Are All America’s Children Really Above Average?, underscores striking disparities between state reading test scores and the recently released “The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2009” administered by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP assessment showed only one-third of American fourth-graders reading at a “proficient” level; yet most state tests show their students are reading at much higher levels.

“Compared to the national reading test, state scores show a Lake Wobegon Effect: ‘all the children are above average,’” said Bill Bentley, president and CEO of Voices for America’s Children. “For too long states have had an incentive to make their educational assessments less rigorous, especially for federal dollars – we think it’s time to align standards.

“The recent release of common core standards by the nation’s governors and school superintendents provide a great first step toward higher standards and true evaluation. Families deserve to know if their children are learning at competitive levels,” Bentley added. “Congress also needs to know this information as it works to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.”

The Voices analysis offers state-by-state comparisons showing these disparities in overall scores, as well as troubling racial disparities that persist nationwide. The state of Tennessee, for example, finds that 90 percent of its fourth-grade students are proficient readers, yet the NAEP assessment rated only 28 percent of them proficient.

“Here in Missouri, 16 percent of Black students and 26 percent of Hispanic students are proficient readers, compared to 40 percent for their White counterparts,” said Charron Townsend, president of Voices member Partnership for Children in Kansas City. “All those numbers need work, but it’s clear that we have to address the structural problems that are holding children of color back.”

“International comparisons of student educational performance show the United States is behind many of its trading partners and competitors on student achievement, particularly fourth-grade reading proficiency. Even if you do accept the picture these state scores paint, we still have a long way to go before we’re truly preparing children for the global marketplace; geographic location, family income, or race should not determine what type of education a child receives,” said Charles Bruner, executive director of Iowa Voices member Child & Family Policy Center.

To focus on the critical importance of achieving grade-level reading proficiency for all children, the Annie E. Casey Foundation recently released its KIDS COUNT Special Report, Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters.

# # #

As the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy groups, Voices for America’s Children (Voices) has been on the forefront of every major child policy victory for the past quarter-century.  With 60 members nationwide, Voices mobilizes and advocates for public policies to improve the lives of all children, especially those most vulnerable, throughout the United States. Visit us at www.voices.org.

Voices is a founding member of the Children’s Leadership Council, a coalition more than 50 leading national policy and advocacy organizations. www.childrensleadershipcouncil.com.