A majority of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders were not proficient on state reading tests last year. Those worrisome findings, shared with NC State Board of Education members last week, came from the 2020-21 Read to Achieve Data Report. Such findings are not for accountability purposes, since that was waived due to the pandemic. Instead, findings are intended to help educators deploy resources for this 2021-22 school year.
Here’s how the numbers stacked up
First graders:
- 38.5% read at grade level
- 61.5% did not read at grade level
Second graders:
- 43.1% read at grade level
- 56.9% did not read at grade level
Overall, less than one-third of 1st and 2nd grade students who were eligible for priority enrollment in reading camp attended.
Source: Presentation to the State Board of Education from Amy Rhyne, Director of the Office of Early Learning at the NC Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI)
Third graders:
- 43.7% were proficient on the Beginning-of-Grade (BOG) ELA/Reading Test, the End-of-Grade (EOG) ELA/Reading Test, or the EOG ELA/Reading Re-test.
- 56.3% were not proficient on any of the above tests.
Overall, slightly less than half (46.3%) of 3rd graders who were eligible for priority enrollment in reading camp attended.
Source: NC DPI
State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said, “Those numbers are really hard to hear … We must change this trajectory and we must use science and data to do it.”
