By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — A new report ranks Arkansas 35th in the nation in fourth-grade literacy.
In 2009, about 71 percent of Arkansas fourth-graders scored below the proficient level on the National Assessment of Education Progress reading test, according to the report “Early Warning: Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters,” released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The NAEP test is administered at the beginning of the fourth-grade year.
Among Arkansas fourth-graders eligible for free or reduced-price school meals, 80 percent scored below proficient, while 58 percent of children whose family income was too high for eligibility scored below proficient.
Broken down by race, 65 percent of white fourth-graders scored below proficient, while 86 percent of black students and 84 percent of Hispanic students scored below proficient.
“The gap in well-being and educational achievement that children from low-income families face is something we have followed closely as an organization for decades,” said Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, who viewed an advance copy of the report.
“With nearly 25 percent of Arkansas children currently living in poverty, it’s unfortunate but not surprising that we’re seeing these numbers,” Huddleston said.
The state Department of Education did not immediately return a call Monday afternoon seeking comment.
Nationwide, 68 percent of fourth-graders scored below proficient last year. Among students from low-income families, 83 percent scored below proficient, while 55 percent of students from moderate-to-high-income families scored below proficient.
Students across the U.S. scoring below proficient according to race were: White, 59 percent; black, 85 percent; Asian/Pacific Islander 52 percent; American Indian, 78 percent; and Hispanic, 84 percent.
“Until third grade, children are learning to read,” said Ralph Smith, executive vice president of the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation. “When kids are not reading by fourth grade, they almost certainly get on a glide path to poverty.”
Huddleston said Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families supports expanding the state’s preschool education programs to serve children from birth to age 5; creating and supporting quality after-school and summer programs; investing in initiatives to improve low-performing schools; and providing economic support for low-income parents.
“The indicators show that Arkansas has a long way to go if we are going to improve reading levels in the state,” Huddleston said.
If the state does not do more to address the problem, “we’re only going to see this cycle continue and Arkansas’ children fall further behind,” he said.
