Fourth Grade Reading Proficiency in United States

United States

Fourth grade reading proficiency is an important indicator of adequate educational development. By the time a child reaches fourth grade, they are expected to be able to read in order to learn other academic subjects. If a child is not proficient in reading by this age, it becomes harder for them to succeed academically. 

A 2011 landmark study found that children who are not reading proficiently by the end of third grade are much less likely to graduate from high school. Higher educational attainment is associated with better jobs, higher earnings, increased health knowledge, better self-reported health and fewer chronic conditions.

Several factors contribute to a child’s reading proficiency, including readiness for school, chronic absences, summer learning loss, family-related stressors and quality of teaching.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress uses cut points to determine proficiency levels. Fourth grade reading scores are higher among:

• Female students compared with male students. 
• Asian and white students and students who identify as two or more races compared with American Indian/Alaska Native, Black and Hispanic students.
• Native English speakers compared with English language learners.
• Children in low-poverty schools compared with children in high-poverty schools.

Research shows that providing young children with consistent language-rich experiences, such as talking, reading and singing, can positively impact brain development and future school success. Head Start programs promote school readiness and provide early learning opportunities for young children from low-income families. 

County Health Rankings & Roadmaps lists several evidence-based strategies that improve reading outcomes, including:

• Reach Out and Read, a program where medical providers give children developmentally appropriate books and guide parents on how to read with their children during well-child visits.
• Publicly-funded pre-kindergarten programs, which have improved children’s language, math and reading skills, especially among English language learners and children of lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Summer learning programs, which have increased student achievement, especially among disadvantaged students, who have greater levels of summer learning loss.

Healthy People 2030 has a goal to increase the proportion of fourth graders with reading skills at or above the proficient level for their grade.

“2019 Kids Count Data Book State Trends in Child Well-Being.” Baltimore, Maryland: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2019. https://assets.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/aecf-2019kidscountdatabook-2019.pdf#page=32.

Donald J. Hernandez. “Double Jeopardy How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation.” The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2011. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED518818.pdf.

Ferguson, Laurie Anne, and Roberta Pawlak. “Health Literacy: The Road to Improved Health Outcomes.” The Journal for Nurse Practitioners 7, no. 2 (February 2011): 123–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2010.11.020.

Leila Fiester. “Early Warning Confirmed.” The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2013. https://assets.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/AECF-EarlyWarningConfirmed-2013.pdf#page=18.

Lundborg, Petter. “The Health Returns to Schooling—What Can We Learn from Twins?” Journal of Population Economics 26, no. 2 (2013): 673–701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-012-0429-5.

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