Proficiency – Student Reading Proficiency (4th Grade)
This indicator reports the percentage of children in the 4th grade whose reading skills tested below the “proficient” level for the English Language Arts portion of the state-specific standardized test. This indicator is relevant because an inability to read English well is linked to poverty, unemployment, and barriers to healthcare access, provider communications, and health literacy/education.
Source
Source Description
Ed Data Express is a comprehensive platform developed by the U.S. Department of Education to provide easy access to educational data for policymakers, researchers, educators, and the public. The site compiles a wide range of information on student performance, school characteristics, and demographic trends, sourced from key federal data collections like the Common Core of Data (CCD) and the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). Designed to support data-driven decision-making, the platform offers tools for visualizing, analyzing, and comparing data across states, school districts, and subgroups. Ed Data Express aims to promote transparency and equity in education by making critical data readily available to advance the educational outcomes of all students.
Methodology
Student Mathematics and Reading/Language Arts proficiency rates are acquired for school-districts in the United States from US Department of Education (ED) EDData Express data tables. States are required to report data to the US Department of Education under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Through this legislation, student performance on state assessments is measured by assessing students against state content standards. Students are assessed annually in third through eighth grade and at least once in high school. The data are aggregated for all students and by the various subgroups. Data are typically presented as “the percent of students proficient or above on the state assessment,” with “proficient or above” defined as the number of students achieving at the “proficient” or “advanced” levels, as defined by each state education agency. For reporting purposes, states provide the counts of students by academic subject, assessment type, grade level, and performance level for all students and the various subgroups.
County-level summaries are calculated by CARES using small-area estimation technique based on the proportion of the population aged 5-17 in each school district/county. The population figures for this calculation are based on data from the 2020 US Decennial Census at the census block geographic level.
For more information please consult the original data through the EDData Express data download web page.
This indicator is available at the following subscription levels:
- Premium (currently viewing this indicator and report combination)