Overall, California’s public school test scores not only fare poorly in comparison to those in other states, but have lost ground in some key areas, as latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress revealed in September.
In fourth-grade reading skills, a vital area since reading comprehension is the door to mastering all other subjects, California ranked an embarrassing 37th among the states in 2024 tests. Just 29% of its students achieved proficient levels, down two points from 2022. Black and Latino fourth-graders appeared to struggle the most.
…
As the New York Times recently reported in great detail, Mississippi was 49th in fourth-grade reading proficiency in 2013, but state leaders acknowledged the damage and decided to do something about it. Central to the state’s reform was adoption of the “science of reading,” the current name for phonics, while targeting efforts on kids in the early grades in an effort to prepare them for learning at all levels…Mississippi also set tough academic standards and state political leaders made improvement a top-drawer issue — not just one of many. The latest national assessments found that Mississippi now has the ninth-highest fourth-grade reading scores.
