SuperKids Software Review - Reading: How Does Your State Compare?

SuperKids Educational Software Review. The parents' and teachers' guide to educational software

Reading: How Does Your State Compare?

American Education is "riddled with excellence but rife with mediocrity"
- Education Week, 1/16/97

The goal of any education system is to see its students learn, achieve, and excel, which explains the nationwide concern regarding the state of schools in the US. According to data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), little more than one-quarter of all fourth graders demonstrated reading proficiency for their grade level. In other words, almost three-quarters of these students do not have the fundamental knowledge or skills necessary to perform at their grade level!

[NAEP is a congressionally mandated survey that has been administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education, since 1969.]

Explanations for these dismal statistics are many -- ranging from declines in real spending per pupil to declines in moral values -- but definitive conclusions are hard to come by. SuperKids took a look at one of the more commonly cited reasons, class size, in a separate article.

The table below presents the results of the 1994 NAEP reading exams for fourth graders. The numbers represent the percentage of students who received scores of "proficient" or better in reading. High scores are better than low scores.

Scroll down to see the entire table, or click on a state's initials to see that state's score. Click on the state name in the table to see Education Week's overall assessment of the quality of education in that state.

AL AK AR AZ CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD 

MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC 

SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

State	Reading Scores in NAEP Exam
State	Percent 4th graders proficient or advanced in reading, 1994
U.S.	28
1. Maine	41
2. North Dakota	38
3. Connecticut	38
4. New Hampshire	36
5. Massachusetts	36
6. Iowa	35
7. Wisconsin	35
8. Montana	35
9. Nebraska	34
10. Minnesota	33
	Proficient or advanced in reading, percent of 4th graders, 1994
11. New Jersey	33
12. Indiana	33
13. Wyoming	32
14. Rhode Island	32
15. Missouri	31
16. Pennsylvania	30
17. Utah	30
18. North Carolina	30
19. Colorado	28
20. New York	27
	Proficient or advanced in reading, percent of 4th graders, 1994
21. Tennessee	27
22. Washington	27
23. Maryland	26
24. Virginia	26
25. Texas	26
26. Kentucky	26
27. Georgia	26
28. West Virginia	26
29. Arizona	24
30. Arkansas	24
	Proficient or advanced in reading, percent of 4th graders, 1994
31. Delaware	23
32. Florida	23
33. Alabama	23
34. New Mexico	21
35. South Carolina	20
36. Hawaii	19
37. California	18
38. Mississippi	18
39. Louisiana	15
	Proficient or advanced in reading, percent of 4th graders, 1994
40. Idaho	N/A
41. Michigan	N/A
42. Ohio	N/A
43. Oklahoma	N/A
44. Alaska	N/A
45. Illinois	N/A
46. Kansas	N/A
47. Nevada	N/A
48. Oregon	N/A
49. South Dakota	N/A
50. Vermont	N/A
U.S.	28

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