Are the Nation’s Fourth Graders Failing at Reading?

Abstract

Each biannual release of fourth-grade scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading brings a new round of claims that a large majority of U.S. students are performing below grade-level expectations—a national reading crisis. In this commentary, we interrogate these claims, concluding that they represent a misreading of the data. In addition, we discuss how NAEP scores should, instead, inform conversations about achievement and equity.

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