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 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.

In 2024, 70% of fourth graders in the United States could not read proficiently for their age.

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

• Girls compared with boys. 
• Asian/Pacific Islander and white students and students who identify as two or more races compared with American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, Black and Hispanic students.
• Students who speak English as their first language compared with English language learners.
• Children without a disability compared with children with disabilities.
• Children living in suburban areas compared with children living in cities, towns or rural areas.

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:

• Reach Out and Read is 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 prekindergarten programs have improved children’s language, math and reading skills, especially among English language learners and children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Efforts are needed to provide more high-quality pre-K programs to racially segregated neighborhoods. 
• Summer learning programs 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.

2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book: State Trends in Child Well-Being. Baltimore, MD: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2024. https://assets.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/aecf-2024kidscountdatabook-2024.pdf.

2025 KIDS COUNT Data Book: State Trends in Child Well-Being. Baltimore, MD: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2025. https://assets.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/Aecf-2025kidscountdatabook.pdf.

Fiester, Leila. Early Warning Confirmed: A Research Update on Third-Grade Reading. Baltimore, MD: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2013. https://assets.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/AECF-EarlyWarningConfirmed-2013.pdf.

Hahn, Robert A., and Benedict I. Truman. “Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity.” International Journal of Health Services 45, no. 4 (October 2015): 657–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020731415585986.

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

Kutner, Mark, Elizabeth Greenberg, Ying Jin, and Christine Paulsen. The Health Literacy of America’s Adults: Results From the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, September 2006. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/2006483_1.pdf.

Why Education Matters to Health: Exploring the Causes. Issue Brief #2. Education and Health Initiative. Richmond, VA: The VCU Center on Society and Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, April 2014.https://societyhealth.vcu.edu/media/society-health/pdf/test-folder/CSH-EHI-Issue-Brief-2.pdf.