The U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics recently released the Nation’s Report Card, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). These assessments are given to students nationwide in grades 4, 8 and 12 every few years on topics including math, reading, science, civics, engineering and technology literacy. The results tell us how our students are performing academically in the US, but I want to focus on results specific to Ohio.
NAEP scores are categorized as: advanced, proficient, basic and below basic. On the 2024 NAEP Assessment in 4th grade reading, 32% of Ohio students scored proficient and advanced, while 68% scored basic and below. In 8th grade reading, 31% of Ohio students scored proficient and advanced, and 69% scored basic and below. The Ohio performance levels were nearly the same as the national scores and both grades have been trending downward nationwide since 2017. What are the implications? Reading proficiency directly correlates to economic mobility. And for Ohio students to be economically mobile and competitive in the job market upon completion of their education, they must score proficiently or better on reading tests. This work starts even before children enter kindergarten. The percentage of students in Summit County who are kindergarten ready is 48% based on Ohio Kindergarten Readiness Assessment in Language and Literacy results. This means that 52% of incoming kindergarten students are not ready. Although our local reading scores on the State of Ohio assessments (not the same as NAEP) in reading at 4th grade have increased 4 percentage points since 2019, 8th grade reading scores have fallen by 4% during the same period. At SEI, we cannot overstate the importance of early grade reading. Reading to young children before they enter kindergarten is a must so they can increase their vocabulary, begin to recognize words and develop a love of reading.
The Summit County Youth Coalition (SCYC) had the honor of presenting to the Akron Board of Education this month! The group of scholars made a powerful introduction, showcasing the incredible work they’ve done so far and giving a sneak peek into what’s to come. Stay tuned – big things are ahead!
Collaboration growing with YSS
We recently teamed up with Youth Success Summit (YSS) to review the results of the out-of-school time (OST) summer impact data. This review is part of our collaborative goal to identify which youth are not being served and set equity goals to fix gaps. We are also working to show families, elected officials and funders the positive impact of OST services have on our community’s youth and to advocate as a collective for more funds for OST providers.
Collaborative Action Network registration is still open
Registration is still open to join our Collaborative Action Networks for the 2024-25 school year. The Early Literacy and Quality Early Learning Networks will be teaming up to focus on kindergarten readiness this year. Learn more and register today!
Summit County Literacy Cycle
We've recently completed our Summit County Literacy Cycle. Check it out here! The importance of early literacy extends far beyond reading in Kindergarten. Literacy lays the groundwork for future math skills, academic achievement, career readiness and success, and more! Watch for our research brief which will be coming out soon.
The research and data team has been hard at work supporting all our networks across the Cradle to Career Continuum! Whether we are presenting data findings, learning from the content experts, or collaborating on new pilot initiatives, we are always happy to be learning and sharing space with our community.
