According to the latest test score data, Utah still has a long way to go to reach its aggressive goal of getting 70% of third-grade students to read at grade level by 2027. But those behind the state’s push to improve early literacy remain optimistic and are encouraged by what they’re seeing in kindergarten.
At a presentation at the Utah State Capitol on Aug. 17, Utah State Board of Education staff shared how students progressed in the 2022-2023 school year, the first full school year since the law setting the reading goal was passed.
Over the last school year, Utah only gained two percentage points toward its goal, from 46% of Utah third graders reading at grade level to 48%.
“I really didn’t expect too big of a jump. So 2%, it’s great to see that,” said Jennifer Throndsen, the director of teaching and learning at the Utah State Board of Education.
That’s because some Utah educators are still going through training that teaches them the science behind learning to read.
“The bill passed and then school starts. So, there’s not a lot of space in between those two events,” said Angela Rutherford, director of the Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction and a member of Utah's advisory science of reading expert panel.
Plus, “they were also having to think about implementation and building those systems across the academic year,” she said.
While the goal is focused on third grade reading proficiency, Throndsen said the “shining star” in the data she presented was the state’s kindergarteners.
Students in kindergarten don’t take the same standardized test as third graders to measure reading proficiency. Instead, they take a test that provides more predictive data.
Throndsen said if kindergarten students meet a benchmark on their test, that means, based on historical data, that they are on a pathway to academic success. And once they’re on that pathway, they’re likely to stay on it.
“But if they don’t get on that pathway, we haven’t been super successful as a state of getting them on that pathway,” Throndsen said.
At the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, 57% of Utah kindergarten students were meeting the reading benchmark. By the end of the year, 74% were meeting it.
This means, Throndsen said, when that group of kindergarteners goes into first grade this school year they’ll be more prepared, and by the time they get to third grade, they will have received four years of quality reading instruction. Throndsen thinks that will help to boost the state’s third grade reading proficiency rates.
The growth is exciting to Throndsen because she said that’s the largest percentage of kindergarten students they’ve ever seen move to benchmark status during the school year. The previous school year, 58% of kindergarten students were meeting the goal at the beginning of the year and 69% were achieving the benchmark by the end of the year.
Throndsen added she thinks the increased funding for full-day kindergarten definitely played a role in that growth.
Rutherford said the focus on early intervention is important because “every day you wait, they’re getting farther, and farther, and farther behind.” She said third grade reading proficiency is so important because if they’re behind when they go into fourth grade, it’s a lot harder to get them on track.
“Third grade you really have to read to learn, versus learning to read,” Throndsen said.
This coming school year, Throndsen said the focus will be on implementation. She said they’re still figuring out the best way to monitor whether teachers are changing their practices and getting the support they need. And she emphasized that Utah’s problem with reading instruction isn’t the fault of individual teachers but a problem with the system.
State Board Member Randy Boothe said he was blown away by everything the state is doing to change how reading is taught in Utah and the commitment of everyone behind this effort.
“This is an example of how public education can and ought to be working, in every aspect,” Boothe said.
Republican State Sen. Ann Millner, the sponsor of Utah’s 2022 science of reading law, said the state has made great progress but is still worried about fourth, fifth and sixth graders who won’t benefit, since this program is focused on grades K-3. Milner said those older students were going to school through the COVID pandemic and likely experienced some learning loss.
After the presentation, Throndsen noted there’s no additional funding from the legislature to help those students in grades 4-6 who are behind in reading. Right now, she said teachers and schools are trying to do the best they can with what resources they have.
