Who Are the Struggling Readers and How Can They Be Helped?

"U.S. elementary school students have been displaying declining reading achievement, particularly among those who are struggling. For example, the average scores among 4th-grade students in the lowest 10th percentile declined by 10 points from 2020 to 2022. This was five times the decline of students in the highest 90th percentile. The sociodemographic groups who are especially likely to be struggling readers during elementary school include Black, Hispanic, or American Indian students, those from low-income families, students with disabilities, and multilingual learners."

"To date, however, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners have lacked information about which U.S. students are likely to be struggling readers as they begin kindergarten and then attend 1st-5th grade. Also unclear are the modifiable factors that help to explain why students from some sociodemographic groups are especially likely to be struggling readers. Available work is largely based on cross-sectional data collected only during 4th grade."

Reading achievement among U.S. elementary students has declined, with the steepest drops among those already struggling. Fourth-grade students in the lowest 10th percentile lost ten points from 2020 to 2022, five times the decline of the highest-scoring peers. Black, Hispanic, American Indian, low-income, disabled, and multilingual students show higher rates of reading difficulty. Patterns of risk are present by kindergarten and can persist through grades 1–5. Existing evidence is limited by reliance on cross-sectional fourth-grade data and mixed longitudinal findings. Early modifiable factors include family socioeconomic status, home literacy environments, and executive functioning.

Read at Psychology Today