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New research brief: K–2 early literacy improvements offer hope, but persistent challenges remain.

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¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp’s research brief on the latest K–2 middle-of-school-year literacy data reveals encouraging gains in early reading, particularly among the nation’s youngest ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp. This year’s kindergarten cohort has returned to pre-pandemic literacy readiness levels. But overall progress remains slow: Only 56% of ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp are on track for learning to read, and 29% of ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp are far behind.

Middle-of-year data can help ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp plan for instructional changes and implement those changes before the following school year. See the report’s recommendations for actions ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp and districts can take now.

Download the research brief
An adult helps a child read a book at a table. The child is writing, and the adult is smiling. The setting resembles a classroom, with windows in the background.

Explore ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp's middle-of-year research brief.

Bar chart showing percentages of kindergarten ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp on track by score: 38%, 47%, 52%, 54%, and 55%.
How many ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp are on track to learn to read?

While all grades across K–2 show signs of year-over-year progress, with more ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp on-track for learning to read than there were in 2023–24, broader literacy gains remain slow, with a little more than half of ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp across early grades (K–2) on track for core reading instruction.

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Bar chart showing kindergarten ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp needing intervention. Percentages: 29, 47, 37, 32, 30, 29 from various assessments.
How many ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp are at risk for not learning to read?

All grades across K–2 show the percentage of ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp at the greatest risk for not learning to read decreasing year-over-year. While fewer ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp are considered far behind today than in 2023–24, more than a quarter of ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp across grades K–2 are at the greatest risk for not learning to read.

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A table showing progress categories, average change in points, and percentages of targeted ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp meeting progress monitoring at least 5 times or 6 times, with color-coded changes.
Take a deeper dive into progress monitoring.

Progress monitoring—identifying, supporting, and tracking outcomes—is one strategy ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp can engage in when working with ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp who are the most at-risk for not learning to read.

 

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Read more research and case studies.

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¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp’s high-quality programs benefit millions of ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp every day using methods that are evidence-based, ESSA-aligned, and showing efficacy in a variety of contexts. Read more research and case studies and see more briefs on early literacy.

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