Why different literacy measures for Utah kids tell different literacy stories

SALT LAKE CITY — "Learning to Read — Reading to Learn."

That's the oft-repeated adage Utah educators and policymakers use when discussing third graders and early literacy.

For early elementary students — kindergarten through third grade — literacy instruction is primarily focused on building reading proficiency.

Then, from fourth grade on, students are expected to draw upon that foundational literacy to learn essential skills and lessons in, say, English, math and science.

But for Utah youngsters finishing third grade without proficient reading skills, research warns that academic troubles await. And the consequences stretch beyond poor marks on report cards.

"Students who read proficiently by third grade will more likely succeed academically, graduate from high school, and experience long-term economic and civic outcomes," noted an education brief released this week by the Kem Gardner Policy Institute.

Utah lawmakers have taken action.

In 2022, the Utah Legislature established a goal of 70% of the state's kids reading at grade level by the end of third grade by 2027. An education bill passed earlier this year lifted the statewide proficiency level goal for third graders to 80% by 2030.

But how to best measure literacy progress? How is proficiency determined?

Different literacy measures = different literacy stories

No single assessment fully captures literary outcomes, asserted the Gardner report.

The brief examined a trio of literacy progress measures being used in Utah to evaluate student reading performance — Acadience Reading, RISE assessments, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP.

But each assessment is a bit unique from the others.

"Different measures tell different parts of the story," said Gardner Institute's education analyst Andrea Brandley in a news release. "Looking across multiple measures provides a broader understanding of literacy progress."

• Acadience Reading, according to the brief, measures fundamental reading skills, identifies K-3 students who may need additional support — and then monitors progress over time.
• RISE measures student proficiency in grades 3-8 relative to Utah's academic standards.
• Meanwhile, NAEP Reading assesses a representative sample of students while providing independent measures of long-term reading trends that allow for comparisons across states over a long period.

While no single measure fully captures literacy outcomes, educators can be confident in identifying trends when benchmark assessments, state assessments and national assessments point in the same direction, the brief said.

So what does 'reading on grade level' mean?

Utah utilizes the Acadience Reading benchmark categories to determine if a child is reading at proficient grade levels.

Each student is placed in one of four benchmarks designations: Well Below Benchmark, Below Benchmark, At Benchmark and Above Benchmark.

Prior to this year, the state defined reading on grade level as scoring "Above Benchmark" on the Acadience assessment. But that was updated this year during the 2026 Utah legislative session. Now, "reading on grade level" includes students scoring "at or above benchmark."

"The updated definition increased the share of third-grade students classified as reading on grade level from 50.3% to 70.5% in 2025, though student performance remained unchanged."

Acadience data revealed reading proficiency for Utah kindergarten students increased substantially over the past several years. That's likely a result of the expansion of full-day kindergarten in the state.

But grades 1 through 3 recorded much smaller gains, the brief noted. "Third-grade proficiency remained essentially unchanged between 2023 and 2025, holding at approximately 70% under the current definition.

"Although students recovered some pandemic-era losses, progress slowed in recent years and challenges remain."

What do RISE and NAEP assessments reveal about Utah's students?

The Utah RISE data offers mixed results.

Third-grade RISE proficiency nearly recovered from pandemic-era declines, but did not exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2025.

"Recent results closely resemble those observed five years ago, suggesting little sustained improvement over time," according to the brief.

Meanwhile, NAEP — aka "the Nation's Report Card" — indicates Utah students generally score above the national average in fourth-grade reading. But both the Beehive State and the nation have experienced declining performance over the past decade.

"Utah's reading achievement peaked around 2015 and then generally moved downward," according to the Gardner Institute brief. "These trends suggest that many of Utah's literacy challenges emerged before the pandemic and reflect broader long-term concerns about reading achievement."

The bottom line: Utah's primary early literacy assessment measures suggest uneven progress and persistent early literacy challenges.

"While some indicators show gains — particularly in kindergarten literacy — others point to stagnation or long-term declines," the brief noted. "Viewed collectively, the results suggest that Utah continues to face literacy challenges."

The brief emphasized that statewide averages don't capture achievement variations across Utah students, schools and communities.

For example, in 2025, approximately 70% of Utah third graders scored at or above benchmark on their end-of-year Acadience assessment. But students with limited English proficiency, students with disabilities, Hispanic/Latino students and economically disadvantaged students showed "considerably lower" proficiency rates.

So how will educators, parents know if Utah students are improving?

The Gardner Institute brief concluded that the state has articulated a goal of 80% of third-grade students scoring at or above reading benchmarks in their Acadience reading assessments.

But there's value in also examining the other literacy measures to fully understand progress.

"Together, these measures help illuminate where challenges persist and whether Utah students are developing the reading skills needed to succeed in school and beyond," according to the brief.

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