Overview
- The University at Albany analysis, published in the Journal of School Psychology, used NCES’s ECLS‑K:2010–11 cohort and NAEP‑aligned assessments to follow students from kindergarten through fifth grade.
- In kindergarten, 17% of Hispanic, 14% of Black and 14% of Native American students showed reading difficulties, compared with 6% of white and 8% of Asian students.
- From first to fifth grade, about 26% of Black, Hispanic or Native American students encountered reading difficulties at least once, versus about 10% of white or Asian students.
- Repeated struggles in grades 1–5 affected 17% of Hispanic, 16% of Black and 12% of Native American students, compared with roughly 7% of white and 4% of Asian students.
- The study finds consistent links between risk and children’s skills at kindergarten entry and urges early interventions and policies that address economic inequality and strengthen early learning.