Voices: Utah doesn’t have a low literacy rate, just a high standard

What was one of your favorite books in elementary school? One of mine was “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White.

I’m sure many of us have memories of reading that book for the first time, or sharing it with a young child. Imagine your third grader reading that book to you confidently and fluently. Now, imagine being told your child was not “reading on grade level.”

In Utah, that’s the current reality.

Utah has set the “reading on grade level” standard high: a score of 405, or “Above Benchmark”, on the end-of-year Acadience Reading test in third grade. This score on Acadience Reading translates to about a 750 Lexile (a common reading metric). The book “Charlotte’s Web” is written at a Lexile of 680. So, a student who can independently and fluently read “Charlotte’s Web” may still not meet Utah’s reading on grade level standard.

In fact, among states that define “reading on grade level” in rules or statutes, this standard is one of the highest targets in the nation.

According to a recent editorial published in the Deseret News, this child fluent enough to read “Charlotte’s Web” is contributing to a “reading crisis.” However, the child is far from illiterate. Fears about Utah’s reading on grade level rate are based on a misunderstanding. As a data scientist working for a Utah school district, I frequently explain what assessment data mean to leaders, educators and the public. Reading metrics often require extra explanation because they are often misinterpreted.

As of the 2024-25 school year, 50.3% of Utah third graders met the reading on grade level standard. However, the Utah Legislature passed a law a few years ago requiring that 70% of third graders meet the standard by the end of the 2026-27 school year. Translated to a 750 Lexile, that places Utah’s target score near the 68th percentile of third graders, if we use national norms.

In other words, Utah is trying to fit nearly 70% of students into a space where normally only 32% would go. Tough work.

Utah’s “reading on grade level” target is defined by the State Board of Education. Initially, this target was created to predict proficiency on the end-of-year language arts assessment, which in turn predicts college and career readiness in high school. As a result, Utah third graders are considered reading below grade level if they are not predicted to be college-ready.

This is a very different conversation than many are used to having about reading on grade level. You may have heard, as I have, that students who don’t read on grade level are more likely to be on food stamps, drop out of high school or serve time in prison. The studies that formed the basis of those conclusions were using a much lower standard of reading and trying to predict risk of illiteracy.

Utah is not using the current reading on grade level standard to predict risk or illiteracy, and neither should you.

Assuming that the 49.7% of students not reading on grade level are likely to drop out of high school is misguided. Any cut score that puts half of students below and half of students above is a poor predictor of risky outcomes.

Setting high expectations for reading is not a problem, but labeling only students meeting those high expectations as “literate” is. It implies that the rest of the students are “illiterate” despite being able to read and comprehend.

Using our high standards to bash schools and teachers as producing a “low literacy rate” is also a problem. It negates the hard work that Utah educators have done to help students meet a high standard. Worse, it associates our current outcomes with those old fears of illiteracy, dropouts and dependence.

Many politicians want to assure voters that they will help kids learn to read. It’s an issue that everyone can get behind. But politicians like Gov. Spencer Cox should also be honest and informed about how reading is being measured and what the scores predict or don’t predict.

Brooke Anderson is a 25-year veteran of Utah education, now working as a data scientist for the Jordan School District. Her areas of expertise include Utah’s assessments and accountability systems. She is also the Data & Impact leader for the Utah Teacher Fellows.

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