The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessment results released in 2024 confirmed that literacy rates were declining among 4th and 8th grade students across the board. And since the pandemic, literacy conversations have focused on the harm learning loss has done to students, and how we can get back to pre-COVID reading levels. But I find that these discussions often get lost in a debate over curriculum without addressing other confounding factors that have substantial impact on reading disparities among young people.
So, how did we get here, what are the systemic issues dragging scores down, and how do we fix the pipeline?
Let’s dive in.
Jared Giles
Founder, SquareOne
[email protected]
Looking Beyond Curriculum
For the past decade, national discourse surrounding literacy has centered almost exclusively on curriculum, specifically the battle over balanced literacy versus the "science of reading." While returning to phonics is a necessary change, treating literacy strictly as an instructional issue misses the broader socioeconomic disparities that influence student performance.
The latest NAEP Long-Term Trend data reveal other factors that impact a student’s reading ability:
Age: In 2025, average reading scores for 9-year-olds rose by 4 points compared to 2022, driven largely by gains among lower-performing students. However, for 13-year-olds, reading scores remained stagnant, showing no significant change from 2023.
Socioeconomic & Parent Education Gap: Across the board, the data reveals a massive 20-to-30-point performance gap tied directly to household demographics. Economically disadvantaged students consistently lag behind their non-disadvantaged peers by over 20 points. Similarly, students whose parents graduated from college score 20 to 30 points higher than those whose parents did not complete high school, completed high school only, or had some post-secondary education without a degree.
Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities face a similar 20 to 30 point gap compared to their peers, underscoring how systemic resource access, or the lack thereof, compounds across vulnerable populations.
As long as a child’s reading performance can be predicted by their parent’s income or education level, diminishing literacy rates are a socioeconomic mobility failure.
When parents lack basic education, work multiple low-wage jobs, or face language and resource barriers, the home learning environment is at risk. When we address literacy, we must treat the whole family, not only the student.
If city and state leaders want to build resilient talent pipelines, retain local talent, and attract and build new businesses, the work starts at square one: pairing evidence-based reading standards in the classroom with structural support for families.
National Spotlight: The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL)
How do we build an institutional blueprint that addresses literacy as both an instructional and a socioeconomic challenge? Look at the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) and its Family Learning Systems framework.
The Problem: Traditional education policy treats K–12 instruction and adult/parent support as separate issues. When public systems focus exclusively on classroom instruction while ignoring adult literacy, language access, or household income, the NAEP socioeconomic performance gap persists.
The Intervention: NCFL partners with school districts, city agencies, and communities across the country to establish multi-layered Family Learning Systems. Grounded in four core pillars—Children’s Education, Adult Education, Parent Time, and Parent and Child Together (PACT) Time—the model integrates academic, digital, and workforce literacy for parents directly alongside early childhood learning.
The Takeaway: As documented in NCFL's Meaningful Impact, Real Outcomes data, treating the family as the foundational unit of change yields multi-generational dividends. Participating children demonstrate measurable gains in literacy readiness, language, and school attendance, while parents build job skills, English proficiency, and learn how to advocate in their children's schools. NCFL proves that when government and educational leaders engage parents as partners, they catalyze adult economic mobility and shrink early literacy gaps.
ICYMI
[READ] How Mississippi Transformed Its Schools From Worst to Best: A deep dive into how Mississippi “has emerged as one of the best places in the country for a poor child to get an education.”
[READ] World Class by Teru Clavel: In her memoir, Teru recounts navigating education systems across the U.S., China, and Japan, comparing how different academic and cultural standards impact her children’s educations.
[LISTEN] Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong: A podcast series investigating how flawed instructional methods dominated classrooms for decades and why many states and school districts have switched to the science of reading.