An analysis of standardized test scores in the District of Columbia found that overall 3rd grade reading proficiency rates stayed stagnant between 2007 and 2014—but declined for economically disadvantaged and black students.
The analysis by advocacy group DC Action for Children looks at school-level results on the DC Comprehensive Assessment System. (Last year, the district switched to the PARCC test).
The study also found that economically disadvantaged students who attended schools with low concentrations of low-income students did better than those at high-poverty schools, and that proficiency gaps widened between black 3rd graders and their white peers. For Hispanic students, proficiency rates declined, though not statistically significantly.
