Utah remains one of the most literate states in the country, with an average of 9% illiterate compared to the national average of 14.7%.
Literacy rates often reflect the quality of a state’s education system, which can have a notable impact on long-term success. However, there are nuances to the ways the scores are presented.
Statewide data
The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is a standardized assessment for fourth and eighth-graders that tests reading ability. Katherine O’Donnell, an assistant professor in the Educational Psychology department’s Literacy, Language and Learning program, explained the potential flaws in NAEP’s data.
“Utah tends to score higher in the U.S., which is great, but the struggle is that it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are hitting really high benchmarks,” O’Donnell said. “So it’s not like we’re having 75% of our students reading at proficient or above [standard levels]; it just means that we are doing better than other states.”
Less than half of Utah children in grades 1-3 were reading at the expected grade level during the 2022-2023 school year. According to NAEP, the average score in the eighth grade had lowered by four points between 2022 and 2024. Additionally, 36% of Utah’s fourth graders are reading at or above the proficient level.
O’Donnell said that reading proficiency often affects more than just language and writing skills.
“As [kids] get older, their reading will affect science, social studies and math, and so our kids who aren’t proficient in reading will struggle with other subjects,” O’Donnell said. “They’re more likely to drop out of school and we see a lot of these negative outcomes. Reading and struggles in school are really what lead to the school-to-prison pipeline.”
Legislation
The 2022 Read to Succeed Initiative, or SB 127, sets a goal for 70% of third-grade Utah students to read at grade level by 2027. It aims to promote student-teacher engagement and research-based curriculum to improve overall reading skills.
O’Donnell said that the initiative wants to help students “when they’re young” to avoid struggles in the future.
“We want to prevent students from falling behind rather than intervene once they have already fallen behind,” O’Donnell said. “They might still be receiving those same C’s or D’s in school because they were two to three grade levels behind, even if they’ve made a grade level of progress.”
The emphasis on coaches and teachers in the Read to Succeed Initiative aims to improve overall effectiveness in the classroom.
Impact on higher education
The importance of strong support systems often doesn’t end in elementary school. Jackson Weech, a sophomore who transferred from the U to Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), said that feeling connected to campus and having engaged professors can be just as crucial to student success in higher education as early literacy is in grade school.
“I have friends who live on campus and feel really connected and in my opinion — and theirs as well — they do better in school,” Weech said.
Weech said the “most important thing” for academic progress is the relationship between teachers and their students.
“I would say the most important thing is who’s teaching the class and the people who are in the class,” Weech said. “I was fortunate to have great experiences with professors at the U. There are certain professors who are really connected to what they’re teaching and have the drive and passion to care for their students. I’ve had amazing professors at SLCC as well.”
O’Donnell, who works closely with students every day, said consistent teacher support plays a crucial role in student well-being.
“[Students] all have different reasons for why they are sitting in that class. They all have different things they want to get out of it, and I want to know who they are and how I can support them,” O’Donnell said. “That keeps students engaged in class, and it also is the number one thing that keep students from dropping outright, whether that be in middle school, high school or college.”
