California Shares Rock Bottom in U.S. Reading Scores
JILL TUCKER, Staff Writer - San Francisco Chronicle

California remained at the bottom of the barrel in national test scores for reading, sharing last place with Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico and Washington, D.C., according to the Nation's Report Card released Wednesday.

The state's reading scores have remained flat since the last assessment in 2007.

Few states showed improvement over the last two years on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, standardized tests given to a sample of fourth- and eighth-grade students nationwide. A couple of states fell back.

In California, 54 percent of fourth-grade students and 64 percent of eighth-grade students tested in early 2009 scored at or above the basic reading level, a measure indicating a partial mastery of grade-level content. Nationally, 66 percent of fourth-graders and 74 percent of eighth-graders scored at basic or above levels.

Given California's size and diverse student population along with the relatively low amount of money spent per child on education, the state's scores aren't as bad as they appear, said David Gordon, Sacramento County schools superintendent and member of the National Assessment Governing Board.

"It's not really helpful to compare California to most of these other states," he said. "The level of investment we're making in our school system is really shameful."

California spends about $8,000 per student. New Jersey and New York spend about twice as much and score among the top states.

"I think given its circumstances, I would say California is holding its own," Gordon said. "It's hard to expect a lot more."

On average, California students perform at a basic level, but score lower than their national peers across virtually every socioeconomic demographic.

In the good-news category, the state's African American students moved from below basic to a basic level of reading competence this year.

But on the flip side, English learners lagged well behind their peers.

"In California, English learners make up a quarter of our student population, yet as a group, this population scores far behind nearly every other subgroup," said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell in a statement.

The tests are given to a sampling of students nationwide every two years, alternating each year between math and reading results.

Overall, the scores showed private school students score better than public school students and girls outscore boys.

Nationally and in California, the achievement gap between white and Asian students and their black and Hispanic peers remained as stubborn as ever.

California has seen some progress in state standardized tests, but that wasn't reflected in the national scores announced Wednesday.

A student questionnaire connected to the test results found that students who had access to books at home or who read for fun scored higher than their peers.

"Reading is fundamental to learning," O'Connell said. "Parents play a crucial role in helping their children build a solid foundation for learning by encouraging them to read every day."
How California fared on 2009 reading scores

The National Assessment of Educational Progress 2009 in Reading scores, on a 500-point scale, represent the results of a standardized reading test given to a sample of fourth- and eighth-grade students.
Overall White Black Hispanic Asian Low income Not low income English learner
Fourth grade
California 210 227 200 196 234 196 226 184
Nation 220 229 204 204 234 206 232 188
Eighth grade
California 253 269 243 241 266 241 267 215
Nation 262 271 245 248 273 249 273 219

Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress