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Digest of Education Statistics
2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 220.40. Fall 2010 first-time kindergartners' reading scale scores and standard deviations through spring of fifth grade, by selected child, family, and school characteristics during the kindergarten year: Fall 2010 and spring 2011 through spring 2016
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected child, family, or school characteristic during the kindergarten year Kindergarten First grade, spring 2012 Second grade, spring 2013 Third grade, spring 2014 Fourth grade, spring 2015 Fifth grade, spring 2016
Fall 2010 Spring 2011
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
  Mean reading score1
Total 54.5 (0.24) 69.3 (0.34) 95.3 (0.40) 112.8 (0.37) 121.4 (0.32) 129.7 (0.28) 136.8 (0.30)
Sex of child                            
Male 54.0 (0.30) 68.6 (0.41) 93.7 (0.45) 111.1 (0.44) 119.8 (0.40) 128.8 (0.34) 136.1 (0.36)
Female 55.0 (0.26) 70.1 (0.39) 97.0 (0.48) 114.5 (0.42) 123.0 (0.37) 130.7 (0.32) 137.5 (0.36)
                             
Age of child at kindergarten entry, fall 2010                            
Less than 5 years old 50.7 (0.62) 63.8 (0.96) 87.9 (1.40) 107.1 (1.22) 117.3 (1.02) 126.2 (0.98) 134.0 (1.07)
5 years old to 5 1/2 years old 53.0 (0.32) 67.7 (0.41) 93.5 (0.48) 111.3 (0.40) 119.8 (0.38) 128.7 (0.35) 135.6 (0.37)
More than 5 1/2 years old to 6 years old 55.5 (0.30) 70.6 (0.37) 96.9 (0.52) 114.1 (0.49) 122.6 (0.41) 130.6 (0.36) 137.8 (0.38)
More than 6 years old 57.9 (0.45) 73.1 (0.63) 99.6 (0.74) 115.9 (0.74) 124.0 (0.61) 131.9 (0.68) 138.4 (0.74)
                             
Race/ethnicity of child                            
White 56.1 (0.33) 71.4 (0.45) 98.6 (0.50) 116.1 (0.43) 124.8 (0.38) 132.8 (0.32) 140.0 (0.35)
Black 53.0 (0.44) 66.5 (0.58) 91.0 (0.90) 107.7 (0.80) 115.3 (0.62) 123.8 (0.68) 130.5 (0.57)
Hispanic 50.8 (0.32) 65.3 (0.33) 89.2 (0.52) 107.1 (0.61) 116.0 (0.56) 125.0 (0.56) 132.0 (0.53)
Asian 59.2 (0.66) 74.4 (0.82) 100.4 (1.00) 117.1 (0.88) 125.2 (0.70) 134.3 (0.81) 141.3 (0.76)
Pacific Islander 52.7 (2.00) 69.9 (2.96) 97.7 (2.87) 115.4 (2.82) 123.2 (2.61) 131.3 (1.87) 138.8 (2.09)
American Indian/Alaska Native 50.3 (0.61) 64.2 (1.08) 91.3 (1.39) 107.5 (1.33) 117.6 (1.21) 126.7 (1.33) 134.0 (1.59)
Two or more races 56.2 (0.74) 70.8 (1.01) 97.0 (1.12) 114.6 (1.08) 123.6 (0.82) 132.0 (0.84) 139.2 (0.82)
                             
How often child exhibited positive learning
   behaviors, fall 20102
                           
Never 45.6 (0.81) 55.3 (1.41) 71.8 (1.86) 91.5 (2.15) 103.4 (1.89) 113.9 (1.75) 119.8 (1.97)
Sometimes 49.9 (0.35) 63.5 (0.38) 87.0 (0.59) 105.1 (0.54) 114.4 (0.46) 123.8 (0.48) 130.7 (0.47)
Often 54.3 (0.26) 69.5 (0.43) 96.4 (0.48) 114.0 (0.41) 122.5 (0.38) 130.7 (0.35) 137.9 (0.39)
Very often 59.2 (0.45) 75.4 (0.62) 103.0 (0.62) 119.4 (0.60) 127.3 (0.49) 134.8 (0.46) 141.8 (0.44)
                             
Primary type of nonparental care arrangement
   prior to kindergarten entry3
                           
No regular nonparental arrangement 52.1 (0.34) 67.1 (0.43) 92.0 (0.61) 109.6 (0.59) 118.9 (0.54) 127.3 (0.46) 135.0 (0.45)
Home-based care                            
Relative care 52.4 (0.37) 68.0 (0.40) 93.8 (0.54) 111.4 (0.57) 119.9 (0.49) 128.8 (0.42) 135.2 (0.46)
Nonrelative care 54.7 (0.62) 70.3 (0.82) 98.4 (0.78) 115.3 (0.74) 123.6 (0.71) 132.2 (0.58) 139.5 (0.64)
Center-based care 56.0 (0.28) 70.5 (0.42) 96.7 (0.50) 114.1 (0.41) 122.5 (0.37) 130.6 (0.35) 137.7 (0.38)
Multiple arrangements 55.1 (0.61) 70.8 (0.82) 96.5 (1.05) 114.2 (1.08) 121.2 (1.00) 130.8 (0.92) 137.4 (0.94)
                             
Household type, fall 20104                            
Two-parent household 55.6 (0.27) 70.8 (0.38) 97.3 (0.45) 114.8 (0.40) 123.3 (0.35) 131.6 (0.31) 138.7 (0.34)
Mother-only household 51.7 (0.32) 65.6 (0.44) 90.4 (0.60) 108.0 (0.53) 116.9 (0.51) 125.3 (0.49) 132.1 (0.50)
Father-only household 51.6 (0.69) 65.6 (1.01) 89.0 (1.30) 107.0 (1.22) 115.4 (1.06) 123.8 (1.20) 132.2 (1.24)
Other household type 49.4 (0.83) 63.5 (0.86) 87.0 (1.79) 103.5 (1.51) 112.6 (1.57) 120.8 (1.86) 127.0 (1.53)
                             
Primary home language                            
English 55.3 (0.25) 70.3 (0.39) 96.8 (0.42) 114.1 (0.37) 122.6 (0.33) 130.8 (0.26) 137.8 (0.29)
Non-English 49.9 (0.44) 63.9 (0.55) 87.4 (0.81) 105.5 (0.72) 115.0 (0.63) 124.1 (0.63) 131.2 (0.68)
Primary language not identified5 51.6 (1.24) 66.8 (1.52) 91.0 (1.96) 107.5 (2.22) 115.6 (1.68) 126.2 (1.95) 131.3 (1.81)
                             
Parents' highest level of education6                            
Less than high school 47.5 (0.43) 61.4 (0.48) 83.5 (0.80) 101.0 (0.81) 110.6 (0.67) 119.2 (0.70) 126.0 (0.67)
High school completion 50.3 (0.31) 64.5 (0.33) 88.7 (0.53) 106.1 (0.51) 115.6 (0.44) 124.3 (0.41) 131.2 (0.44)
Some college/vocational 53.4 (0.27) 68.1 (0.39) 94.3 (0.42) 111.7 (0.41) 120.1 (0.42) 128.7 (0.36) 135.9 (0.36)
Bachelor's degree 57.6 (0.34) 73.1 (0.48) 100.3 (0.58) 118.1 (0.40) 126.2 (0.35) 134.3 (0.35) 141.5 (0.35)
Any graduate education 61.1 (0.51) 76.8 (0.60) 104.7 (0.52) 122.2 (0.41) 130.0 (0.41) 137.8 (0.39) 144.7 (0.36)
                             
Poverty status, spring 20117                            
Below poverty threshold 50.0 (0.30) 63.7 (0.37) 86.6 (0.58) 104.4 (0.58) 113.6 (0.56) 122.3 (0.49) 129.4 (0.51)
100 to 199 percent of poverty threshold 53.0 (0.31) 67.9 (0.53) 93.8 (0.64) 111.0 (0.58) 119.9 (0.55) 128.3 (0.55) 135.5 (0.55)
200 percent or more of poverty threshold 57.7 (0.31) 73.0 (0.41) 100.7 (0.44) 118.2 (0.36) 126.3 (0.35) 134.4 (0.27) 141.5 (0.30)
                             
Two risk factors8                            
Both risk factors: No parent completed
   high school9 and family below poverty
   threshold7
47.4 (0.50) 61.2 (0.63) 83.2 (0.99) 101.0 (0.98) 110.2 (0.82) 118.8 (0.87) 125.7 (0.90)
One risk factor: No parent completed
   high school
49.0 (0.81) 62.4 (0.77) 85.6 (1.09) 103.8 (1.20) 113.3 (1.09) 122.9 (1.05) 130.2 (1.21)
One risk factor: Family below poverty
   threshold
50.7 (0.33) 64.5 (0.41) 87.6 (0.58) 105.4 (0.65) 114.6 (0.62) 123.4 (0.55) 130.5 (0.57)
Neither risk factor 56.4 (0.27) 71.7 (0.40) 99.0 (0.41) 116.4 (0.36) 124.6 (0.33) 132.8 (0.27) 140.0 (0.30)
                             
Socioeconomic status10                            
Lowest 20 percent 48.8 (0.35) 62.4 (0.38) 85.0 (0.60) 102.8 (0.58) 112.2 (0.54) 120.9 (0.52) 127.8 (0.51)
Middle 60 percent 54.0 (0.22) 69.0 (0.34) 95.4 (0.37) 112.7 (0.34) 121.2 (0.29) 129.7 (0.27) 136.9 (0.28)
Highest 20 percent 61.0 (0.46) 76.7 (0.58) 104.6 (0.54) 122.0 (0.45) 130.1 (0.40) 137.9 (0.33) 144.8 (0.32)
                             
School control, fall 2010                            
Public 54.1 (0.27) 68.9 (0.38) 94.8 (0.44) 112.1 (0.41) 120.7 (0.37) 129.1 (0.32) 136.1 (0.34)
Private 57.4 (0.66) 72.4 (1.06) 99.6 (1.25) 118.5 (0.90) 126.5 (0.86) 134.8 (0.76) 141.9 (0.68)
  Standard deviation of the reading score
Total 10.5 (0.22) 13.2 (0.26) 16.5 (0.25) 15.6 (0.26) 14.0 (0.24) 13.3 (0.25) 14.0 (0.24)
1 Reflects performance on questions measuring basic skills (e.g., word recognition); vocabulary knowledge; and reading comprehension, including identifying information specifically stated in text (e.g., definitions, facts, and supporting details), making complex inferences from texts, and considering the text objectively and judging its appropriateness and quality. Possible scores for the reading assessment range from 0 to 167.
2 Derived from child's approaches to learning scale score in fall of the kindergarten year. This score is based on teachers' reports on how often students exhibit positive learning behaviors in seven areas: attentiveness, task persistence, eagerness to learn, learning independence, ability to adapt easily to changes in routine, organization, and ability to follow classroom rules. Possible scores range from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating that a child exhibits positive learning behaviors more often. Fall 2010 scores were categorized into the four anchor points on the original scale--1 (never), 2 (sometimes), 3 (often), and 4 (very often)--by rounding the mean score to the nearest whole number.
3 The type of nonparental care in which the child spent the most hours. "Multiple arrangements" refers to children who spent an equal amount of time in each of two or more arrangements.
4 A two-parent household may have two biological parents, two adoptive parents, or one biological/adoptive parent and one other parent/partner. A mother-only or father-only household has one biological or adoptive parent only, without another parent/partner. In other household types, which do not include biological or adoptive parents, the guardian or guardians may be related or unrelated to the child.
5 Two or more languages (which could include English) were spoken in the child's home, and the parent respondent was unable to specify which language was the primary one (the one spoken most of the time).
6 Parents' highest level of education is the highest level of education achieved by either of the parents or guardians in a two-parent household, by the only parent in a single-parent household, or by any guardian in a household with no parents.
7 Poverty status is based on preliminary U.S. Census income thresholds for 2010, which identify incomes determined to meet household needs, given family size and composition. For example, a family of three with one child was below the poverty threshold if its income was less than $17,552 in 2010.
8 Includes only children for whom information about both risk factors is available. Excludes children with missing information about parental education or poverty status.
9 High school not completed by any parent or guardian living with the child.
10 Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured by a composite score based on parental education and occupations and household income during the child’s kindergarten year.
NOTE: Estimates weighted by W9C9P_20. Estimates pertain to a sample of children who were enrolled in kindergarten for the first time in the 2010-11 school year. The same children were assessed in spring 2012 (when the majority were in first grade), spring 2013 (when the majority were in second grade), spring 2014 (when the majority were in third grade), spring 2015 (when the majority were in fourth grade), and spring 2016 (when the majority were in fifth grade). Estimates differ from previously published figures because reading scale scores were recalculated to represent the kindergarten through fifth-grade assessment item pools and because weights were adjusted to account for survey nonresponse at each data collection wave, including the latest round of data collection (spring 2016). Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (ECLS-K:2011), Kindergarten–Fifth Grade Restricted-Use Data File. (This table was prepared March 2019.)

2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest