Along with pre-K, fourth grade reading is another aspect of elementary education. If students are not mastering functional literacy by fourth grade, they will be entering either the final grade of elementary school or the first of middle school in dire need of the functional skill to maintain success throughout the rest of their academic career.
The LightSail Group has looked at data from national studies saying, “you can begin to determine what the average reader looks like in Grade 4. The average fourth grader will have a Lexile score of 445L to 810L. However, this is true for around 50% of students, with around 25% being below the average, while the other 25% are likely to be above the average.” These are national averages and not those for our Tennessee fourth graders.
In 2024, 46.4% of fourth graders in Tennessee scored proficient or higher on the state’s English language arts (ELA) test. That results in 54% scoring below proficient at the end of fourth grade, at least on this one measure.
I went to junior high, grades 7-9. Has there been any definitive work that shows that either middle school or junior high is better for students? I would hope that theories of human development played a major role here and not simply space, location and building capacity.
The Association for Middle Level Educators (AMLE) “believes that the true middle school is one that has been planned and organized to address the developmental and cultural needs of students of ages 10 to 14, generally including grades 5-8.” Maybe this is the research I seek.
A former colleague of mine advocated for one-room schoolhouses. It is in this environment that collaborative learning was incubated. The community school discussed in earlier entries is another iteration of this development.
In future entries, I will suggest where the I have seen some of those 54%ers choose as alternatives, because if one can’t read, the choices become limited.
Bob Kronick is professor emeritus University of Tennessee. Bob welcomes your comments or questions to rkronick@utk.edu.
