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Digest of Education Statistics
2007 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 110. Mean reading scale scores and specific reading skills of fall 1998 first-time kindergartners, by time of assessment and selected characteristics: Selected years, fall 1998 through spring 2004
Selected characteristic Mean reading scale score Score gain, fall 1998 to spring 2004 Percentage of children with specific reading skills, fifth grade, spring 2004
Kindergarten First grade Third grade, spring 2002 Fifth grade, spring 2004 Deriving meaning from text Interpreting beyond text Evaluating nonfiction
Fall 1998 Spring 1999 Fall 1999 Spring 2000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Total 30 (0.4) 41 (0.6) 48 (0.7) 72 (0.9) 120 (1.1) 141 (1.0) 111 (0.8) 75 (1.4) 47 (1.2) 8 (0.7)
Sex                                        
Male 29 (0.5) 41 (0.6) 48 (0.7) 73 (1.0) 119 (1.1) 141 (1.2) 112 (1.0) 76 (1.6) 48 (1.3) 7 (0.8)
Female 30 (0.5) 42 (0.8) 48 (0.9) 72 (1.2) 120 (1.5) 140 (1.3) 110 (1.1) 74 (1.9) 47 (1.5) 8 (0.9)
                                         
Race/ethnicity                                        
White 31 (0.4) 43 (0.7) 49 (0.7) 75 (1.0) 124 (0.9) 145 (0.9) 114 (0.8) 81 (1.2) 53 (1.1) 9 (0.8)
Black 26 (0.7) 38 (1.1) 43 (1.1) 64 (1.7) 107 (2.3) 128 (1.8) 102 (1.7) 58 (2.7) 33 (2.0) 2 (0.4)
Hispanic 29 (1.2) 41 (1.2) 47 (1.4) 69 (1.8) 117 (2.6) 137 (2.2) 108 (1.9) 72 (3.5) 43 (2.3) 4 (0.9)
Asian/Pacific Islander 32 (3.1) 44 (4.6) 52 (5.3) 75 (7.1) 117 (7.8) 143 (4.0) 111 (1.9) 79 (4.4) 49 (5.9) 11 (4.3)
Other 27 (2.2) 38 (2.5) 44 (3.8) 68 (5.4) 109 (9.6) 131 (8.4) 104 (6.2) 61 (12.1) 38 (8.8) 7 (5.3)
                                         
Parents' highest level of education1                                         
Less than high school 23 (0.7) 32 (0.9) 38 (1.4) 57 (2.9) 93 (3.1) 117 (3.0) 94 (2.9) 42 (4.7) 24 (2.5) 1 (0.2)
High school 26 (0.4) 38 (0.8) 42 (1.0) 65 (1.4) 112 (2.2) 134 (1.9) 108 (1.7) 67 (2.7) 39 (2.2) 3 (0.6)
Some college 29 (0.4) 41 (0.5) 47 (0.7) 71 (0.9) 120 (1.5) 140 (1.4) 111 (1.3) 75 (2.1) 46 (1.6) 6 (1.0)
Bachelor's or higher 34 (0.7) 47 (1.1) 54 (1.2) 82 (1.6) 130 (1.2) 151 (1.3) 117 (0.8) 88 (1.5) 60 (1.7) 13 (1.6)
                                         
Socioeconomic status1                                         
Lowest 20 percent 23 (0.4) 33 (0.7) 38 (0.9) 57 (1.7) 95 (2.4) 119 (1.9) 96 (1.8) 44 (3.1) 25 (1.7) 1 (0.3)
Middle 60 percent 29 (0.4) 41 (0.5) 47 (0.7) 72 (0.8) 120 (1.2) 140 (1.1) 112 (1.0) 76 (1.6) 46 (1.3) 6 (0.6)
Highest 20 percent 35 (0.9) 48 (1.3) 55 (1.5) 82 (2.0) 132 (1.2) 153 (1.6) 118 (1.0) 90 (1.7) 62 (2.2) 16 (2.3)
                                         
Number of family risk factors1,2                                         
No risks 32 (0.5) 44 (0.7) 51 (0.8) 77 (1.0) 127 (1.0) 147 (1.0) 115 (0.9) 84 (1.3) 55 (1.3) 10 (1.0)
One risk 27 (0.5) 39 (0.7) 44 (0.8) 68 (1.1) 114 (1.5) 135 (1.2) 109 (1.0) 70 (1.7) 40 (1.4) 4 (0.6)
Two or more risks 25 (0.6) 35 (0.8) 40 (1.0) 59 (1.5) 99 (2.3) 122 (2.2) 97 (1.9) 47 (3.6) 27 (2.0) 2 (0.5)
                                         
Kindergarten program type                                        
Half-day program 30 (0.6) 41 (0.8) 47 (0.8) 73 (1.2) 123 (1.3) 144 (1.1) 114 (1.0) 80 (1.6) 52 (1.2) 9 (0.9)
Full-day program 29 (0.5) 42 (0.8) 48 (1.0) 72 (1.3) 117 (1.7) 138 (1.6) 109 (1.2) 71 (2.2) 44 (1.8) 6 (0.9)
                                         
School type across all waves of the study                                        
Public school all years 29 (0.4) 40 (0.5) 46 (0.6) 71 (0.9) 118 (1.3) 139 (1.2) 110 (1.0) 73 (1.7) 46 (1.4) 7 (0.7)
Private school all years 35 (1.0) 47 (1.3) 56 (1.6) 85 (2.2) 131 (1.9) 153 (1.7) 118 (1.0) 91 (1.7) 62 (2.3) 13 (2.3)
Change in school type during study 32 (1.7) 45 (2.6) 52 (2.5) 77 (3.7) 123 (2.9) 143 (3.3) 111 (2.1) 78 (4.8) 49 (4.2) 9 (3.5)
1 Status during kindergarten year.
2 Family risk factors included living below the federal poverty level, primary home language was not English, mother's highest education was less than a high school diploma/GED, and living in a single-parent household. Values range from 0 to 4.
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Estimates reflect the sample of children assessed in English in all assessment years. ECLS-K was not administered in 2000–01, when most of the children in the sample were in second grade. Most of the children were in first grade in 1999–2000, but 5 percent were in kindergarten or other grades (e.g., second grade, ungraded classrooms); most were in third grade in 2001–02, but 11 percent were in second grade or other grades (e.g., fourth grade, ungraded classrooms); most were in fifth grade in 2003–04, but 14 percent were in fourth grade or other grades (e.g., sixth grade). Reading scale ranges from 0 to 186. Data were calculated using C1_6FC0 weight and therefore differ from previously published figures. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–99 (ECLS-K), Longitudinal Kindergarten–Third Grade Public-Use Data File, fall 1998, spring 1999, fall 1999, spring 2000, and spring 2002, and Fifth-Grade Restricted-Use Data File. (This table was prepared September 2006.)

2007 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest