Explore the Data

Third Grade Language Arts Proficiency

Third grade language arts proficiency returned to pre-pandemic norms after COVID-19 decline

Third grade English language arts (ELA) proficiency is the earliest standardized test given to all public school students in Nebraska.¹⁶ Third grade language arts proficiency measures student achievement at a critical transition point in their educational careers.¹⁷ Students who do not read proficiently at third grade are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma,¹⁸ while third graders who read at or above their level are more likely to graduate and attend college.¹⁷

• In the 2023-24 school year, third grade language arts proficiency among Lincoln Public School (LPS) students was 58%, compared to 59% of Nebraska public school students statewide.
• Third grade language arts proficiency among LPS students declined during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with proficiency rates in the 2020-21 school year (55% proficient) being 8 percentage points less than in 2018-19 (63% proficient).
  • A similar trend occurred statewide, with proficiency rates decreasing from 56% in 2018-19 to 50% in 2020-21.
• Proficiency rates rebounded in the 2022-23 school year, with 62% of LPS third graders proficient in language arts.
• In the 2023-24 school year, about the same proportion of LPS third graders and Nebraska public school third graders are language arts proficient.
  • Since the NSCAS was first administered in 2016, a higher proportion of LPS third graders were language arts proficient compared to Nebraska public school third graders statewide, up until the 2022-23 school year.

Notes

Nebraska Department of Education, Nebraska Education Profile (formerly Nebraska State of Schools Reports), Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System.

The NSCAS English Language Arts test from 2016-17 and later is not comparable to standardized tests from earlier years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NDE cancelled the 2019 – 2020 NSCAS assessment; therefore, there are no results from that year.

Footnotes

16. The Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) is the statewide assessment system for English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science that public schools have administered since the 2016-17 school year. It is not comparable to the older NeSA (Nebraska State Accountability) assessment. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NDE cancelled the 2019 – 2020 NSCAS assessment; therefore, there are no results from that year. The ELA and mathematics NSCAS test administered in Spring 2021 was shortened to preserve instructional time, also due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-participants were also not representative of the whole population. These factors, in addition to changes in enrollment and differences in NSCAS participation rates, complicates direct comparisons to previous NSCAS data.
17. Lesnick, J., Goerge, R. M., Smithgall, C., & Gwynne, J. (2010). Reading on grade level in third grade: How is it related to high school performance and college enrollment? Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.
18. Fiester, L. (2013). Early warning confirmed: A research update on third-grade reading. Annie E. Casey Foundation.