Research shows the importance of multiple measures for understanding early literacy progress
By Nick Thiriot, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute; ICT Staff
Utah continues to face early literacy challenges despite some signs of progress, according to a new education brief from the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. The brief reviews Utah’s three major early literacy measures—Acadience Reading, RISE English Language Arts, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress—and explores what each assessment reveals about literacy outcomes across the state. As Utah works toward a statewide goal of 80% of third-grade students reading on grade level by 2030, the brief highlights the importance of understanding how literacy progress is measured and interpreted.
“Utah continues to face early literacy challenges, but different measures tell different parts of the story,” said Andrea Brandley, senior education analyst at the Gardner Institute and lead author of the brief. “Looking across multiple measures provides a broader understanding of literacy progress.”
Key findings from the report include the following:
Reading on Grade Level Definition – During the 2026 General Session, S.B. 241 updated the state definition of reading on grade level to include students scoring at or above benchmark on the end-of-year Acadience Reading assessment. Under this definition, 70.5% of third graders were classified as reading on grade level in 2025. Under the prior definition, which counted only students scoring above benchmark, the rate was 50.3%. The change altered how performance is classified but did not change underlying student performance.
Acadience Reading – Acadience results show substantial gains in kindergarten proficiency in recent years, a trend aligned with the expansion of full-day kindergarten. However, grades 1 through 3 recorded much smaller gains, and third-grade proficiency stayed essentially unchanged between 2023 and 2025.
RISE English Language Arts – Third-grade RISE proficiency nearly recovered from pandemic-era declines but did not exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2025. Utah’s adoption of revised English language arts standards and updated performance thresholds in 2025 also complicates year-to-year comparisons.
National Reading Trends – Utah generally performs above the national average on fourth-grade NAEP Reading, but both Utah and the nation have seen declining reading performance over the past decade. Utah’s reading achievement peaked around 2015 and has generally declined since then.
Achievement Gaps – In 2025, 70.5% of all Utah third graders scored at or above benchmark on Acadience, compared with 55.5% of economically disadvantaged students, 52.8% of Hispanic/Latino students, 39.0% of students with disabilities, and 35.4% of students with limited English proficiency.
School-level Results – Schools serving larger shares of economically disadvantaged students generally report lower literacy outcomes. However, some schools serving majority economically disadvantaged student populations achieved strong results, with 27 such schools exceeding the state average for third-grade reading proficiency.
The report also notes that Cedar East School in Iron County School District was among the 27 schools statewide that exceeded the state average for third-grade reading proficiency while serving a majority economically disadvantaged student population. Cedar East was the only school in Iron County School District to be included on the list, which highlights schools demonstrating strong literacy outcomes despite economic challenges that are often associated with lower reading performance.